According to a study published by the University of South Australia, you can have six cups of coffee before it becomes bad for your health.
The research found that after you hit the six cup mark, you can increase your chances of heart disease by 22 per cent, with the high amount of caffeine causing high blood pressure.
“Coffee is the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world – it wakes us up, boosts our energy and helps us focus – but people are always asking ‘How much caffeine is too much?’,” says Professor Elina Hyppönen from the Australian Centre for Precision Health who headed up the study along with Dr Ang Zhou.
“Most people would agree that if you drink a lot of coffee, you might feel jittery, irritable or perhaps even nauseas – that’s because caffeine helps your body work faster and harder, but it is also likely to suggest that you may have reached your limit for the time being.”
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“We also know that risk of cardiovascular disease increases with high blood pressure, a known consequence of excess caffeine consumption. In order to maintain a healthy heart and a healthy blood pressure, people must limit their coffees to fewer than six cups a day – based on our data six was the tipping point where caffeine started to negatively affect cardiovascular risk.”
Including 347,077 participants aged between 37 and 73 years-old, this is one of the first studies that examines the long term effects of coffee consumption on cardiovascular health.
“Knowing the limits of what’s good for you and what’s not is imperative. As with many things, it’s all about moderation; overindulge and your health will pay for it," adds Prof Hyppönen.
