If a cup of hot coffee wasn’t really your thing before college, well, welcome to the world of caffeine addiction. Caffeine in college has been an increasing reason for health concerns lately, because of the amount ingested, and a misunderstanding about what the healthy amount of caffeine intake per day is.
The FDA recommends no more than 400 mg. of caffeine per day. Put into perspective, that is approximately 4-5 cups of the “regular blend” of coffee. What is not common knowledge, however, is that the amount of caffeine varies from drink to drink, brew to brew, bistro to bistro.
Here are some of the drinks that college student frequent for their caffeine fix, and the ugly truth surrounding the liquid jitters.
1. Starbucks Venti Coffee: 415 milligrams/ 20 fluid ounce.
2. Dunkin’ Donuts Large Coffe with Turbo Shot: 395 milligrams/20 fluid ounce
3. Einstein Bros Coffee: 206 milligrams/16 fluid ounce
4. Starbucks Grande Coffee: 330 milligrams/ 16 fluid ounce
5. Starbucks Tall Coffee: 260 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
6. Cheerwine: 48 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
7. Coca-Cola Classic: 34 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
8. Diet Coke: 45 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
9. Dr. Pepper: 41 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
10. Mountain Dew: 54 milligrams/ 12 fluid ounce
11. Pepsi: 38 milligrams/12 fluid ounce
12. Full Throttle Energy Drink: 160 milligrams/16 fluid ounce
13. Monster Nitrous: 160 milligrams/12 fluid ounce
14. NOS Energy Drink: 160 milligrams/16 fluid ounce
15. Red Bull: 80 milligrams/8.46 fluid ounce
16. Rockstar: 160 milligrams/16 fluid ounce
17. 5 Hour Energy: 200 milligrams/2 fluid ounce
18. 5150 Juice: 16000 milligrams/32 fluid ounce
These statistics show the caffeine level in comparison to the size of the drink. Take into consideration the size, because sometimes one coke or cup of coffee just doesn’t do the trick.
As coffee, soda, and energy drinks and shots begin to fuel our lives, we start to need them. Sometimes the thought of coffee is the only thing that will lure us out of bed in the morning. However, we need to keep in mind that it is unhealthy to drink an excess of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day. Some of the drinks listed above may not seem so dangerous because they don’t have more than 200 milligrams, but that is just one serving; we tend to drink more than one serving of caffeine per day, depending.
Highly caffeinated drinks have become a staple on college campuses throughout the world; remember this article next time you crave that cup of coffee in the morning.