How much coffee should you consume?


Human beings require water and food for survival, but it should be consumed in correct amounts. There should be a limit to everything we consume, because of specific effects that it can have on our body. Coffee is no different.

People have different perspectives regarding coffee. Some consider it a necessary beverage while others regard it as not so much. Coffee is a beverage that contains a great deal of caffeine and other compounds, which can benefit the human body mentally and physically. However, different publications give different amounts of coffee that one should consume each day. Some say as much as three to six cups of coffee is alright for your body, but how much coffee should you really be drinking?

How much coffee should you consume?

To help us determine the correct amount of coffee one should drink, we must consider the approximate quantity of caffeine per cup and its effects on the body. We should also consider people’s genetic makeup and health condition.

Caffeine

According to the US National Library of Medicine, caffeine is the most consumed substance in the world, and it is the main ingredient in coffee. The quantity per cup ranges from fifty to four hundred milligrams, depending on the size of a cup. A small cup has about 50 mg, while a large Starbucks venti might contain 350 milligrams of caffeine. According to research, four cups of coffee – equivalent to four hundred milligrams – is the safest quantity for an adult to consume daily,

Effects

Coffee can have both short term and long term effects. Some of the short-term impacts of drinking coffee are anxiety, lack of sleep, increased heart rate, restlessness, and irritability. However, the effects are not evident to everybody, especially if you have an increased tolerance to caffeine.

Research has proven that one long-term effect of drinking certain amounts of coffee is a longer life-span. One study revealed that those who drink four to five cup of coffee per day lived longer than daily consumers of one to three cups or non-coffee drinkers. Studies also proved that caffeine lowers the risk of contracting various diseases. For example, drinking at least four cups of coffee reduces liver cirrhosis effects by 84%, while three to five cups decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 65%.

How much coffee should you consume?

Genetics

People’s genetic makeup affects the way they process coffee as well. Some tolerate high levels of caffeine, while others don’t because the enzymes responsible for digesting the compound in the liver depend on genes and brain receptors. The stronger the genes, the less sensitive one is to the caffeine. Research established that normal people can genetically tolerate four to seven cups of coffee per day. However, health conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease reduce one’s caffeine bearing capacity.

Correct amount

Since the beginning of early modern history, coffee was always there. Considering all of the the above, it’s evident that the appropriate amount of coffee a normal person should consume is four to five cups daily, but it also depends greatly on each individual.

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