Do You Drink Too Much Coffee?

ListedFit is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission.

Do You Drink Too Much Coffee?

Most of us like our daily cup, or perhaps several cups of coffee.

It can help to get us through the working day and keep you warm on a cold day.

However, if you are one of those people who drinks coffee continuously during the day, you may want to think again.

Two cups of coffee per day, which is about 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day is as much as you should be drinking, according to guidelines released by the American Dietetic Association.

You may not think it matters too much if you take that third cup, but you really should limit yourself to two.

Caffeine, of course, is also present in chocolate and soft drinks, as well as some medication obtained over the counter, and it is recommended that you limit your intake of these too, in addition to limiting your daily caffeine intake.

Better still, try to reduce the amount of caffeine you drink in a day if you routinely have more than two cups.

If any of the following apply to you:

* Drinking coffee instead of water or juice.
* Finding it difficult to fall asleep.
* Are nursing, or are pregnant.
* Have an ulcer, gastritis, high blood pressure, or certain other medical conditions.

You may want to give up coffee altogether, or at least make the switch to decaf coffee in the mornings, which frankly, tastes almost as good.

After a while, you won’t realize or care that you are drinking decaf coffee.

Most of us take coffee for granted, although if you are taking it to cope with stress or to get you through the day, you may want to address the underlying issues instead.

Drinking coffee can relieve stress short term, but too much caffeine does not help over the long term.

Caffeine can actually take water from your body, and you should be drinking two cups of water for every cup of coffee.

Another solution for anyone who drinks coffee purely to relax is to make a point of trying another method of relaxation, such as reading, or maybe listening to some music.

Try taking an hour to do something relaxing for every cup of coffee that you felt that you need to help you make it through the day.

If you like chocolate and soda, nobody is suggesting you cut them out of your life altogether, but you may want to cut back on them, at least.

Of course, you may understandably be reluctant to give up coffee altogether, although you should realize that too much coffee is just not a good thing.

It’s all about compromise and moderation when it comes to drinking too much coffee.

Coffee actually loses its effectiveness the more your body gets used to it, so it may benefit you to cut back a bit.