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Comment by rthomas6 | Hacker News Reader

I had quite a caffeine addiction but I recently kicked it. I was up to 900 mg/day at my peak. I think caffeine counts as an addiction. I had a strong dependency on it and couldn't function physically or mentally without it.

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I find caffeine really doesn't help all that much although I do generally drink a partial cup of coffee or a diet soda sometime in the morning.

Too much and I get strung out and too wired to work efficiently. And.... it makes me tired not long afterwords. A little tiny bit in one or two doses a day isn't bad but much more and it becomes counterproductive.

My favorite drugs? A good light meal, fresh air and a nice long walk in the sunshine.

Caffeine is toxic, even though some say it can only kill humans if you drink one cup of coffee for each pound you weigh. The body evacuates this in many ways though. Some say it really doesn't have any extreme health disadvantages. Some even say it could help prevent some diseases such as cardiovascular disease. I try to only drink coffee or tea once every two days in fear of addiction, unless some project is due.

I definitely try to step down my caffeine when I can. Makes it more effective when I need it.

Yeah you know I actually have had panic attacks from too much caffeine. Moderation is definitely key.

That definitely counts as an addiction.

If it affects you in a negative way and you cant stop, that is addiction.

> I was up to 900 mg/day at my peak.

How many cups would that equate to?

I think it's about 70mg per cup.

It varies, but it's usually a fair bit higher than that.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healt...

3 16 oz mugs of drip coffee, which equates to 6 standard 8 oz cups. I was assuming 150 mg/cup, which is about average for drip coffee.

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