Following various media reports on Tuesday, May 7, that the Panera Bread restaurant chain is discontinuing its offering of “Charged Lemonade,” a caffeinated beverage, from its menu, following multiple lawsuits and causing a public relations nightmare for the company, consumers may want to know more about how they can find out what the amounts of caffeine are in various other caffeinated beverages.

 

CNN reported that Panera has faced at least three separate lawsuits over the line-up of controversial drinks in recent months, claiming that the high levels of caffeine in the products has led to the deaths of two customers and irreversible health complications in another.

 

According to the Better Health Channel, in small doses, caffeine can make you feel refreshed and focused. “In large doses, caffeine can make you feel anxious and have difficulty sleeping,” Better Health reported. “Like many other drugs, it’s possible to develop a tolerance to caffeine, which means you need bigger and bigger doses to achieve the same effect.”

 

According to webmd.com, there are safe and unsafe levels of caffeine consumption. The outlet reports that most adults can safely consume about 400 milligrams of caffeine a day. “That’s about what you’d get by drinking four to five average-sized cups of coffee.

That’s the typical safe amount, but there’s a lot of variation in how much caffeine people can tolerate. Signs that you’ve had too much include:

• ‌Shakiness
• ‌Agitation
• ‌Trouble sleeping
• ‌Headaches
• ‌Dizziness
• Racing heart
• ‌Dehydration“

 

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), caffeine is one of the only FDA-approved drugs that is present naturally and legally added to widely consumed foods. Exactly how much caffeine is there in the food and beverages we consume? CSPI has compiled the data. Click here to view how much caffeine is various categories of products, including various popular energy drinks.

 

A grande (16 oz) Starbucks decaf coffee, pike place roast, for example, has 25 grams of caffeine while a 20 oz Panera Charged Lemonade, Mango Yuzu Citrus, has 158 grams of caffeine. Meanwhile, an 8 oz Redline Xtreme energy drink has 316 grams of caffeine.

 

As reported, according to health officials, high rates of obesity/diabetes, a concern for many New Yorkers, including those in The Bronx, can also be exascerbated by the frequent consumption of products which are high in both caffeine and in sugar.

 

According to a July 2021 report by NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, based on 2019 data, several, high-poverty, Bronx neighborhoods were among those across the City that, persistently had high rates of diabetes in adults over 18.

 

To read some of our previous coverage on the topic of diabetes and for tips on how best to manage diabetes type II, click here, and here.