Over 80% of Americans drink coffee every single morning. Likewise, pre-workouts are flying off the shelves. Dry scooping is a practice that’s taken off by fitness influencers. These are glorified rituals that are considered average. Caffeine is the drug of choice for many of us, but is it healthy? Let’s talk about it.
Here’s your regular reminder that I’m not a doctor. Read more on my disclaimer here.
Caffeine content in drinks
According to the USDA, 400 milligrams is considered the maximum safe amount of caffeine intake. The Mayo Clinic suggests that this is 10 colas or 2 energy shots. However, this varies depending on the drink. Let’s put it into perspective with the most popular caffeinated drinks.
Coffee
One cup of coffee has an average of 100mg of caffeine. According to the maximum safe amount, this is about 4 cups. However, one cup is only 8oz. A grande at Starbucks is 16oz. And, even if you’re not getting it while you’re out, some coffee mugs are bigger than others. It’s important to consider there are also several ways to brew coffee. For example, instant coffee or classic brewed coffee may have a little less caffeine than a pour-over or a cold brew. In general, a more concentrated method of brewing will cause the cup of coffee to have more. The roast of the coffee is also a determinant. Lighter roasts have more caffeine because they aren’t roasted as long. Darker roasts don’t have as much caffeine because they are roasted longer to get the dark and rich color.
Tea
Tea can vary in caffeine content depending on the type. Herbal teas usually don’t have any caffeine at all while black tea has around half the caffeine content as a cup of coffee at about 50mg. Green tea has a little less than black tea, around 30mg. There are also beverages, such as chai lattes, that sometimes are ‘dirty’ and have an added shot of espresso.
Energy drinks & pre-workout
Energy drink’s caffeine content varies depending on the brand and ingredients. Both pre-workout and canned or bottled energy drinks can range anywhere from 90mg to 300mg of caffeine content per serving.
Where else is caffeine hiding?
Some sodas such as cola and other dark-colored sugary drinks have anywhere from 20-40mg of caffeine per cup. High-sugar beverages, in general, may always have some, so it’s useful to read the label if you are trying to avoid caffeine.
One ounce of dark chocolate has about 12mg of caffeine. The darker the chocolate, the more the caffeine. The generic candy brands have a lot less because they’re usually made with milk chocolate ands significantly sugared down. Regardless, the caffeine content in chocolate isn’t usually as dense as things like coffee or energy drinks.
Pros of caffeine
Improved mental clarity & a quick energy boost
Caffeine can clear your mind and allow you to easily and sometimes immediately be more focused. It’s the reason many people have it upon waking or use it for a boost in efficiency at work or in the gym. This study suggests that there is almost always improvements in reaction times when it comes to caffeine, but not always a boost to working memory. Mostly, caffeine at the right dosage can have a positive effect on mood and clear-mindedness, ultimately allowing for improved mental clarity and possibly heightened productivity.
Also, if you’re sleepy or didn’t get enough rest, caffeine is a quick boost that is a short-term helper for your energy. Caffeine works by binding to the receptors in our brain that make us sleepy, ultimately causing an ‘awake’ effect for the short term.
For the sake of routine
Having a morning routine of making yourself a hot cup of coffee or tea is an essential part of many people’s days. Many people won’t make it to the gym without the thought of having an energy boost from their pre-workout beforehand, especially if they go early in the morning. Caffeinated beverages go hand in hand with many aspects of our routines, and aid in many of us having it together on some days!
It’s a social stimulant
Similar to alcohol, coffee is something you can have a chat over. It’s always nice to go out for a cup of coffee or talk over some tea. There’s no denying that caffeine can be something that brings people together.
Cons of caffeine
Stress response
Caffeine acts similarly to stress in that it can literally elevate your cortisol (stress hormone) levels. If you have too much and your cortisol is always going up and down, you can become chronically stressed. It also has an effect on your fight or flight hormones. Check out this study, which compared a placebo group to a group that used caffeine. The caffeine group had more than double the epinephrine and cortisol levels, as well as an effect on blood pressure. In short, too much caffeine has a major effect on your stress levels and can cause you to be chronically fatigued whether you’re a regular user or not.
The caffeine crash
If you’re at all acquainted with caffeinated drinks, I’m sure you’re well aware of the caffeine crash. It’s inevitable, especially if you haven’t had enough sleep or have had several caffeinated beverages. Caffeine is that it’s a stimulant. It’s easy to feel so great when you have it, but once it’s gone, especially if you’ve had too much, you feel pretty terrible.
Eventual tolerance / dependency
While one cup in the morning may not be a problem, it can become a problem when it turns into a few cups a day. It’s one cup a day until the one cup isn’t enough! If you continue to increase caffeine intake, it can eventually have a negative impact on your health. Also, when you remove it after having it, you get withdrawal symptoms. Fatigue, headache, and sometimes a slight cold can occur if you quit cold turkey. Many of us don’t realize how dependent we are on caffeine, so it’s good to manage your intake at a healthy dose, even if it causes you to have a couple of down days.
High doses can lead to heart issues
Going above the recommended daily consumption of caffeine isn’t just because they say so, it’s because it can be dangerous for your health. In the study mentioned above, the caffeine group also had a significant rise in blood pressure. Caffeine inherently stimulates the heart’s contractions and causes blood flow to increase, so you can imagine what happens if you have too much. Minimizing caffeine can also stop heart palpitations and possibly be a factor to help lower blood pressure naturally.
Sleep & circadian rhythm disruption
While you may the afternoon cup isn’t affecting you, it very well may be working behind the scenes and disrupting your sleep. Caffeine shouldn’t be ingested after 2 pm or it may keep working when you go to bed, whether you realize it or not. The Cleveland Health Clinic suggests that even 6 hours after you have caffeine, half of it is still in your body working. It can take more than 10 hours to rid the body of the effects of caffeine.
How to manipulate your caffeine intake for your benefit.
Delay your caffeine intake.
Dr. Huberman suggests delaying 90-120 minutes after waking up to avoid the afternoon crash. Caffeine blocks the affects of adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine builds up the longer we’re awake and is cleared by sleep. Therefore, adenosine is low when we wake up, but may be higher if you didn’t get enough sleep. When you immediately block the adenosine with coffee, it works temporarily, but you will feel the effects as soon as the caffeine dies off.
Eat food first & avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach.
Two things: caffeine raises cortisol and coffee (and even some teas) can easily rip through your stomach. Aside from the avoidance of the afternoon crash, delaying your morning caffeinated beverage to after your first meal can avoid the cortisol spike and allow for better digestion. Your initial energy should be coming from food and light, rather than a bean beverage.
Don’t take your coffee black.
While there are many fitness and health gurus that are going to tell you to take your coffee black because it’s 0 calories or won’t break your fast… I would disagree. Coffee is very acidic, and already in the first place can have an effect on hormones due to the caffeine. It’s good to balance it out with some healthy fats and protein so that you aren’t just consuming just coffee. I like to add in some collagen, milk, butter, and cinnamon to boost it up. This allows it to be more nourishing and likely to be an actual energy boost, rather than just a quick synthetic one from caffeine. You can also add L-theanine, which is a naturally derived compound that can cause the effects of caffeine to be more balanced throughout the day.
Don’t have too much.
Many of us are simply in the habit of starting our day with coffee or tea. If we stay aware of how much we ingest, it shouldn’t be a problem at all. However, the nature of this drug is to keep needing more.
If you’re someone who loves things like energy drinks or takes pre-workout before every workout, I suggest cycling off of it for a bit. Yes, you may get symptoms such as a headache or exhaustion for the first couple of days. This is better than continuing to up your intake and adjusting to that, because eventually your habit is having way too much. Once you cycle off of it for a bit, you won’t need as much for it to have an effect on you and you can easily reduce your regular intake.
One hack I like to do is to make my coffee half decaf. I mix my caffeinated ground up coffee with some decaf ground up coffee and it all tastes the same, with only half the effects. This way I can feel good even having two cups.
If you can, treat it as a delicacy.
At the end of the day, there are many that benefit from reducing or cutting out caffeine completely. The regular dependence on that cup of coffee or scoop of pre-workout may be what’s making you tired throughout the rest of the day. It’s good to treat it as a delicacy and only have it from time to time, especially if you feel out of balance with your health.
If you have any tips, let me know in the comments. Much love, and see ya next blog.
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