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- November 04, 2010 11:41 AM
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How much caffeine does it take to kill you?
By LANDON HALL
An investigation into the death of a 23-year-old British man in April has shown he died after consuming two spoonfuls of caffeine powder — the equivalent of 70 energy drinks.
The coroner in Mansfield, central England, told the Nottingham Post that Michael Lee Bedford washed the powder down with an energy drink and 15 minutes later was vomiting blood and sweating profusely, the British website CNews reported.
The powder was bought on the Internet, and the product warned users not to take more than one-sixteenth of a teaspoon.
AOL Health cited a New York doctor who said a lethal dose of caffeine would be about 10,000 milligrams, the equivalent of 100 cups of coffee. Caffeine powder should be limited to 1,600 milligrams in a 24-hour period, said Dr. Eric Braverman, and children shouldn’t take it at all. A moderate amount of coffee would be about 200 milligrams.
Such amounts are safe, Braverman said, but caffeine shouldn’t be used as a substitute for sleep. Chronic use can lead to insomnia, he said.
Caffeine and alcohol are becoming a more dangerous combination. Young people have been mixing alcohol with caffeinated drinks like Red Bull for years, but the prevalence of high-caffeine alcohol beverages, which provide a quick, cheap intoxication, is upping the ante. Kids like them because they can stay awake longer and drink even more. The makers of beverages like Four Loko, which has the equivalent of three 12-ounce beers in every 23.5-ounce can, have come under fire recently after nine college students in Washington state went to the hospital after passing out or becoming sick on the stuff
By LANDON HALL
An investigation into the death of a 23-year-old British man in April has shown he died after consuming two spoonfuls of caffeine powder — the equivalent of 70 energy drinks.
The coroner in Mansfield, central England, told the Nottingham Post that Michael Lee Bedford washed the powder down with an energy drink and 15 minutes later was vomiting blood and sweating profusely, the British website CNews reported.
The powder was bought on the Internet, and the product warned users not to take more than one-sixteenth of a teaspoon.
AOL Health cited a New York doctor who said a lethal dose of caffeine would be about 10,000 milligrams, the equivalent of 100 cups of coffee. Caffeine powder should be limited to 1,600 milligrams in a 24-hour period, said Dr. Eric Braverman, and children shouldn’t take it at all. A moderate amount of coffee would be about 200 milligrams.
Such amounts are safe, Braverman said, but caffeine shouldn’t be used as a substitute for sleep. Chronic use can lead to insomnia, he said.
Caffeine and alcohol are becoming a more dangerous combination. Young people have been mixing alcohol with caffeinated drinks like Red Bull for years, but the prevalence of high-caffeine alcohol beverages, which provide a quick, cheap intoxication, is upping the ante. Kids like them because they can stay awake longer and drink even more. The makers of beverages like Four Loko, which has the equivalent of three 12-ounce beers in every 23.5-ounce can, have come under fire recently after nine college students in Washington state went to the hospital after passing out or becoming sick on the stuff
