Anyone who has never been warned about the number of coffees ingested during their day should raise their mug.
Certainly, an overdose of caffeine can quickly tip the drinker to the dark side and lead to anxiety, nervousness, difficulty falling asleep, aggression, tremors or even tachycardia.
But consumed correctly, the drink can be a real health benefit (or at least prevent us from having the keyboard keys printed on our foreheads during post-lunch digestion).
So how many coffees can you drink without hyperventilating?
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Official recommendations
The recommendations come to us from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), in 2015. The latter thus ruled on the maximum dose of caffeine that the adult population (including the elderly) can drink all at once, and throughout the day.
Verdict: “A healthy adult should not exceed 200 mg of caffeine at one time, and 400 throughout the day.
In other words, a mug, a mug and a half of coffee at once, and four to five throughout the day.
If we stick to this moderate consumption, all the scientific literature considers that there are no deleterious effects on health,” informs Astrid Nehlig, emeritus research director at Inserm. .
Obviously, these recommendations concern all sources of caffeine that we can consume, such as tea (although it contains less), sodas, energy drinks, etc.
Still according to EFSA, pregnant and breastfeeding women should be content with 200 mg of caffeine per day.
Excessive consumption can lead to risk of miscarriage or problems with fetal development.
“It is even better to prefer the decaffeinated version of the drink, or even consume herbal teas instead.
The baby does not know how to metabolize caffeine, so he feels its effects directly,” comments Laurence Plumey, nutritionist (1).
As caffeine passes into milk, mothers are also advised to prefer to drink their coffee after breastfeeding.
“Of course, people prone to sleep disorders should also limit their consumption, as should those prone to digestive disorders, such as heartburn, gastritis or reflux,” adds the doctor.
Also read: What time should you stop drinking coffee to fall asleep properly in the evening?
Espresso VS filter coffee
That being said, the question now remains which coffee are we talking about.
“Contrary to what many believe, espresso contains less caffeine than filter coffee;
This mainly comes from the preparation process.
We can therefore drink more espressos than filter coffees during the day,” adds Philippe Pouillart, teacher-researcher in culinary practice and health at the UniLaSalle Polytechnic Institute in Beauvais.
You can drink more espressos than filter coffees during the day
Professor Philippe Pouillart
The official recommendations are general and everything obviously depends on each person's genetic heritage.
“People with a so-called “slow” metabolism eliminate caffeine more slowly, and will therefore drink less caffeine than “fast” people,” illustrates Astrid Nehlig.
This is also why some people can drink coffee after 5 p.m. without any difficulty falling asleep afterwards, and others cannot.
“Caffeine binds to a receptor in the brain and stops the effects of the sleep molecule,” explains the researcher.
Professor Philippe Pouillart reminds us: “In moderate doses, coffee stimulates the central nervous system, drinkers have less risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
It also stimulates alertness and reduces drowsiness.”
In a previous article on the subject, Astrid Nehlig already highlighted the protective effect of the drink against cardiovascular diseases, and indicated that it “reduces the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 60%”.
(1) Dr Laurence Plumey is notably the author of The
Great Book of Food
, Ed.
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