I drink about six cups of coffee a day. Is this too much?

It really depends on the caffeine content or the calorie content of your drinks. A moderate amount of coffee (3-4 cups a day) or 300 – 400 mg of caffeine a day is OK, in fact there is some evidence that caffeine actually provides health benefits. Some people may be more vulnerable to the effects of caffeine, the elderly, people with hypertension, adolescents and children. Consumption of caffeine during pregnancy should be kept below 300mg per day.

If your six cups of coffee are milky café coffees, you could be consuming more than 1000 extra calories. Even if your latte is made with trim milk, two a day adds up to 320 extra calories. Switch for a long black or glass of water and you’ll lose 14 kilos over a year. It will take you 45 minutes of intensive cardio on a cross-trainer or a 90-minute walk to burn off those 320 calories. Considering most of us want to burn fat when exercising, it would pay not to load our blood stream with lattes. If you have weight to lose, check the calories in all of your drinks.