Signs you need to reduce your caffeine intake according to top nutritionist

Some of us can’t start a day without it, while others sip on it throughout the day: caffeine. Of course, some abstain from it altogether, but they could be missing out on the health benefits of coffee.

It’s easy to overdo it, as anyone who’s had tremoring hands after a double espresso will tell you. If you drink coffee or energy drinks throughout the day, you probably also have sleep problems.

Can you smell images? (Tatiana Maksimova/Getty Images)

Caffeine has a half-life of between four and six hours, meaning it takes somewhere between eight and 12 hours to leave the body. You should keep this in mind when you drink coffee, as you don’t want any caffeine in your system when you’re trying to get to sleep.

Anyway, let’s get to the meat of the matter. Sarah Carolides, Head of Nutrition at Zooki.com, has shared some signs that point to caffeine overconsumption.

She started by saying we each metabolise coffee differently, with some getting through the stuff faster than others.

"There are a couple of genes that mean you are either a fast metaboliser or a slow metaboliser of coffee," Carolides told UNILAD.

"[If] I had a coffee now, after two o'clock, I will be up to at least midnight. I'm a slow metaboliser.

"My husband is fast metaboliser. He can have a double espresso after dinner and be out five minutes later, and it doesn't interrupt his sleep at all."

Carolides, who has previously worked with Hollywood stars, business leaders, and politicians, said that those with fast metabolisms may benefit from having up to four coffees a day.

Coffee can provide a series of health benefits when consumed in moderation, including lowered risk of Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease, as well as stronger cardiovascular health.

For those with slower metabolisms, drinking the same amount of coffee may have negative impacts, like dehydrated skin.

When it comes to whether someone should stop drinking it entirely, Carolides says it’s a matter of assessing its influence on your life: "Are you in control of your coffee, or is it in control of you?"

She continued: "If you wake up in the morning and you go, I cannot function until I've had my double espresso or whatever, you know what, I want you to give it up for a while and see what happens.

Coffee can have health benefits you might not know about (Tom Werner/Getty Images)

"Do you start getting the headaches? Do you start feeling really awful? Because if so, that's also a sign that you're not metabolising it well and it's affecting you in the wrong way.

"If you can come off coffee easily, and it doesn't affect you, you still feel fine, then you're in control."