We were worried about the health effects before taking on such a challenge. I know we would have a bad crash afterwards and be really wired and shaky, but I’d like to know if it’s safe for an average college student to do this.

Thanks. GD

Dear GD,

You do know that “Good to the last drop!” was just a brand slogan to get you to drink a certain coffee and not necessarily a command to drink it all, right?

Your question is quite amusing, considering I gave up drinking caffeine almost four weeks ago for health reasons.

I suspect maybe the folks in the office I work in put you up to this, because they were tired of me being cranky and tired. Oh well, let’s deal with your “challenge” question before I get ornery and nod off to sleep.

I applaud the fact that you at least took the time to consider the possible health effects of taking part in such a “challenge,” although I have to say that I don’t quite understand the payoff of this type of endeavor.

It seems the “trend” these days has to do with challenging the limits of what the body will do when we take in large quantities of such things, as in milk chugging, water gulping and now caffeine swirling.

So before I answer your question, I would ask you, why the hell would you want to do this, anyhow?

Seriously, I have seen many “challenges” in my day, some that have involved testing one’s strength, agility, stamina, intellect and sporting ability, but I am just not getting the “extreme” caffeine challenge.

Really, what is the take-home on this?

OK, I am over my “no caffeine” rant. So let’s look at a little data and the possible health risks here.

The average caffeine content of an 8-ounce cup of coffee in the U.S. averages about 75 milligrams, although it can vary depending on the way it is prepared, the type of coffee and the amount used.

It can vary from 65 milligrams to 150 milligrams per cup. Red Bull (8 ounces) contains 80 milligrams of caffeine.

Knowing that, your challenge will deliver you anywhere between 600 milligrams to about 1,300 milligrams of caffeine in one hour. The key here is the one-hour time limit you have imposed.

After it’s consumed, caffeine will reach all the tissues in the body within 5 minutes and will reach peak levels in the blood at around 30 minutes. Half of the caffeine is metabolized within four hours and most will be metabolized at some point.

Short-term effects usually take place very soon after ingestion and can last hours. The caffeine in two cups of coffee can, and usually does, cause several mild physiological symptoms.

It will alter your metabolism by increasing overall activity, body temperature, breathing, urination (of course) and can increase fatty acids in the blood. It might even increase blood pressure. This happens with just two cups of coffee.

Think about it and remember that your dose here could be five times that amount, in a shorter amount of time.

In large doses caffeine can cause headaches, tachycardia (abnormal heart rate), anxiety, convulsions and confusion.

Five thousand milligrams, or the caffeine in about 40 cups of coffee, is the stated fatal oral dose taken in a very short space of time, but people with pre-existing cardiac and other problems could put themselves in dire jeopardy with drinking what you are proposing to drink in that amount of time.

Although you are well under the stated fatal dose of caffeine intake, this does not mean that you should do this or believe that this dose will not be harmful to you or anyone else. Caffeine is a drug and everyone is different.

Bottom line, I would advise you to skip this challenge. There are risks here that could be greater than you assume because of what you may not know about your body.

My advice is to find something a little less risky such as skydiving. I do it and the payoff is fantastic! It really is “good to the last drop.” Peace, love dove.

Dr. D.

Dennis Martell, Ph.D., is a coordinator of Olin Health Center education. E-mail him your questions at dennis.martell@ht.msu.edu.