I've always known that consuming caffeine to excess was not a particularly good idea. I've had days when after three and four cups (this mostly happens when I'm at events where they are offering free coffee, I never actually make this much for myself at home), I feel uncomfortable in my own skin and ready to do just about anything rid my system of the coffee and replace the stomach lining I've destroyed.
A teenage girl in England recently took caffeine consumption to an entirely new level, sending herself to the hospital with a fever and difficulty breathing after drinking seven double espressos at her family's sandwich shop in Stanley, County Durham. She has recovered completely and says that she now can't stand the sight of coffee.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-14-2007 @ 2:34PM
Matthew said...
I (twitch) just (twitch) get (twitch) enough (eyes rolling)enough caffine.
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8-14-2007 @ 3:23PM
Unika said...
Ugh...my stomach is cramping just thinking about it! Seven? Ugh!
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8-14-2007 @ 4:14PM
PEGGY said...
check out this site: death by caffine. http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/
it calculates the amount of a cafinated beverage of your choice it would take to kill someone, based on body weight. there is also a listing of caffine content of various products.(beverages, mint & gum)
it's quite interesting to compare your favorite drinks...
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8-14-2007 @ 4:21PM
momdgp said...
Once evening when I was in jr. high school, I helped out at a PTA meeting by pouring the coffee. Being a bored teen, I helped myself to samples throughout the meeting. As a result, I was wide awake and crawling out of my skin until sunrise. It was at least 30 years until I could even stand the smell of coffee again.
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8-14-2007 @ 4:41PM
Crosius said...
Caffeine poisoning used to be pretty common with diner waitresses who'd spend their whole shift jazzed on coffee and cigarettes so as not to lose the tips from taking a lunch-break. They'd power through pots of the stuff, and get kidney and liver damage.
I am a big fan of double espresso, but the most I've ever had "back-to-back" was three, and I was pretty close to being able to vibrate my way through solid objects at that point.
The note about Robbie Williams 36 cup / day habit is chilling, if true.
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8-14-2007 @ 8:55PM
Aaron Dearinger said...
I have been a barista for eight years, and this really isn't that much espresso. I assume this happened because of her young age and body weight? I have consumed loads more than this, but I have built up a tolerance in years as a coffee whore. The customers in my cafe will sit hours sipping quad con pannas all day. Who knows, I guess she just needed to build up her tolerance.
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8-15-2007 @ 3:50PM
Ponto said...
I think that Brillat-Savarin has some tragic anecdotes of coffee overdoses in his "Physiology of Taste" ("Physiologie du Goût"). And it's a wonderful book (especially M.F.K. Fisher's translation) - well worth the read!
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8-22-2007 @ 12:55AM
simon said...
maybe i just have an extremely high tolerance for caffeine, but that doesnt seem like a lot. i once had 9 8oz cans of an energy drink called Sun Tzu (Red Bull equivalent, nearly 700mg caffeine in one sitting). i was a little twitchy and didn't get to sleep till the next night. but i felt no ill effects. i regularly consume about 200mg of caffeine daily and it has little effect other than helping me focus. but like i said, maybe i just have a high tolerance.
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