"A morning without coffee can certainly sound like a scary morning to many coffee lovers! Fortunately, coffee can be a part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderate amounts!" Dr. Avena explained to Bored Panda via email.
"A standard cup of coffee contains roughly 95mg of caffeine; however, this can vary depending on the type of coffee being consumed. Coffee can be great because it can help boost your energy levels and give you just what you need to power through a busy day at work. But as with anything, too much of a good thing can be detrimental," she said.
"In general, healthy adults should limit caffeine intake to less than 400mg of caffeine each day. When exceeding this amount, undesirable side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, dehydration, elevated blood pressure, and increased heart rate can occur," the expert said.
While many of us enjoy drinking our coffee black, we won't say 'no' to a splash of milk or a spoonful of sugar (okay, fine, or two) every now and then. However, Dr. Avena noted that it's essential to pay attention to what we're adding to our cup of coffee.
"For example, if we get our coffee from Starbucks and add 10 pumps of sweetener, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, and sprinkles to our coffee, it isn’t going to be the best addition to a healthy diet. Instead, flavoring your coffee with spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger, and adding a splash of skim, 1% milk, or unsweetened non-dairy milk, can be a great way to add flavor without all the added sugar," the author of 'Sugarless: A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction' told us.
Dr. Avena pointed out that caffeine can impact our sleep and even lead to insomnia. Medical professionals typically recommend that people don’t consume caffeine after 2 pm each day.
Bored Panda was curious about how much coffee can be considered too much and what someone who wants to cut back on their consumption might want to do.
"Consuming greater than 4 standard cups of coffee is generally considered 'too much.' It is best practice to limit your caffeine intake to less than 400mg/day. Since coffee contains nearly 100mg of caffeine per cup, 4 cups of coffee is really the maximum amount we could drink in a day without negative impacts on our health," Dr. Avena said.
One alternative to coffee is tea. It also contains caffeine, and it can be just as satisfying as coffee. "Green tea is a great option that also has additional health benefits." Dr. Avena said that a standard cup of green tea contains anywhere between 30 to 50mg of caffeine, far less than in coffee.
"Research on the health impacts of green tea has shown that green tea consumption can assist in cancer prevention, lowered blood pressure, lower rates of heart disease, and lower cholesterol levels. If you drink large amounts of coffee in the day, swapping out one of your cups of coffee for a hot green tea is a great way to still get some caffeine in, without going overboard! There are also hot tea options that contain little to no caffeine like chamomile tea!" the author of 'Sugarless: A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings, and Conquer Your Addiction' explained to Bored Panda.
"A healthy relationship with coffee can certainly be attained, but moderation is key! Limit yourself to less than 400mg of caffeine each day and do your best to keep your cup of coffee as nutritious as possible by avoiding added sugars!" the expert told us, stressing the importance of limiting your coffee intake to the morning hours so it doesn't negatively impact your sleep.
Coffee, according to the World Population Review, is the second most exported commodity on Planet Earth—right after oil. Coffee is grown in more than 70 tropical countries, the top producers being Brazil, Vietnam, and Columbia.
Despite coffee being featured so prominently in movies and TV shows about the United States, the country is actually only the 25th biggest consumer of the drink in the world, per capita. The average American drinks 3 cups of coffee per day. However, Northern and Western Europeans love the drink far more.
People in Finland drink around 4 cups of coffee per day or 12 kilograms (26.5 pounds) per year. Norway isn’t far behind, with over 3 cups per day and 9.9 kg (21.8 lbs) of coffee per person per year. Iceland stands not far behind with 9 kg (19.8 lbs) of coffee per year, Denmark clocks in at 8.7 kg (19.1 lbs), and the Netherlands weighs in at 8.4 kg (18.5 lbs). The Swedes drink an average of 8.2 kg (18.1 lbs) of coffee per person per year.
It would be an understatement to say that coffee is an integral part of the social fabric in many parts of the West.
Every artist has their own little secrets and techniques. Some like to keep things to themselves, while others are very open about how they do things. You can try to replicate the coffee art that you see on social media at home, too. But you have to be prepared to practice. A lot!
It helps if you have at least some specialized equipment, work at a coffee shop, or personally know a latte artist!
You need to be open to the idea that you’ll have to experiment quite a bit to get things just right. The type of milk that you use, the exact temperature that you heat it to, what kind of frother you have, how quickly you put everything together—these are just some of the things you have to keep in mind. Foam designs are as much a science as they are an art form.
