[imagesource: Getty]

For some, “but first, coffee” isn’t just a popular phrase on the side of a mug, it’s a motto to live by.

And, while caffeine has been linked to a number of health benefits, including improved exercise performance, boosted brainpower, and protecting against heart disease, it is possible to overdo it.

If you need a refresher, here it is.

Caffeine is a stimulant, which means that it triggers activity in your central nervous system that can lead to increases in heart rate and blood pressure, among other things.

That sounds hectic, but it isn’t unless you’re mainlining it.

On to the question at hand – how much caffeine is too much caffeine?

Harvard Health Publishing looked into a review of 95 studies into this topic, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

You can tell that we’re not messing around.

Based on their review of 95 studies, the authors suggest limiting total caffeine consumption from all beverages, including coffee, to 400 milligrams per day.

That’s equal to about four to five 8-ounce cups of most regular coffees. This amount helps people get much of the benefit of coffee but with a lower risk of caffeine’s side effects, according to the researchers.

Melissa Nieves, a registered dietitian at the virtual personal trainer company Kemtai, agrees that “the positive health benefits of coffee are based on a moderate consumption”.

If you’re hitting that sixth cup, you might have gone too far.

Compared to other caffeinated drinks, coffee has come out on top as the preferred method of getting your daily fix.

This, says Harvard, could have something to do not only with the caffeine content, but also other ingredients in your brew, including phytochemicals, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B, all of which have shown to lower oxidative stress and improve metabolism.

So, keeping tabs on your daily cups of joe can ensure your health gets a jolt without overdoing it.

Per NDTV, nutritionist Pooja Makhija has some tips for how to do that:

• Do not have more than four to five cups of coffee a day.
• Drink in moderation and avoid having large mugs of coffee at once (I’m staring at the giant coffee mug on my desk and feeling guilty).
• Make sure you don’t add sugars or creamers to your coffee and artificial sweeteners are a big no-no.

That last one is especially tricky if you’re living that “I grabbed the first one off the shelf” coffee life.

To really make it work, and to get the most out of those health benefits that everyone is talking about, you need the quality stuff, like the bean and grinds you’ll find at Terbodore Coffee Roasters.

I’ve tried and tested the stuff, and I love it with or without sugar, so I thought I’d save you the trouble of having to do your own research.

Because, paradoxically, I can’t do anything productive before coffee, the fact that I can order Terbodore coffee online and have it delivered saves me from the pep talk I have to give myself before heading out to replenish my caffeine supply.

Also, and this is important, it comes wrapped in paper covered in Great Danes:

Arise & Shine. Order online. 📦🚚☕️ #terbodore #coffee #onlineshop #ariseandshine https://t.co/8AGMbK5qxs pic.twitter.com/FKfDqKtOEH

— Terbodore Coffee (@TerbodoreCoffee) December 1, 2020

If that doesn’t make you happy, I’m not angry, just disappointed.

Right, you know what you need to do.

Get ordering, buy a smaller mug, and pace yourself.

[source:harvard&ndtv]