How much coffee is too much coffee?

The alarm clock rings (hopefully once, because it is studied enough that the habit of delaying “five more minutes” makes you drowsier). You get up in a daze and in that state you walk, probably doing a weak stretch of arms and legs, straight to the kitchen to turn on the kettle and make some coffee.

Instant or in a coffee maker, French or Italian, for the moment it doesn’t matter. Only with her smell – that too has been investigated —, an almost immediate feeling of heightened alertness is activated, which explains the hypothesis that the effect of a cup of coffee is more of a placebo than anything else.

In other words, with the pure aroma of coffee, you can already feel the pleasure of immersing yourself in a pool of exquisite hot caffeinated drink. And not few people like it, as you can imagine.

Approximately, in the world, some two trillion cups of coffee are drunk every day, the equivalent of approximately 480 billion liters, an amount that could fill approximately 192 thousand Olympic swimming pools.

According to figures from Nescafé, the world’s largest producer of instant coffee, it is the second most consumed liquid in the world after water. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is something like the essence of human beings.

“The effect of coffee is mainly associated with the stimulation of the central nervous system, the increase in organic activity and the rationalization of functions at the level of the brain and the body”, explains Evelyn Sánchez, director of the Nutrition and dietetics at the University of the Americas.

The main element of this impulse, as everyone knows, is caffeine, but it is not the only thing that is inside the coffee. The director of nutrition at the Autonomous University, Astrid Caichac, explains that coffee is a complex mixture of more than 800 volatile compounds, some of which are stimulants – such as caffeine – and others with anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic properties. and antioxidants.

For many people coffee is a pleasure, for others it is a psychic push to get through the day or fight lethargy, but there are some, and not few, who feel a strong addiction to this drink. , a real addiction. Why does having a good coffee have such a seductive effect? How many cups per day is considered excess? What are the consequences of consuming a lot of caffeine?

Go get yourself a cup of coffee and we’ll talk about it.

Legend has it that in the 9th century, and somewhere in Ethiopia, a shepherd named Kaldi discovered that his goats behaved with unusual enthusiasm after eating a few small berries. Kaldi tasted them, and since he liked them too, he enthusiastically took them to a nearby monastery as an offering. This is where the following is supposed to have happened: the monks did not like them and threw them into the fire, but the smell of the burnt grains attracted them, so they took them out of the embers and threw them into the water, thus giving rise to the first cup of coffee in history.

“Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant; this is the reason why it makes us more energetic and awake after consuming it”, explains Benjamín Pizarro, general practitioner at Examedi. “It also has a diuretic effect, which promotes the elimination of urine, which is also the route by which caffeine leaves the body.”

“Its main mechanism of action is the blockade of A1 adenosine and A2 receptors, neuromodulators of the central nervous system, which increase and accelerate nerve transmission,” explains Caichac.

Among other positive effects of coffee, the specialist lists:

• Increases short-term memory: facilitates the process of memorization, visual acuity and slows down cognitive decline with age.
• Reverses the sedative effects of alcohol: by improving insulin sensitivity, it helps delay the absorption of glucose in the intestine and improve its metabolism.
• Improves physical performance: its effect on muscle strength, pain and energy functions has been analyzed, concluding that caffeine can improve muscle contractility. This comes from increased levels of catecholamines, which allow greater flow of oxygenated blood to the muscles, giving you more energy for longer and producing less fatigue.

Besides the huge differences in their organoleptic characteristics, such as flavor and aroma, between coffee beans and instant coffee, there is also a distance in the supply of nutrients, bioactive components and amount of caffeine: ” The latter is less in instant coffee: A cup with a teaspoon of coffee can contain between 30 and 90 mg of caffeine, while a cup with ground coffee beans contains between 70 and 140 mg.

In 1994, study from Johns Hopkins University has been around the world concluding that caffeine is addictive, can cause addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Because?

A note from the science journalism site smithsonian explains the process, nicely illustrated by Pictoline in this infographic . In a nutshell: Caffeine has a similar molecular structure to adenosine, whose job is to make you feel tired, so when you drink a lot of coffee, the brain generates more adenosine receptors to activate fatigue, causing this need to fill them with more cups.

Something that happens when we feel that urge to drink coffee early in the morning or right after lunch. According to Elisa Sánchez, psychologist at Upfeel, “there are certain alerts with which we can identify a coffee addiction”:

• withdrawal symptoms : if headaches, fatigue, irritability or difficulty concentrating appear when you try to reduce or eliminate coffee consumption.
• Each time more : If you have to consume more and more coffee to get the same stimulating effect, you develop a tolerance.
• you can’t control it : Feeling a strong, uncontrollable urge to drink coffee, even when you don’t really need it, could be a sign of addiction.

Sánchez explains that coffee addiction can affect a person’s productivity and normal life development in the following ways:

• Bad mood and concentration : coffee addiction can lead to a psychological need to consume it to feel alert and focused.
• disturbed sleep cycles : Excessive coffee consumption can disrupt your natural rest-wake rhythm, leading to difficulty falling asleep, insomnia, and decreased cognitive performance, energy, and mood.
• Increases anxiety and stress : Excessive caffeine consumption tends to increase these symptoms in some people, directly affecting their quality of life and their relationship with their environment.

The effects of coffee on the body are varied, says Evelyn Sanchez. “It has been studied that each person has a different susceptibility to the effects of caffeine,” he says. However, it ventures with an average number of what would be advised on a day-to-day basis.

“Studies report that consuming up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day appears to be safe for most healthy adults,” he says, “which equates to three to four cups. To more than six cups per day, health damage is reported at the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal levels, among others.

The expert warns: “if the maximum recommended intake is widely and frequently exceeded, this can trigger episodes of anxiety, sleep disturbances, intoxication and even, when more than 10 grams of caffeine are consumed less two hours, death.”

Benjamin Pizarro agrees with the negative effects of excessive caffeine consumption. “It is neither easy nor possible to say that caffeine is good or bad. Like most things, if consumed in moderation and according to individual needs, it may not have major or even positive effects.

According to him, some studies have shown that a controlled amount of caffeine, without accompanying it with sugar, can decrease the occurrence of chronic liver damage or cirrhosis of the liver, and that it can also have positive cardiovascular effects and even increase life expectancy.

Of course, Astrid Caichac reminds us that some surveys link heavy coffee consumption to certain problems during pregnancy and also breastfeeding. “Caffeine interferes with the absorption of very important nutrients, such as iron and calcium. In the first case, it is recommended not to consume coffee one hour before or after eating foods rich in this nutrient, such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, seafood or lean meats,” he recommends.

Another cup?