How many coffees does it take to kill a man?

by Chris Sparling (Subscribe to Chris Sparling's posts)
Nov 2nd 2007 2:38PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

I just recently happened upon an interesting website called EnergyFiend.com. Pretty straightforward in its purpose, Energy Fiend offers a calculator of just how many servings of your choice caffeinated beverages it would take to kill you (based on your weight only -- so, clearly it's not an exact science, but interesting, nonetheless). For example, if you weighed 175 pounds, it would take consuming approximately 45 Starbucks tall coffees in one sitting to kill you.

It's kind of fun, in a strange and slightly macabre sort of way. But, it also lead me to uncover some interesting facts about how much caffeine is in some products, many of which I didn't expect to rank so high. For example, I was rather surprised to discover that many fruit-flavored sodas are relatively high in caffeine. And, I also was amazed at the fact that the aforementioned Starbucks tall coffee actually contains more caffeine than a dose of Maximum Strength No-Doze pills.

The jury is still out on whether or not caffeine is healthy (I've read opposing views on this matter), but the one thing that is for sure is that too much of anything -- be it caffeine or, well, anything else -- is not a good thing. Therefore, you should try to limit your caffeine intake to 250mg per day, which is about what you'll find in an average (read: Non-Starbucks) cup of coffee.

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Comments (44)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

captkirk12 11-04-2007 @ 12:06AM

Interesting, but the information would be more useful if a comparison were made with how many cups of water it takes to kill

JWH. 11-04-2007 @ 12:05AM

SORRY IT IS NOT THE 45 CUPS OF COFFEE THAT WOULD KILL YOU . IT IS THE PRICE. DRINK UP.

JWH.

anibethc40 11-04-2007 @ 12:06AM

Basically, what is quite annoying when you state that people would drink that much coffee in order to kill themselves. Most people usually drink about 1 to 2 cups of coffee each days. I drink coffee because I love coffee, and it tastes good. There is nothing wrong with consuming one Starbucks cup of coffee or brewing your own by buying a store bought coffee brand. I love Starbucks and that doesn't mean, that Starbucks' coffee are unhealthy. I just wish that people make their own decision regardless whether they want or don't want to drink coffee without having so-called 'expert's' making decisions for them. In reality, we are already living about consuming unhealthy foods, smoking, drinking more than enough alcohol, being obese and also not participating fully in an active life.

Judy 11-04-2007 @ 12:04AM

Anibethc40, I think this is just "fun" information to know. It is not meant to be taken literally. Drinking too much water in one sitting can kill you. That doesn't mean we need to stop drinking water.

polliwog 11-04-2007 @ 12:05AM

45 cups of water would kill you too. Knock it off idiots!

polliwog 11-03-2007 @ 8:56PM

Doesn't the media have anything better to do. Next we will hear 441/2 cups makes you young again!
GET A LIFE

sandy 11-04-2007 @ 12:05AM

i will continue to drink my 45 cups of starbuck's coffee. even if it kills me. could you imagine drinking that much coffee every day.i would never sleep and you wouldn't be able to get me out of the bathroom. it is a funny fact to know though....

veronica2horse 11-04-2007 @ 12:05AM

I have one 1/2 decaf grande Starbucks and that's it. Any more and I can feel the "fluttering" in my chest from a heart murmur. You will know when enough is enough, decaf tastes the same from Starbucks so why not? You actually have more energy after completely weaning yourself off caffeine without the afternoon "crash".

Rich 11-03-2007 @ 9:16PM

If you drank 45 cups of water in one sitting it would kill you too....you would DROWN !!!!!!!!!!

J.B. 11-03-2007 @ 9:28PM

Slow newsday?
Nothing better to report than 45 cups of coffee could kill you? Go ahead and give some wacko the idea, providing
they can afford 45 Starbucks.
In my book, 1 cup would KILL me. I hate the stuff.
NEVER had a bad coffe in Europe ,strong but NOT bitter and burned.
America is TOPS with the lousy, BITTER, Starbucks.

Art 11-04-2007 @ 12:04AM

I drink coffee constantly throughout the day. I've heard it has some positive points so I'm glad I do drink it. It's better than alcohol, no hangovers.

G.W. 11-03-2007 @ 9:54PM

STARBUCK'S COFFEE KILLS ! ! ! ! ! !
EGAD ! I'M GLAD I DIDN'T DRINK THAT OTHER
FORTY-FOUR ! ! ! !

kerry bordelon 11-04-2007 @ 12:04AM

WHAT IDOIT WOULD DRINK 45 CUPS IN THE FIRST PLACE..

mcg 11-04-2007 @ 12:03AM

Well I drink 5 to 10 cups a day so I guess I need to increase my cups of Jo...and yes I sleep just fine and my blood pressure is perfect! Im not bouncy or jittery and Im 36 yrs old.....

bbloom32 11-04-2007 @ 12:04AM

i drink 3-4 pots of coffee everyday for the last 10 years...i'm still alive...i wonder how that happened LOL

Lyle 11-04-2007 @ 12:03AM

I certainly do not have a death wish, But I am a coffee lover and average 20 + cups a day, and have for over 15 yrs. My Doctor sees no harm as long as. theres a healthy diet in place, plenty of water is drank, and my rest is not compromised.
About the only place I don;t have a cup of coffee in hand is in the Sunday morning worship service.
Have a good day ya'll

steve 11-03-2007 @ 10:37PM

WHO THE HELL CARES?!??! Coffee is OK IN MODERATION. Like a lot of things alcohol, sweets, and even Protein can be dangerous if you injest to much. Your body can safely filter, use and excrete toxins and other build up at a consistent rate just keep it low and clean yourself out every few months by going a day without. Go a day with just having grapefruit and walk a lot, make sure you sweat, it helps.