Recently, a 20-year-old man in the United States consumed nearly 800 mg of caffeine in one sitting and faced a ‘bitter’ outcome, according to Insider.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that healthy adults should not consume more than 400 mg of caffeine per day — which is about four or five cups of coffee — to avoid negative side effects.
Curious about the side effects of coffee, Mino Lee, a 20-year-old student at Boston University, decided to drink double the recommended amount of caffeine and recorded a video to post on TikTok.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that healthy adults should not consume more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.
In the video (which currently has 1.1 million views), Lee recorded himself consuming caffeine powder on September 14 and documented the consequences throughout the day.
Lee told Insider that around 9 or 10 a.m. on September 14, he took two tablespoons of caffeine powder, equivalent to about 790 mg of caffeine.
Healthy adults should not consume more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.
He decided to do this because he thought “the idea of filming a video would be very interesting.”
“Have you ever wondered what would happen if you overdosed on caffeine?” Lee said at the start of the video. “Well, so did I!”
In the clip, Lee noted that initially, he felt energetic and excited, even sharing a clip of himself working out. Later, he recorded himself attending class, looking extremely fatigued. The end of the clip showed Lee about to vomit in the bathroom.
After vomiting, Lee mentioned that he felt better, but by the end of the day, he experienced sudden mood swings.
Lee told Insider: “I thought this experience would be fun because I usually feel very creative and energized after consuming caffeine. But for some reason, by the end of that day, my mood changed unpredictably.”
Lee explained that the effects of caffeine were intense and lasted until he went to sleep. The student even felt a bit restless the next day despite not consuming any more caffeine. Lee indicated that he is generally very sensitive to caffeine and only consumes it every few days.
Warnings from Nutrition Experts
Sammi Brondo, a nutrition expert in New York, told Insider that she advises people not to do what Lee did.
Brondo stated: “You can see in the video that he has many different states throughout the day, many of which are negative. While caffeine can have positive effects, it’s best to consume it gradually and not exceed 400 mg per day.”
Brondo added that consuming more than the recommended dose can lead to side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, and stomach or head issues. According to the FDA, rapidly consuming about 1,200 mg of caffeine can cause “toxic effects” such as seizures.
Never Again
Lee mentioned that initially, he had no hesitation about filming this TikTok clip, thinking it would be very interesting. However, he quickly became anxious after drinking it and realized that this was an excessive amount of caffeine.
The comments on Lee’s video were mostly empathetic, with viewers sharing their own stories of caffeine overdoses. One viewer mentioned that they couldn’t sleep for three days after consuming 800 mg of caffeine, while another shared that they experienced the worst panic attack and nausea of their life after driving all night with 600 mg of caffeine.
“I accidentally did this once,” one commenter wrote. “Never again.”
