Coffee: That much is okay
Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichAlready 2700 BC Caffeine was made from tea leaves in China, 575 BC. The first coffee made in Africa - a drink with a long tradition. And yet the question still arises today: How much caffeine can you actually drink? One, two, three or four cups? Now experts have checked again.
Caffeine is one of the best-studied food additives, but research is still going on. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) took on the matter on behalf of the European Commission. She examined once again whether caffeine is harmful and how much coffee and the like can be safely drunk every day.In addition, the researchers investigated the extent to which other ingredients in beverages, especially in energy drinks, negatively affect the effects of caffeine.
400 milligrams are harmless
The experts came to the conclusion that up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, which corresponds to about six cups of coffee, are harmless to health for a healthy adult. And pregnant women don't have to do without the morning wake-up call either: they can drink up to 200 milligrams of caffeine per day throughout the day without endangering the child. EFSA experts also advise breastfeeding mothers not to exceed the limit of 200 milligrams of caffeine per day. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) is not quite as strict: it keeps up to a maximum of 300 milligrams of caffeine safe for mother and child during pregnancy.
However, the researchers were not only interested in the harmless total daily amount of caffeine, but also in the “safe single dose”, i.e. how large a single caffeine portion can be. They found that up to 200 milligrams of caffeine is safe for adults and also for breastfeeding mothers: A double espresso should therefore be in it once. However, you should expect such a caffeine intake no later than around two hours before physical activity.
Energy drinks, alcohol and caffeine
And the magic limit of 200 milligrams of caffeine also applies in energy drinks, which contain other critical ingredients such as taurine in addition to caffeine, according to the EFSA researchers. Up to this amount it is not to be expected that the other constituents will negatively influence the effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system and the fluid balance. It is similar with alcohol: With an amount of up to 0.8 per thousand alcohol in the blood, 200 milligrams of caffeine generally do not pose a risk in the opinion of the experts.
Estimate for children and adolescents
The data situation is poor for children and adolescents and the experts are reluctant to make any predictions. Presumably, however, the estimate for adults - here three milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight and day are harmless - can be transferred to the age group of children and adolescents, the researchers write.
Coffee, tea and chocolate
Depending on the type of coffee and the production process, the caffeine content per 150 milliliters of coffee varies between 50 and 100 milligrams, writes the German Coffee Association. Despite the smaller volume, 50 milliliters of espresso contain around 50 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. Energy drinks are also true caffeine bombs: a 250 milliliter can contains around 80 milligrams of caffeine.
In addition, caffeine is not only found in coffee beans, but also in various other plants. For example, 150 milliliters of black tea contains around 20 to 60 milligrams of caffeine and 100 grams of semi-dark chocolate around 75 grams.
Sources:
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). EFSA Journal. doi: 10.2903 / j.efsa.2015.4102
Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V., www.kaffeeverband.de, accessed on July 20, 2015
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), www.efsa.europa.eu/de/, accessed on July 20, 2015
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