The first month of college is over. Whether or not you were out late and up early during Freshers week adjusting to the routine of lectures and having to do college work can leave us feeling zapped of energy and bit meh.
In steps caffeine!
Caffeine is a plant compound found in many foods, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and chocolate. This natural substance stimulates the central nervous system and can make us feel more alert. It also can increase endurance during exercise. It is important to understand how much we are consuming as too much caffeine can increase anxiety, cause headaches, indigestion and insomnia. The last things you need when attending early lectures!
DID YOU KNOW? Caffeine is a mild diuretic so can make us visit the loo much more often.
What’s the safe limit? General advice is to stick to less than 400mg of caffeine a day (around 6 shots of espresso) and less than 200mg in one serving. However if you’re planning a pregnancy, then limit caffeine intake to around 200mg a day. Remember that green tea, black tea, cola and chocolate also contain caffeine.
Here is a guide of how much caffeine is in chocolate and drinks:
A word about energy drinks…
Stimulant or so-called ‘energy’ drinks usually contain a lot of sugar and caffeine. For example a 500ml can of Monster contains 14 teaspoons of sugar and 160mg caffeine and BPM contains a whopping 18 teaspoons of sugar and 70mg caffeine. Energy drinks are not suitable as thirst quenchers after sports activities and should not be drunk with alcohol or medication.