Caffeine

☕️ We often hear that caffeine should be limited, giving it a bad reputation. It is true that too much caffeine (more than the recommended upper intake of 400 mg/day) can lead to irritability, restlessness, insomnia, anxiety and gastrointestinal discomfort, but it is important to differentiate from “limit” and “avoid”, because there is no reason to be avoiding caffeine.

 🍵 Besides giving you an energetic boost and increasing focus, coffee and tea are great sources of polyphenols, which are antioxidant compounds that help the body deal with oxidative stress. Polyphenols are found in colourful plant foods, so all different teas contribute to your intake of different types of polyphenols.

 ☕️ In many European countries, tea and coffee are the main sources of polyphenol intake, so avoiding them would mean ignoring an affordable and easy way of getting in your antioxidants. 

 🍵 Also, a few cups of coffee per day contain the same amount of fibre as a handful of berries, nuts or a banana. Considering that the average fibre intakes are only slightly above half of the required amount, every little counts.

 ☕️ Moreover, a systematic review and meta-analysis (high quality research) of 36 studies, including over 1 million participants showed that moderate coffee consumption reduces cardiovascular risk, with the greatest risk reductions achieved with 3-5 cups per day.

 🍵 Finally, there is no need to take a break and detox from caffeine, just like there is no need to detox from anything else, because your body does this automatically, weather you are consciously trying to do so or not.

 ☕️ It is true that coffee is slightly acidic, but so are all citrus fruit.  For some reason no one is trying to alkalise their body from fruit, so why alkalise it from coffee? Either way, you cannot change your blood pH with food and thank goodness for that! Our blood pH is regulated within a very tight range and going out of it would result in death.

 🍵 Take-away message👉🏼 like with everything else, there is a happy medium with caffeine, which can increase energy and focus, provide antioxidants and fibre, and contribute to lowering the risk of heart disease.

🍵 The picture below can help you estimate your daily caffeine intake.