How Many Cups of Espresso Could Be Fatal?
If you’ve ever felt jittery after finishing a cup of coffee, you’ve experienced the early signs of excessive caffeine consumption. People’s responses to caffeine can vary significantly; some may feel anxious after a cup of tea, while others can handle an entire pot of black coffee. However, there’s a limit—one more shot of espresso might just be too much.
So, how many shots of espresso could be lethal? It’s quite rare for coffee drinkers to overdose on caffeine since you’d need to consume over 100 cups in a single day! Read on to discover how much espresso might be too much.
Interesting Facts About Coffee Beans
Depending on your body type, consuming between 76 and 156 shots of espresso or between 52 and 105 cups of coffee in one day could be fatal. To enjoy the benefits without risking adverse effects, experts suggest limiting yourself to no more than 6 shots of espresso or 4 cups of coffee per day.
Healthy Limit
The FDA advises a maximum daily intake of 400 milligrams of caffeine—equivalent to more than six shots of espresso. However, this is considered a healthy limit; it doesn’t mean that having the seventh shot will be fatal!
The key point is that everyone has different levels of tolerance for caffeine. Your ability to handle one to three cups depends on factors like your weight, what you’ve eaten, and how sensitive you are to caffeine. If you’re concerned about your caffeine intake, it’s best to consult your doctor.
How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?
Experts indicate that a dose of 5 to 10 grams of caffeine can be potentially fatal. Since we typically measure caffeine in milligrams, this translates to 5,000 to 10,000 milligrams.
While coffee has been shown to offer numerous health benefits—such as reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and certain types of cancer—excessive consumption can be detrimental to your health. Similar to excessive alcohol intake, an overload of caffeine in your bloodstream can result in heart disease, insomnia, sweating, dizziness, and anxiety.
How Many Cups of Espresso Could Be Fatal?
Just how much espresso are we talking about? An average 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 95 milligrams of caffeine, whereas a typical shot of espresso contains around 65 milligrams. To reach a lethal dose of 10,000 milligrams of caffeine, you’d need to consume approximately 156 shots of espresso or 105 cups of regular coffee in a single day.
That’s an astonishing amount of coffee, and it’s unlikely your body would allow you to consume that much. Symptoms of caffeine overdose include nausea and vomiting, which are your body’s ways of expelling potentially harmful toxins.
Summary
To maximize the benefits of your espresso, it’s advisable to limit your intake to no more than six cups per day. Factors like your weight and caffeine sensitivity can influence this, but consuming 156 espressos or 105 regular coffees in a single day could be lethal! Thankfully, this is an extreme amount that’s easily avoidable. After all, you want to savor your espresso, don’t you?
