Most people wouldn’t dream of letting their feet touch the floor in the morning without first downing a hot cup of coffee . It’s the most widely-consumed drink on the planet by a long shot.
Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news — but it turns out that drinking too much can be harmful to our health. And according to multiple studies, adults need to do a better job of limiting their coffee intake .
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Every day, millions of people all around the world start their day with a cup of Joe.
There’s something about the smell of a freshly brewed pot of coffee that makes you want to jump out of bed and say “Hello, world!”
It’s so widely used (and addictive) that drinking it it can feel like a drug.
That’s because coffee (caffeine) is a drug — the most widely used drug on the entire planet, in fact. And the statistics aren’t even close.
In the United States alone, 50% of adults over the age of 18 drink coffee every day.
That means there are roughly 150 million daily coffee drinkers, just in the U.S. What’s even more shocking is that America barely cracks the top 10 when it comes to coffee consumption by country.
As wonderfully delicious as a fresh cup of coffee is, studies show that too much may be harmful to your health.
In a recent study published by The New York Post , the research shows that people who drink coffee are putting their kidneys at risk.
The study was conducted by experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Scientists looked at the blood metabolites of roughly 3,000 people. Over the course of their work, they discovered two coffee-related metabolites that show a direct correlation with chronic kidney disease .
Drinking coffee may also have some rather unpleasant and unexpected effects.
Most people when asked said that they drink coffee in order to help wake them up and raise their level of alertness. However, caffeine doesn’t actually do this at all. Rather, it blocks the brain from releasing melatonin — the chemical which makes you sleep.
On top of this, drinking too much coffee can also release adrenaline.
Most coffee drinkers understand the “wired” feeling that comes from drinking too much. This overproduction of adrenaline can lead to increased feelings of anxiety, preventing you from being able to get your much-needed rest.
This vicious cycle, more often than not, can lead to severe addiction.
While it’s true that caffeine is not as harmful as alcohol or opioids, to say that it doesn’t impact a person’s health and overall wellbeing is a drastic mischaracterization.
Many men and women get to the point where they quite literally can’t function without coffee.
Serious symptoms of withdrawal , including headaches and body tremors, have been found in those people who consume more than six cups of coffee per day.
Ultimately, this can affect your brain’s function — causing detrimental side effects.
In a study published by Nutritional Neuroscience , lead author and Ph.D. candidate Kitty Pham said, “Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume.”
This reduced brain function can lead to early-onset dementia, as well as stroke.
No one is saying to stop drinking coffee completely. Heck, I’m literally drinking a fresh mug as I sit typing this right now. All that experts are asking is for you to try and implore moderation. That way, you can still enjoy the “nectar of the gods” without putting yourself in harm’s way.
