Drinking Too Much Coffee is Dangerous
The European Food Safety Agency has warned that drinking over 4 mugs of coffee per day can lead to a number of health problems such as; anxiety, insomnia, and in some cases heart problems in people. The EFSA recommends that pregnant women and children are advised to drink only two mugs of coffee daily. The NHS in Britain says that some pregnant women who have consumed a large amount of caffeine during pregnancy have had underweight babies and it has also being linked to birth defects and miscarriages in some cases. Caffeine quantities vary depending upon brands and different cafes.
An average espresso contains 80 mgs of caffeine and a large filter Starbucks coffee contains 400 mgs per cup. The EFSA says that other food and beverages contain high levels of caffeine too. Red bull has 80mgs of caffeine per can, dark chocolate has 50mgs per bar and milk chocolate has 25mg per bar. Coke Cola is often thought to have more caffeine in it than coffee, but in actual fact it only contains around 30mgs of caffeine, as opposed to 100mgs per mug of coffee. Some painkillers also contain caffeine to create an extra effect.
Emilie Combet Lecturer in Human Nutrition at Glasgow University says ‘caffeine is in many things. It is in some chocolate and some energy drinks and some drugs so, on occasion, some people might go over the limit quite innocently.’ ‘The biggest difficulty for people is choosing their coffee because when you order it, you don’t’ know what is coming in the cup.’ A recent study at Glasgow University revealed that there were significant variations in the amount of caffeine in coffee found in twenty different cafes. The strongest coffee had six times more than the lowest. Coffee like every other food is not bad for you when it is consumed in moderate amounts; it is when people abuse it that it becomes a health problem.
