Technically, it is part of a class of drugs known as methylated xanthines, which includes theophylline, a bronchodilator, and Trental, a drug used to treat muscle pain resulting from peripheral artery disease.Īccording to Mayo Clinic, the safe daily limit of caffeine for healthy adults is 400mg, which amounts to about 4-5 cups of coffee, 10 cans of soda or two 'energy shot' drinks. But knowing exactly how much caffeine is required to cause an overdose is a little more complicated.Ī central nervous system stimulant, caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug. But can you overdose on caffeine? Well, you can overdose on drugs, and caffeine is a drug, so the answer must be yes. If you're an average American, caffeine is a part of your daily life. Energy drinks, energy shots and chocolate beverages contribute little to caffeine intakes.Caffeine intakes from beverages are slightly higher than they were over a decade ago.The 90th percentile intake was 380mg/day for all ages.Caffeine intake was highest in consumers aged 50-64 years.The mean daily caffeine intake for all ages was 165mg.population consumes at least one caffeinated beverage per day. A Penn State study published last year found that 85 percent of the U.S. While the majority of Americans' caffeine intake comes from coffee, tea and soft drinks are also a main source. The widespread use of caffeinated food and drink - in combination with the invention of electric light - allowed people to cope with a work schedule set by the clock, not by daylight or the natural sleep cycle.' 'When the nature of work changed from a schedule built around the sun to an indoor job timed by a clock, humans had to adapt. 'For most of human existence, your pattern of sleeping and wakefulness was basically a matter of the sun and the season,' explains Charles Czeisler, a neuroscientist and sleep expert at Harvard Medical School. It makes sense that coffee represents a fairly sizeable chunk of Americans' weekly spending, as caffeine has helped power the modern economy. Recent data show that American consumers spend an average of $21.32 on coffee per week. has the highest coffee consumption in the world, followed by the world's leading coffee producer, Brazil. This article originally appeared on AlterNet.Īmericans drink a lot of coffee.

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