Espresso Caffeine Levels Concern for Pregnant Women
Caffeine levels at some of the high street coffee shops exceed the recommended 200mg level and could be dangerous for pregnant women.
Pregnant women who drink espresso coffee could be consuming potentially harmful levels of caffeine exceeding recommended levels, according to a Scottish study.
When researchers from Glasgow University tested the caffeine content of 20 single-shot espressos at different take-away coffee outlets in UK, they discovered that 1/5th of the samples contained more than the 200mg of caffeine, the maximum daily threshold considered safe for pregnant women by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Caffeine overdose can cause toxicity leading to headaches, chest pain, anxiety, increased heart rate and abdominal cramping in expectant mothers. FSA warns that too much caffeine could result in miscarriage or a low birth weight baby, which can further increase the risk of some health conditions for the baby like hypertension, type-2 diabetes and heart diseases in later life.
The findings are published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Food and Function journal.
Source: Medindia