Co-authored by Richard Zhang, M.D., M.A., and Eunice Y. Yuen, M.D., Ph.D.
In September 2022, a college student named Sarah Katz died after drinking a highly caffeinated beverage, Charged Lemonade. Sarah developed cardiac arrest within hours after consuming the drink, whose large-size serving contained almost the Food and Drug Administration’s 400-milligram daily limit of safe caffeine intake—in healthy adults. It was a tragic incident, and dumbfounding to many who thrive on caffeine. Is it not the world’s most popular stimulant?
More than 90 percent of U.S. adults consume caffeine in some form each day. Caffeinated products are ubiquitous, whether coffee, tea, sodas, pre-workout drinks, or energy drinks. Their societal acceptance in America certainly exceeds that of nicotine and other recreational substances. These beverages enhance wakefulness, focus, and productivity by blocking drowsiness-promoting adenosine activity in the brain, pulling us through the day. They help facilitate coffee dates and socialization. Caffeine is not known to markedly increase cancer risk as tobacco does, cause nasal injuries or even aortic tearing as cocaine can, or shrink the brain as crystal meth would.
Unfortunately, Sarah was reported to have a heart condition that made it risky to consume stimulating substances in large amounts. Cases of fatal cardiotoxicity from caffeine are otherwise extremely rare. Moderating use, factoring in any medical, mental health, and family medical history one has, is pivotal to whether intake becomes positively adaptive or risky for one’s health.
Many young adults are not aware of healthy portion sizes for caffeine, especially while under academic pressures to study or finish schoolwork. Plain coffee aside, apart from Red Bull, Monster, and Prime, there are more than 190 energy........