How much coffee is too much?
Up until about two years ago, Shawn McCue was a dedicated coffee drinker – or of anything else with caffeine.
“Two or three cups of coffee, two cups of tea, two cans of Pepsi (daily),” said the Tignish, P.E.I. resident.
But he soon noticed what he described as a fluttering in his chest.
“It felt like it was skipping a beat … and then beat really fast,” McCue said. “I didn’t know what to think, it would gradually come on, and then it would be an odd day, then every second day, then every day, then a couple of times a day.”
He brought up the concern with his doctor, suggesting the worrisome sensation could have stemmed from his daily caffeine consumption. His doctor said it was quite possible and ran some tests.
McCue decided to quit caffeine. Two weeks later, he wore a special heart monitor for 24 hours, and the results were positive – in the meantime, he no longer felt the fluttering in his chest.
People around him insisted he’d get headaches by going cold turkey, but McCue replied, “if I do, I do.” And, as it turned out: “It never bothered me, never had a headache, never had any withdrawal.”
Darcy Cuvilier of Halifax quit coffee three months ago. While she never considered herself a heavy coffee drinker – usually about two a day – she noticed the tendency to “crash” later in the day once the coffee’s effects dissipated. Her job as a hospital lab tech meant she started work at 6:15 a.m. and needed the 6 a.m. java boost to begin the day.
It wasn’t easy, especially for the first week.
“I actually felt better after about a month. I was less sluggish, more energized, and more consistent emotionally.”
CAFFEINE IMPACT
Derek Fisher, associate vicepresident of research with Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, is somewhat of an expert in the effects of caffeine, especially on brain function. He’s currently overseeing two research projects: the effects of caffeine on the brain function of individuals with schizophrenia, and, the second project, funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, studies the effects of caffeine on the brain function of women across different
phases of the menstrual cycle.
Fisher points out that caffeine is a drug, and physical dependency occurs just as it does for most other drugs. That also means attempts to quit the drug can result in negative withdrawal effects, such as headaches.
Fisher says that going ‘cold turkey’ is an option, but you’d be more likely to feel tired and cranky.
“If you want to quit coffee, the best thing they can do is to wean themselves off. If you drink three cups a morning, cut it down to two or twoand-a-half,” he said. “Your body learns to not expect the same amount.”
People’s reactions to caffeine can vary. Fisher explained a reaction known as a conditional compensatory response – basically, your body responds to particular cues. In the context of coffee, if one is used to drinking coffee at a certain place and time, or with a certain person, “these cues send signals to our body and brain that this certain drug (caffeine) is coming,” Fisher said.
Fisher suspects that response would probably be why some individuals like Cuvilier craved carbs after consuming coffee.
COFFEE OVERDOSE?
Health Canada recommends no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, which the federal government agency classifies as about three eightounce
cups (237 millilitres) of brewed coffee per day.
But Fisher says it would be very difficult to overdose – about 75 to 80 cups of coffee, in fact – but the indirect negative health effects of too much caffeine include things like insomnia, anxiety, and heart palpitations.
Fisher noted the effects of caffeine on one’s body can develop or last longer as one gets older and one’s metabolism slows down.
Another reason people may quit coffee is the suggestion that caffeine will affect the absorption of calcium and decrease bone density. Fisher says that’s “a controversial idea” because there are many studies that also show the opposite result.