URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — If you’ve been online recently, you may have seen something about Illini men’s basketball player Matthew Mayer’s comments to the WCIA Sports team.
“I had caffeine poisoning. I literally had six monsters the day of the game. I only had one before, but I had five after because I had like a caffeine induced euphoria to play video games,” Mayer said.
The term caffeine poisoning turned heads, but turns out, a caffeine overdose is a real thing.
“In the brain, it causes the increased release of norepinephrine or adrenaline, causing that chemical to go out through our bodies, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, things like that. And blood pressure going too high can cause major problems throughout the body obviously,” Dr. Michael Broman said.
WCIA talked with Dr. Michael Broman at OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana, who says health experts continuously study caffeine consumption.
“It’s recommended by physicians across the country and around the world that 400 milligrams a day is considered to be the safe dose that is pretty clearly not associated with the onset of any illness,” Broman said.
The average cup of coffee has between 100 and 200 milligrams of caffeine. Mayer says he had six monsters, which would total around 800 milligrams. Energy drinks have become increasingly popular over the years, but Browman says younger people should steer clear.
“In general, caffeine should be significantly avoided under the age of 16,” Broman said.
For people who are drinking too much, Broman says it’s not too late to make changes
“I see people that have rapid heart rates that consume too much caffeine throughout the day and by just limiting the amount of caffeine that a person will take in, that rapid heart rate will often come down to a more manageable and less symptomatic effect for patients,” Broman said.
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