Whether you're at the tail end of a long road trip, cramming for an exam or up late doing laundry when you'd rather be in bed, coffee can be a quick fix to get the job done. Although coffee can have its benefits,摄入大量的咖啡因can have serious consequences too.
Tip
A cup of coffee can help keep you awake for several hours, but the caffeine will likely have its biggest impact within one hour of consumption.
Choose the Right Amount
Drinking coffee can be part of a healthy diet, according to theFood and Drug Administration, however, it's important to know how much coffee you can drink without consequences. Factors to consider when drinking coffee include your body weight, the medications you take and your individual sensitivity to caffeine. Just one cup o' joe can give one person the jitters, while a couple of shots of espresso can leave another feeling just fine.
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One 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee contains about96 milligrams of caffeine. The Food and Drug Administration advises that up to400 milligrams of caffeine per day— the equivalent of four or five 8-ounce cups of most coffee — is safe for most adults. More than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day can cause health risks.
如果你怀孕了,母乳喂养或有其他他alth concerns, the FDA recommends speaking with your health care provider before consuming caffeine. However, those who don't already consume coffee and other caffeinated beverages, notesChooseMyPlate.gov, are not encouraged to start.
Read more:Cold Brew Coffee
Caffeine’s Effects on the Body
Caffeine stimulates your nervous system, which gives you that energy boost and helps you feel awake. However, it can also increase yourblood pressureand interfere with calcium absorption, according to theMedlinePlus. Too much caffeine can also causeheart rhythm disturbancesand affect children's developing cardiovascular and nervous systems too.
When you drink a cup of coffee to keep you awake, the effect of the caffeine will likely peak within one hour. However, you may continue to feel theeffect of the caffeinefor four to six hours.
Don’t Make Your Coffee Unhealthy
A simple cup of black coffee haszero cholesterol and no sugar. Sadly, once you add dairy creamers, fancy flavorings and tasty toppings, your brew can become far more problematic than the harmless pick-me-upper you desire.
Amedium iced latte made with nondairy milkis free from cholesterol and contains less than a gram of fat, whereas amedium iced latte made with dairy milkcontains more than three times the amount of saturated fat as the nondairy latte and a whopping 19.2 grams of cholesterol.
If you add sugar, flavored syrups and whipped cream to your latte, expect to add on an extra pile of calories too. Amedium frozen mochawith whipped cream contains over 58 grams of sugar—that's almostdouble the caloriesin a piece of chocolate sponge cake. If you're not careful, a simple coffee beverage can become a fat-filled, sugar-drenched dessert in a cup pretty fast.
To make your coffee beverage a bit healthier, use a cholesterol-free nondairy milk such as soy, almond, oat or coconut, ditch the extra toppings and avoid adding sugar. Or asHarvard Health Publishingsuggests, you can skip the coffee altogether and opt for other healthier ways to keep you awake and energized such asworking out, limiting alcohol consumption, staying hydrated and avoiding overly large meals.
Consuming several smaller meals andhealthy snacksthroughout the day, rather than three jumbo feasts, will also help keep you on your toes.
- Harvard Health Publishing: "The Buzz About Caffeine and Health"
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?"
- USDA Food Data Central: "Coffee, Brewed"
- ChooseMyPlate.gov: "2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines: Answers to Your Questions"
- MedlinePlus: "Caffeine"
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: "Energy Drinks"
- USDA FoodData Central: "Coffee, Iced Latte, with Non-Dairy Milk"
- USDA FoodData Central: "Frozen Mocha Coffee Drink, With Whipped Cream"
- USDA FoodData Central: "Cake, Sponge, Chocolate"
- Harvard Health Publishing: "9 Tips to Boost Your Energy — Naturally"