Caffeine Myth No. 5: Caffeine Has a Dehydrating Effect
Caffeine can make you need to urinate. However, the fluid you consume in caffeinated beverages tends to offset the effects of fluid loss
when you urinate. The bottom line is that although caffeine does act as a mild diuretic, studies show drinking caffeinated drinks in moderation
doesn't actually cause dehydration.
Caffeine Myth No. 6: Caffeine Harms Children, Who, Today, Consume Even More Than Adults
As of 2004, children ages 6 to 9 consumed about 22 milligrams of caffeine per day. This is well within the recommended limit. However,
energy drinks that contain a lot of caffeine are becoming increasingly popular, so this number may go up.
Some kids are sensitive to caffeine, developing temporary anxiety or irritability, with a "crash" afterwards. Also, most caffeine that kids drink
is in sodas, energy drinks, or sweetened teas, all of which have high sugar content. These empty calories put kids at higher risk for obesity.
Even if the caffeine itself isn't harmful, caffeinated drinks are generally not good for kids.
Caffeine Myth No. 8: Caffeine Has No Health Benefits
Caffeine has few proven health benefits. But the list of caffeine's potential benefits is interesting. Any regular coffee drinker may tell you that
caffeine improves alertness, concentration, energy, clear-headedness, and feelings of sociability. You might even be the type who needs that
first cup o' Joe each morning before you say a single word. Scientific studies support these subjective findings. One French study even
showed a slower decline in cognitive ability among women who consumed caffeine.
Other possible benefits include helping certain types of headache pain. Some people's asthma also appears to benefit from caffeine. These
research findings are intriguing, but still need to be proven.
Limited evidence suggests caffeine may also reduce the risk of the following:





Parkinson's disease
liver disease
colorectal cancer
type 2 diabetes
dementia
Despite its potential benefits, don't forget that high levels of caffeine may have adverse effects. More studies are needed to confirm both its
benefits and potential risks.
WebMD Medical Reference
View Article Sources
SOURCES:
International Food Information Council Foundation: "Caffeine & Health: Clarifying the Controversies."
Nutrition Action Health Letter: "Caffeine: The Good, the Bad, and the Maybe."
European Food Information Council (EUFIC): "Myths and Facts about Caffeine."
Johns Hopkins University Bayview Medical Center: "Information About Caffeine Dependence."
Reviewed by Melinda Ratini, DO, MS on March 20, 2013
© 2013 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
7 Surprising Facts About Caffeine

Murray Carpenter @Murray_journo
March 24, 2014
Most of us have an intimate relationship with caffeine. We crave it, love it, and take it every day in coffee, tea and sodas. It feels quite familiar.
But as I researched my bookCaffeinated, I quickly learned that America’s favorite drug held surprises at every turn. Here are seven of them:
1) Coke used to have as much caffeine as Red Bull: For starters, consider energy drinks. Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster and other syrupy
sweet, caffeinated drinks are suddenly everywhere. But there is really nothing new about them. As I read through the court papers from a 1911
trial pitting the federal government against Coca-Cola over the caffeine it blended into its products, I was surprised to learn that the early
formulation for Coke was far more caffeinated than it is today. An eight-ounce serving had 80 milligrams of caffeine. This is the exact size and
caffeine content of a modern Red Bull. Put another way, Coca-Cola pioneered the energy drink concept more than a century ago. The first
Red Bull was a Coke.
2) Energy drinks still don’t have as much caffeine as Starbucks coffee: And then I ran into another popular misconception — the
idea that these new energy drinks are super-caffeinated. Yes, they pack more of a caffeine punch than colas or teas, but rarely as much as
coffee. It is hard to buy a coffee at Starbucks with less caffeine than a Red Bull (perhaps a single shot of espresso, or a mere four ounces of
coffee). Even the popular 16-ounce Monsters and Rockstars — they supersize the Red Bull concept, doubling the size and the caffeine content
— typically have about 160 milligrams of caffeine. That’s half the amount Starbucks estimates for a drip-brewed grandé.
3) We drink less coffee today, per person, than we did in the 1950s: So yes, we are drinking more energy drinks these days, but
coffee culture still rules, right? We’ve got a Starbucks on every corner, it seems, and sometimes two, so we must be sipping more joe than
ever. But here’s the weird thing — we drink less coffee than we did in 1950, a lot less. American coffee consumption peaked shortly after
World War II, and then plummeted. Meanwhile, soft drinks became Americans’ favorite caffeinated beverages.
4) Nonetheless, coffee still accounts for most of our caffeine intake: But even as we chug more gallons of caffeinated sodas than
coffee, we get more of our caffeine from coffee. Because the caffeine is more concentrated in coffee, it still provides two-thirds of the caffeine
in our diet. Soft drinks come in second, and tea is in third place.
5) Most tea today is iced: And what about that tea, anyway? Again, it’s the source of a lot of misunderstanding. We typically think of tea as
something prepared in a cup, with hot water poured over a tea bag, and sipped hot. But that is an archaic notion. So here’s another littleknown fact — iced tea now accounts for 85 percent of the tea consumed in the US. This includes not just the sweet tea that lubricates
southern living, but also the fast-growing bottled teas, ranging from Brisk and Nestea to the upscale Honest Tea and Tazo brands.
6) It doesn’t take much to get hooked: Even as our preferences have shifted toward bottled sodas and teas, with their lower caffeine
concentrations, research has shown that it does not take much caffeine to develop dependence. And here is another caffeinated surprise — as
little as 100 milligrams of caffeine daily is enough to get an adult hooked. That’s about five to eight ounces of coffee, two bags of Lipton tea, or
three cans of Coke. At this level of caffeine consumption, most people will experience some symptoms of caffeine withdrawal if they quit
abruptly. Symptoms can include lethargy, no surprise, but also irritability and, especially, the classic caffeine withdrawal headache.
However it is marketed, we, the coffee-chugging, soda-swilling, caffeine-addicted American public, are delighted to
buy all of it, to feed our habit and treat our ills.
Murray Carpenter is the author of Caffeinated, How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts and Hooks Us, recently published
by Hudson Street Press.
Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more
By Mayo Clinic Staff
If you're like most adults, caffeine is a part of your daily routine. But do you know the
caffeine content of your favorite drink?
You may want to take a look at just how much caffeine you get in a typical day,
especially if you're bothered by headaches, restlessness or anxiety. If your caffeine
habit totals more than 500 milligrams (mg) a day, you may want to consider cutting
back.
With the growing popularity of energy drinks, many parents have become concerned
about how much caffeine their kids are getting. The American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends that adolescents get no more than 100 mg of caffeine a day. Younger
children shouldn't drink caffeinated beverages on a regular basis.
Check the charts below to see the caffeine content in popular drinks, sweets and
medications. One note about the numbers: Use them as a guide. The actual caffeine
content of the same coffee drink can vary from day to day — even at the same coffee
shop — because of various factors, such as roasting and grinding as well as brewing
time. The caffeine content of tea also is affected by how long it's brewed.
Coffee
Type of coffee
Size*
Caffeine✝
Adapted from Journal of Food Science, 2010; Pediatrics,
2011; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard
Reference, Release 26; Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
2006; Starbucks, 2014; Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2014;
Keurig, 2014
*Sizes are listed in fluid ounces (oz.) and milliliters (mL).
✝Caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).
Brewed
8 oz. (237
mL)
95-200 mg
Brewed, decaffeinated
8 oz. (237
mL)
2-12 mg
Brewed, single-serve
varieties
8 oz. (237
mL)
75-150 mg
Brewed, single-serve
varieties, decaffeniated
8 oz. (237
mL)
2-4 mg
Espresso, restaurant-style
1 oz. (30
mL)
47-75 mg
Type of coffee
Size*
Caffeine✝
Espresso, restaurant-style,
decaffeinated
1 oz. (30
mL)
0-15 mg
Instant
8 oz. (237
mL)
27-173 mg
Instant, decaffeinated
8 oz. (237
mL)
2-12 mg
Specialty drink (latte or
mocha)
8 oz. (237
mL)
63-175 mg
Tea
Type of tea
Size*
Caffeine✝
Adapted from Journal of Food Science, 2010; Pediatrics,
2011; Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 2008; USDA National
Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26;
Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 2006; Starbucks, 2014; Food
and Chemical Toxicology, 2014
*Sizes are listed in fluid ounces (oz.) and milliliters (mL).
✝Caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).
Brewed tea
Black tea
8 oz. (237
mL)
14-70 mg
Black tea, decaffeinated
8 oz. (237
mL)
0-12 mg
Green tea
8 oz. (237
mL)
24-45 mg
Instant, prepared with
water
8 oz. (237
mL)
11-47 mg
Ready-to-drink, bottled
8 oz. (237
mL)
5-40 mg
Iced tea
Sodas
Type of soft drink
Size*
Caffeine✝
Adapted from Journal of Food Science, 2010; Pediatrics,
2011; USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard
Reference, Release 26; Journal of Food Science, 2007;
Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 2006; Pepsico, 2014; Coca-
Type of soft drink
Size*
Caffeine✝
Cola, 2014; Dr Pepper, 2014; A&W Root Beer; 7UP
*Sizes are listed in fluid ounces (oz.) and milliliters (mL).
✝Caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).
A&W Root Beer
12 oz. (355
mL)
0 mg
Barq's Root Beer
12 oz. (355
mL)
16-18 mg
Coca-Cola
12 oz. (355
mL)
23-35 mg
Diet Coke
12 oz. (355
mL)
23-47 mg
Diet Pepsi
12 oz. (355
mL)
27-37 mg
Dr Pepper, regular and
diet
12 oz. (355
mL)
36-42 mg
Mtn Dew, regular and
diet
12 oz. (355
mL)
42-55 mg
Mug Root Beer, regular
and diet
12 oz. (355
mL)
0 mg
7UP
12 oz. (355
mL)
0 mg
Pepsi
12 oz. (355
mL)
32-39 mg
Sierra Mist, regular and
diet
12 oz. (355
mL)
0 mg
Sprite, regular and diet
12 oz. (355
mL)
0 mg
Size*
Caffeine✝
Energy drinks
Type of energy drink
Adapted from Journal of Food Science, 2010; American
Academy of Pediatrics, 2011; USDA National Nutrient
Database for Standard Reference, Release 26; Consumer
Reports, 2014; Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2010; 5-Hour
Energy, 2014; Pepsico, 2014; Full Throttle; RedBull
*Sizes are listed in fluid ounces (oz.) and milliliters (mL).
✝Caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).
Amp, regular or sugarfree
8 oz. (237 mL)
71-74 mg
Type of energy drink
Size*
Caffeine✝
5-Hour Energy shot
2 oz. (60 mL)
200-207 mg
Full Throttle, regular or
sugar-free
8 oz. (237 mL)
70-100 mg
Red Bull, regular or
sugar-free
8.4 oz.
(248mL)
75-80 mg
Rockstar, regular or
sugar-free
8 oz. (237 mL)
79-80 mg
Other products
Type of product
Size
Caffeine*
Adapted from Pediatrics, 2011; USDA National Nutrient
Database for Standard Reference, Release 26; Food and
Drug Administration, 2014; Vroom Foods, Inc., 2014; NoDoz,
2014; Excedrin, 2014; Jolt, 2014
*Caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).