“So does caffeine affect your health? The answer is sure, caffeine is a stimulant. It’s the most commonly used stimulant in the world, and so when you drink caffeine – what happens? Well, if you’ve ever had caffeine, you probably already know the answer to that. It’s a stimulant, so you’re going to feel acutely more activated, more alert, you may even feel a little euphoric. So you feel good when you drink a little bit of caffeine. The downside of caffeine is it can make you feel a little anxious, a little bit agitated. The bottom line is, in terms of health effects with caffeine, caffeine is actually pretty safe in moderate amounts. So up to four cups of coffee a day are felt to be, if anything, protective. When you look at all the evidence — and the evidence has gone back and forth over the years — the balance of the evidence seems to suggest that caffeine in moderate amounts is actually pretty good for you and may even decrease risks of overall mortality in time. It’s certainly decreased the risk of things like diabetes, even Parkinson’s disease and cardiovascular disease,which can be decreased by moderate caffeine intake. On the downside if you’re drinking too much caffeine, you may be getting rebound headaches when you stop it and they make you feel agitated if you quickly stop it, as well. So, moderate your caffeine intake. If you have any further questions, feel free to talk to your primary care physician or to myself or any of my colleagues at Mount Sinai Doctors Brooklyn Heights.”

David Coun, MD, is a board-certified primary care doctor and Chief of Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Doctors Brooklyn Heights. He has lectured regularly on various topics, including smoking cessation, prostatic conditions, EKG review, and physician communication skills. Dr. Coun is fluent in Spanish and has a particular interest in prevention, as well as, the intersection between mental health and chronic medical conditions. Mount Sinai Doctors Brooklyn Heights is a two-floor practice with a walk-in urgent care center and more than 35 specialties. Located at 300 Cadman Plaza West, the practice is situated on the 17th and 18th floors.

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