Tea, coffee, soft drinks, chocolates and a variety of other things that we consume on a daily basis, contain varied levels of caffeine. On account of the versatility of its presence in our dietary components, monitoring its levels of intake is rather difficult. Thus many a times unknowingly perhaps we tend to consume high levels of this psychoactive stimulant.

When it comes to caffeine consumption moderation seems to be the right approach. Thus like any other drug, if consumed in the right amounts it can produce the desirable effects of increasing your levels of alertness, giving you a boost in your energy levels and increasing you concentration ability.

Its due to the above mentioned attributes that coffee which is a rather concentrated source of caffeine, is the choice of most jet setting travellers embarking on long distance travels or even people who work in erratic shifts. Its ability to prevent sleep and effects of enhancing concentration are reasons why students turn to caffeine containing refreshing drinks of tea and coffee to keep them company while they burn the midnight lamp.

Amidst all these favourable effects that caffeine has to offer, one should also be aware that like any other drug it shouldn’t be abused. If consumed in high concentrations it can produce some really undesirable effects. Like its rightly been said “Too much of any thing is bad”.

Research has shown that high levels of caffeine consumption have shown to cause anxiety, restlessness, tachycardia and insomnia in normal individuals. Individuals who are sensitive to caffeine have demonstrated the above mentioned effects of a greater intensity.

So how much of caffeine should one restrict ones self to? Is it safe to consume uncontrolled levels of caffeine to in order to keep adjusting our cardinal clocks so that we can keep going?

The answer to the above and all other questions that must be clouding your minds is a simple word “moderation”. On an average, 200mg of caffeine which is equivalent o 2 cups of coffee is a moderate amount. However for those again who are sensitive to caffeine need to consult their physicians or health care providers about its consumption.

If you are consuming 500-600 0f caffeine on a daily basis and seem to be having any of the above mentioned undesirable effects, its time to cut down that consumption and control your caffeine intake.

Lets just take a look at the caffeine levels in the food and beverages we consume on a daily basis.

Soft drinks

Sources: The Coca-Cola Co., 2007; Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc., 2007; Journal of Food Science, 2007; PepsiCo Inc., 2007

Coffee

Sources: Caribou Coffee Co., 2007; Starbucks Corp., 2007; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2007

Tea

Sources: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2007; The Coca-Cola Co., 2007; PepsiCo Inc., 2007; Starbucks Corp., 2007; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2007

Sports/Energy drinks

Sources: Beverage Partners Worldwide, 2007; The Coca-Cola Co., 2007; Monster Beverage Co., 2007; PepsiCo Inc., 2007; Redux Beverages, 2007; Rockstar, 2007; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2007

Food and other products

Sources: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2007; Haagen-Dazs, 2007; The Hershey Co., 2007; Vroom Foods Inc., 2007

Source: HealthMad