How To Reduce The Effects Of Caffeine On Your Body

Caffeine is so widespread these days it seems like everybody has a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, and most of us are constantly trying to cut back on the amount of caffeine we consume. Indeed, caffeine is the most widespread psychoactive drug in the world. According to a 2021 study, around 80% of the world's population consumes caffeine every day, while the American Medical Association states that 85% of Americans consume 135 milligrams of caffeine daily. Other research has shown that 90% of American drink some sort of caffeine every day.

But most of us have some sense that it's not all that great for our health to be pumping our blood streams with caffeine every day. Most people will clear caffeine from their system in 10 hours, but if you want to try to clear it out quicker than that, there's not much you can do. That said, there are many ways to lessen its jittery side effects, from physical activity to just drinking some water.

Still, excess caffeine consumption remains a concern. As noted by a 2017 study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, which carried out a comprehensive review of the research on caffeine, excess caffeine consumption is receiving increased scrutiny by health-care professionals and by regulatory agencies. Too much caffeine can affect your brain by provoking anxiety, prevent us from getting the sleep we really need, and cause digestive issues. As such, it's probably not the worst idea to be aware of how to, at the very least, limit the effects of caffeine. Here's all you need to know.

The FDA recommends people don't ingest more than 400 mg of caffeine every day. This is supported by a 2017 review of caffeine's adverse effects, published in Food and Chemical Toxicology, which surmised that evidence showed that up to 400 mg a day was not linked with "overt, adverse effects." Of course, this can differ from person to person. If you find yourself getting jittery, your heart rate is noticeably affected, you have a headache or anxiety, then you've probably had a little too much caffeine.

Stopping your caffeine intake is the first step, but there are also ways of actively dealing with the effects of being overly caffeinated. As a 2014 study published in PLoS One showed, moderate levels of caffeine won't dehydrate you, but too much might be able to. As such, drinking water is the best way to limit the dehydrating effects of too much caffeine. If, however, you're experiencing the jitters after one too many cups of coffee, exercise is also a good way of regulating your nervous system and restoring balance. Another side effect of too much caffeine is anxiety, which you can address with deep breathing, meditation (which might also have the added benefit of improving your intelligence), or yoga, which should help to calm your mind. Again, none of these steps will remove the caffeine from your system, but they should help mitigate the effects.

It's important to note that caffeine will affect all of us differently. Some factors that play a role are age, sex, health conditions such as liver disease or obesity, smoking, and diet. Medications can also have a significant impact on our ability to metabolize caffeine. While we might not be able to do much about our age or sex, in terms of diet, a study published in Pharmacological Reviews noted how different foods and drinks can affect caffeine clearance. Grapefruit juice, for example, has been shown to decrease caffeine clearance by 23% and even prolong the half-life of caffeine by 31%. Eating broccoli and brassica vegetables or consuming large quantities of vitamin C, on the other hand, has been shown to increase caffeine clearance. The researchers also noted that consuming 50 g of alcohol a day increases caffeine half-life by 72% and reduces clearance by 36%.

You might also have heard that foods generally high in fiber will help reduce the effects of caffeine by slowing the absorption of the caffeine. But according to dietitian Beth Czerwony, RD, LD, who spoke to the Cleveland Clinic, there isn't any research to support these claims. The best way to avoid having to worry about ameliorating the effects of too much caffeine, then, is to stay well within the 400 mg a day limit advised by the FDA.