In the United States, a 16-year-old teenager drank 3 kinds of caffeine beverages within 2 hours, causing sudden death of cardiac arrhythmia, which aroused public attention. Everyday life is filled with all kinds of caffeine drinks and foods. In addition to coffee, tea drinks, energy drinks, some carbonated drinks, chocolates, etc. all contain caffeine. How much caffeine a person can consume each day will not Danger to health?
Coffee, an indispensable part of many people’s lives.
Caffeine plays an important role in the busy lives of modern people. Many people drink a cup of coffee in the morning to refresh their brains. After lunch, their blood sugar rises and their minds feel dizzy. Many people will want to have another caffeine drink to refresh their minds. At this time, coffee, tea, carbonated drinks or energy drinks are common choices for Chinese people. After such a day, do you know how much caffeine you have taken? And what is the maximum amount of caffeine that can be consumed daily so as not to cause health hazards. Is there a guideline?
Are you “caffeine”? How much do you know about caffeine
“Caffeine” is a purine alkaloid compound. At present, more than 60 kinds of plants are known to contain caffeine, such as coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans, kola nuts (Kola nut, once one of the raw materials for cola beverage extraction), Yerba mate, Guarana, etc., these edible natural raw materials themselves or their extracts are often used in the production of beverages. The use of caffeine compounds in the food industry is regarded as a flavoring agent in food additives and must comply with the regulations for the use of food additives. Currently, Taiwan stipulates that caffeine compounds can only be added to flavored beverages. Ingesting caffeine will stimulate the human central nervous system, cardiovascular, respiratory system, gastrointestinal, muscles, etc., as well as increase cell metabolism and diuresis. For ordinary people, its action time can reach 3-4 hours.
The “pros” and “disadvantages” of caffeine to the health of ordinary people have been extensively discussed in different literatures. The “pros” mentioned in a comprehensive way include boosting the spirit, increasing alertness, concentration and responsiveness, reducing cardiovascular disease and nerves. Degenerative diseases, and even longevity, etc. The “disadvantages” include heart palpitations, cause sleep disorders, anxiety, irritability, affect bone health and gastrointestinal function, and may affect the health of the fetus in pregnant women. However, due to the different strengths and weaknesses of various documents, professionals are required to judge the validity of these conclusions and their applicability to individuals.
How do I know the potential adverse effects of caffeine intake?
The most talked-about caffeine research report in the world, the first caffeine safety assessment review document written by Nawrot et al. and peer-reviewed in 2003 is the most widely cited internationally, and it has also been cited in Canada. The Ministry of Health serves as the basis for the recommendation of the maximum intake of caffeine. In the ten years since its publication, although more than 10,000 caffeine-related papers have been published, there has never been a review article that has the same name as it.
The North America Branch of the International Life Sciences Society (ILSI North America) decided to update this classic document and invited 15 experts including epidemiology, clinical medicine, and systematic review. The data on the potential adverse effects of caffeine published between June 2015 were systematically reviewed. Four healthy groups of adults, pregnant women, adolescents, and children were taken as the research objects. The five types of results, namely the effects of calcium, behavior, development, and reproduction, are discussed differently from the current version of Health Canada’s “No Adverse Effects Caffeine Intake”.
Scientific research pays great attention to the grading of the strength of scientific evidence when clarifying and evaluating causality. If the conclusions of scientific research come only from expert opinions (without empirical data support), the strength of such scientific evidence is the weakest; and the integrated analysis, systematic reviews and randomized controlled experiments located in the upper half of the pyramid can provide higher strength The credibility of the scientific evidence is relatively high, but the resources required for this type of research, such as funds, manpower, and time, are relatively high.
When scientific research clarifies and evaluates the causal relationship, it pays great attention to the classification of the strength of scientific evidence. The higher the level, the higher the credibility, and it also consumes more money, manpower, and time.
Safe code for caffeine
This rigorous “Caffeine System Review” by ILSI North America was published in April this year and published in the “Food and Chemical Toxicology” (Food and Chemical Toxicology), reaffirming the establishment of Nawrot et al. in 2003. According to the benchmark conclusions, people have no adverse effects on caffeine intake or the acceptable intake has not changed. Adults are 400 mg/day (the lethal dose is 10 grams), and pregnant women (including preparing to become pregnant) are 300 mg/day. Adolescents aged 19 to 19 and children aged 3 to 12 are 2.5 mg/kg/day. To simplify these data, the conclusion is 400 (adults)-300 (pregnant women)-2.5 BW (adolescents and children are not fully developed and their weight changes It is larger, so it is calculated by multiplying the weight of 2.5 by the kilogram. BW is the abbreviation of Body Weight). This 400-300-2.5 BW is the security code for caffeine. However, the public should pay attention when interpreting this data. This series of numbers is only used as a reference value for ordinary people. Because there are too many variables between individuals, no data can be fully applied to the safe dose of the entire group. The actual application must be considered according to their own conditions. , This data should not be regarded as the upper limit or iron law of caffeine intake.
The report concluded that the recommended intake of 400 mg of caffeine per day for healthy adults is consistent with the “U.S. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines”. You can drink 3 – 5 cups of coffee per day (240 ml per cup), and the intake of caffeine is 400 mg. It is consistent with the recommendation of the European Union Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in 2015 that the limit is 400 mg. Taiwan’s current recommendation for caffeine intake is that it is best not to exceed 300 mg per day.
Commercially available caffeine drinks are not standardized in their serving sizes, and the caffeine content varies greatly from one serving!
A rough comparison of 400 mg of caffeine is about 4 cups of regular freshly brewed coffee, or 10 cans of carbonated drinks, or 2 cans of energy drinks.
In detail, when estimating the daily caffeine intake, it should be noted that beverages that use natural ingredients as a source of caffeine, such as coffee, although the names of commercially available products are the same, the caffeine content of each serving will vary depending on the type of raw material and the place of origin. , Processing methods or different serving sizes make the caffeine content of each drink vary greatly. Taking the commercially available freshly brewed coffee as an example, the portion size has not been standardized and there are differences. Different coffee items, the origin of the coffee beans used and the differences in the preparation process, etc., make the caffeine content of each cup of freshly brewed coffee It may range from less than 100 mg to more than 300 mg.
Government’s management of caffeinated beverages and food
In order to be more effective and easy to identify, the European Union stipulates that if the caffeine content exceeds 15 mg per 100 ml of beverage, a warning must be added: “High caffeine content, not recommended for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women”, and other non-beverage foods are similar. Management regulations.
It is worth reminding consumers that in addition to caffeine-containing beverages, some foods also hide a considerable amount of caffeine, such as biscuits, cakes or ice cream made from chocolate materials. In addition, dietary supplements, medicines, etc. Contains caffeine, but the general content is not high. If you are a chocolate lover, you need to pay attention to the relevant data while tasting and enjoying. For example, the caffeine content of a slice of 80 grams of chocolate cake can reach 36 mg, and a slice of 28 grams of chocolate candies can also reach 19 mg, but a cup of 240 A milliliter of chocolate drink is below 10 mg.
While enjoying chocolate cakes, it is also important to note that these chocolate products also contain a lot of caffeine.
Read food labels to avoid worry, caffeine intake is on your own
For those who want to enjoy the fragrance of coffee in life, but do not want to be troubled by excessive caffeine intake, the easiest way to prevent is to grasp the security code of 400-300-2.5 BW, learn to read food labels, and pay attention to the control of caffeine intake In the right range.
In addition to the 400-300-2.5 BW principle, healthy adults who do not consume caffeine regularly and pregnant or breast-feeding women have a slower metabolism of caffeine, and the reaction effect of caffeine is also relatively higher than that of adults who consume caffeine frequently. lasting. The European Food Safety Authority confirmed that if a single intake is less than 200 mg, there is no adverse effect. It also reminds the public not to mix or consume caffeine-containing beverages or foods. Caffeine, alcohol, and controlled substances should also be used. , Part of medicines and dietary supplements (such as bitter orange extract containing Synephrine) are taken separately to avoid the risk of abnormal health events.
