It feels like 125 degrees outside, its humid and you are DRAGGING. Your hair, that you just spent an hour ironing, is now wavy and you are pissed off. You have to be somewhere and you plan on being fashionably late because you have to stop for that caffeine “pick me up.” I used to be little miss latte and couldn’t function without a coffee. I would walk the streets of Boston with an iPod in one hand and some fancy caffeinated cerveza in the other. Now that I know the facts, I have had to change my ways and hopefully this encourages you to do the same.

I am a firm believer it is necessary to indulge once in a while, so I am not telling you to never enjoy a guilty pleasure. Like everything, moderation is the key to maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Even though we love caffeine for its metabolism boosting effect, it has serious health risks. Like we don’t have enough problems already, who needs more anxiety? Too much caffeine can make you irritable, anxious, give you headaches, and cause withdrawal. This stimulant is so crazy that you can even overdose on it and the American Psychiatric Association currently recognizes four disorders all from caffeine! Umm…scary much? On average, coffee contains around 20mg of caffeine per fluid ounce and 75mg in espresso. Try to limit daily intake UNDER 250mg, unless you want to become an addict. Worse yet, diet pills and energy drinks often contain over 200 mg of caffeine, not to mention numerous other stimulants.  High doses, such as these, are considered to be over 300mg and can cause anxiety and trigger certain psychological disorders. Continue reading »