How Much Caffeine is Really in That Soda?

The Fun Guy writes "The Institute of Food Technologists summarizes some recent research on food. All things considering, it should settle some arguments among geeks about the caffination of beverages. 'Caffeine is a well-known stimulant added as an ingredient to various carbonated soft drinks, but which drink contains the most, and how can consumers know? A study in the Journal of Food Science used high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze the caffeine contents of 56 national-brand and 75 private-label store brand carbonated beverages. Caffeine contents ranged from 4.9 mg/12 oz (IGA Cola) to 74 mg/12 oz (Vault Zero). Some of the more common national-brand carbonated beverages analyzed in this study were Coca-Cola (33.9 mg/12 oz), Diet Coke (46.3 mg/12 oz), Pepsi (38.9 mg/12 oz), Diet Pepsi (36.7 mg/12 oz), Dr Pepper (42.6 mg/12 oz), Diet Dr Pepper (44.1 mg/12 oz), Mountain Dew (54.8 mg/12 oz), and Diet Mountain Dew (55.2 mg/12 oz). The authors found that store-brand beverages generally contained less caffeine, and they also suggest that consumers would benefit from having the actual caffeine content labeled on the beverage.'"

Jolt?

[hsdpa]

What about Jolt? How much caffeine is it in Jolt?

Re:Units

[golob]

Awww. I work as a scientist, and I have a fond spot in my heart for imperial measurements.

You might have ten fingers, but both 12 and 16 have many more factors. One system plays nicer with decimal math, but the other is much more practical in the real world.

Regional variations?

[identity0]

I know Coke/Pepsi use different sweetners for its drinks based on local price and taste variations, so is there a possibility the caffine levels could vary as well? Also, what do they put in Coke that caffinates it? Do they just pour an amount of pure caffine in, or what?

I'll take coffee, thankyouverymuch

[r_jensen11]

Sorry, pop doesn't cut it for me any more. I suppose if I have a paper due the next day and I have to work on it late at night I can (and do) settle for Mountain Due to help me out for an hour or so thanks to its combination of caffeine and sugar. But overall, I'll take my coffee. In addition to having n times more caffeine, it is also healthier because of less sugar and has been correlated to a decrease in risk in diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, which I am afraid of getting since one of my grandfathers had Parkinson's and my other grandfather had Alzheimer's. Plus, coffee smells better

Re:How much caffiene is in a...

[inKubus]

I've only had dual quads on ice, but I get the feeling the people who work at Starbucks start their days with at least that much. Spread over about 4 hours it maintains your buzz nicely. Since it's iced, you don't have to worry about oxidation and bitterness too much. I like a doppio per day but if you really have a lot to do, quad or dual quad will really keep you going. Plus they are cheap compared to the "lattes": $1.88 for a dopio with tax, 55 cents per shot and if you tip them every day for a while it'll get cheaper ;) After a few weeks I like to detox over a weekend with no caffine, otherwise "caffeinism" can set in:

In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as "caffeinism." Caffeinism usually combines "caffeine dependency" with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis[51] and heart palpitations.[52] Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.[53] However, since both "regular" and decaffeinated coffees have been shown to stimulate the gastric mucosa and increase stomach acid secretion, caffeine is probably not the sole component of coffee responsible.[54]

There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).

Other side effects of caffeine overuse include: dizziness, tachycardia, blurred vision, drowsiness, dry mouth, flushed dry skin, diuresis, loss of appetite, nausea and stomachaches.[55] -- From Caffeine Article [wikipedia.org] at Wikipedia..

Yeah, I drank a lot for many years but it's always good to detox once in a while. Since Caffeine has a half-life in your system you can never really get rid of all of it so your base levels go up over time, especially if you have 400+mg a day. Drink tea and take a real asprin on the first day of a 3 day detox and you'll thank yourself.

Oh, and if you're looking to prolong the half-life of coffee, you need a CYP450 [wikipedia.org] inhibitor--such as Bergamottin [wikipedia.org] or Naringin [wikipedia.org], both of which are found in fresh grapefruit juice, peel and seeds.. It's under debate which one actually affects the CYP450, but it works--trust me. So, do yourself a favor and instead of taking 600mg of caffine, take 200mg with a grapefruit juice and enjoy the better effects.

Re:The only answer that matters...

[packeteer]

I myself prefer Yerba Mate teas [wikipedia.org]. You can buy them flavored and sweetened. The brand I drink the most is Guayaki (google it). Yerba mate teas not only have caffeine but other stimulants. I am somewhat sensitive to caffeine and i find that a mixture of stimulants leads to less side effects. Other people say they don't get the caffeine jitters from yerba mate.

Labeling

[ShakaUVM]

I heartily, heartily agree. Caffeine content should be on the FDA labels.

It's important to people who are 1) seeking to limit their daily caffeine or 2) trying to maximize their caffeine intake.

Either way, it pisses me off that I can't quantify the numbers without finding sources like this.

Re:Sounds like...

[x136]

I went cold turkey. That 7 day migraine sucked more than anything ever before.

A week? You got off easy. When I quit cold turkey a few years ago after drinking 8-12 caffeinated Diet Pepsis a day, I felt like total shit for a month. Headache, body aches, lethargy, exhaustion... It was awful.

But you're absolutely right, once the caffeine was out of my system, I felt great. I could fall asleep at night, I could sleep through the night, waking up in the morning was no problem, I had more energy, and if I ran out of soda, I didn't get a pounding headache. It's one of the best things I've ever done for myself.