How Your Morning Cup of Joe Affects the Body

Are you tracking your caffeine intake? Somehow caffeine seems to sneak in foods and drinks even when we don’t expect it. With longer days, we may not be getting enough sleep at night, which can lead to increased caffeine intake. As a general rule, you should limit caffeine consumption to about 400 milligrams (mg) per day. In order to stay within this range, it’s important to be aware of the amount of caffeine you’re consuming. Many online food tracking/logging programs will track nutrition content for you. An easy way to ensure you're not consuming too much caffeine is to simply drink more water. 

Too much caffeine may lead to an irregular or rapid heart rate, involuntary tremors, digestive problems, irritability and feelings of anxiety. What's ironic is many people drink caffeine because they're not getting enough sleep but it may be the caffeine that's causing the sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep is cummulative so it's important to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Caffeine's effect reaches its peak 1-4 hours after it is consumed and can effect your body for up to 14 hours so avoid drinking caffeinated drinks before bed.

Check out this list of popular caffeinated drinks and change your intake accordingly.

Product	Serving Size	Caffeine (mg)
Coffee
Coffee, brewed	1 cup (8 oz)	95
Espresso	1 oz	64
Coffee, instant	1 cup (8 oz)	62
Coffee, brewed, decaf	1 cup (8 oz)	2
Starbucks	2 cups (16 oz)	330
Tea
Lipton Black Tea	1 cup (8 oz)	55
Lipton Original Iced Tea	2 cups (16 oz)	50
Tea, brewed	1 cup (8 oz)	47
Lipton 100% Green Tea	1 cup (8 oz)	45
Tea, instant, unsweetened	1 cup (8 oz)	26
Tea, herbal	1 cup (8 oz)	0
Energy Drinks
Full Throttle	2 cups (16 oz)	144
Jolt	2 cups (16 oz)	142
Red Bull	24 oz	76
5-hour Energy	8.3 oz	100
Soda
Pepsi One	12 oz	54
Mountain Dew	12 oz	54
Mellow Yellow	12 oz	52
Diet Coke	12 oz	46
Dr. Pepper	12 oz	40
Pepsi	12 oz	37
Diet Pepsi	12 oz	36
Coca Cola	12 oz	34
Sprite, 7-Up	12 oz	0
Medication
Extra Strength Excedrin	2 tablets	130
Other
Dark Chocolate (semi-sweet)	1 oz	20
Milk Chocolate Bar	1 bar (1.55 oz)	9