|
Varying amounts of caffeine are present in over 200 foods, drinks and nonprescription medications.
Adults take in more caffeine from coffee than from any other dietary source. Children tend to get most of their caffeine through soft drinks. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of soft drinks contain caffeine, including non-cola drinks such as root beer and orange soda.
Caffeine also can be found in chocolate milk, cocoa and milk chocolate candies. However, the amount of caffeine in these foods is often quite low and often does not impact a person’s mood or behavior. In contrast, some foods do contain significant amounts of caffeine. These include dark chocolate candies and some coffee ice creams and yogurts.
Finally, some medicines contain significant amounts of caffeine. These include stimulant medications and some analgesics.
Examples of caffeine sources are presented below (in milligrams [mg]):
|
Food |
Caffeine |
|
Dark (semi-sweet) chocolate, 1 oz. |
5 to 35 |
|
Unsweetened chocolate, 1 oz. |
26 |
|
Milk chocolate, 1 oz. |
1 to 15 |
|
Coffee flavored yogurt, 6 oz. |
35 |
|
Coffee ice cream, 1/2 cup |
20 to 30 |
|
Chocolate ice cream, 1/2 cup |
2 |
|
Beverage |
Caffeine |
|
Brewed coffee, 8 oz. |
60 to 160 |
|
Instant coffee, 8 oz. |
30 to 120 |
|
Espresso, 2 oz. |
100 |
|
Brewed imported tea, 8 oz. |
25 to 110 |
|
Brewed American tea, 8 oz. |
20 to 90 |
|
Energy drinks, 8 oz. |
35 to 90 |
| Functional waters, 8 oz. |
20 |
|
Iced tea, 8 oz. |
6 to 60 |
|
Caffeinated water, 8 oz. |
30 to 60 |
|
Soft drinks or soda, 8 oz. |
15 to 50 |
|
Instant tea, 8 oz. |
24 to 31 |
|
Chocolate milk, 8 oz. |
2 to 7 |
|
Decaffeinated coffee, 8 oz. |
2 to 4 |
|
Medication |
Caffeine |
|
Aspirin, 1 tablet |
0 |
|
Appetite suppressant, 1 tablet |
200 |
|
Medication to help people stay alert,
1 tablet |
100 to 200 | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require food labels to disclose how much caffeine a product contains. In fact, caffeine must be listed as an ingredient in the only if it is added to a food or beverage. If caffeine naturally occurs in the product (e.g., tea, coffee, chocolate), it does not have to be listed as an ingredient.
Many new energy drinks on the market combine high concentrations of sugar and caffeine with stimulants such as guarana. The health claims found on the labels of these drinks are not regulated in the United States. These drinks and many products containing these stimulants are banned in other countries such as Canada, France, Norway and Denmark. |
/doctor_89.jpg "ulcerative colitis tips")