Believe it or not, over 80 percent of all adult take some form of caffeine each and every day. Like almost anything else, this is not so bad, as long as you are using the caffeine in moderation. This means that you should only be taking less than 300 mg of caffeine each and every day. In short, this about 3 full cups of coffee, though you should not exceed this. So, as you can imagine, taking more than this each and every day can lead to problems such as weight gain, fatigue, depression, and even potential heart disease. Caffeine is bad news, but only when it is used excessively. So what about different age groups? Should everyone use caffeine? In this article, we hopefully can answer a few questions.
First, when it comes to caffeine intake, you want to make sure that you are not exceeding 300 mg per day. If you are addicted to caffeine, as many of us are, you might feel some side effects trying to get off it. You probably feel headaches, grogginess, fogginess, and you probably will be in an overall bad mood. After a few days, however, these sensations pass and you are left being your normal self. As far as adults go, pregnant women probably should avoid caffeine completely. The elderly who are suffering from weak heart and respiratory disorders probably also want to avoid caffeine since this can most certainly weaken the heart.
When it comes to a breakdown, however, of age groups, it is quite clear that there is no amount recommended for each age group. One disturbing trend recently has been that children are consuming more caffeine than ever before. This is bad news. They normally get their caffeine through soft drinks and chocolate, but the number of caffeine amounts are increasing. While ten years ago it was common to find that children were taking about 50 mg of caffeine a day, which is a relatively low amount, they are not taking over 100 mg of caffeine each day. This is a trend that doctors warn again especially since this can lead to addiction in the early stages of life.
If you want to know recommended breakdown of caffeine intake per age, you should know that less than 300 mg per day is plenty for adults. Children should, ideally, not exceed 50 mg. In all cases, problems such as a weak heart and pregnancy should mean no caffeine at all.