• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Espresso & Coffee Guide
  • Recipes
  • Countries
    • African Coffees
    • South American Coffees
    • Indonesian Coffees
  • Best Coffees
  • About
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Best Coffees
  • Guide
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Best Coffees
    • Guide
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home

    Too Much Caffeine? Antidotes and Remedies

    This is not medical advice. If you believe you are at risk, please seek immediate medical attention. Poison control: https://www.poison.org/

    Is there a way to reduce the quantity of caffeine on your body, like a caffeine antidote?

    For example, if you take an espresso or a certain amount of coffee to keep you awake (for finish a work or study), but then you realize that you don't need to be awake all night, is there something that counteracts caffeine's effects (food or drink for example) on your body?

    I've searched in your FAQ, but didn't find anything.

    Thanks in advance, Tiago Portugal

    Jump to:
    • How to get caffeine out of your system
    • Nicotine as a remedy
    • Garlic as a remedy
    • Bananas as a remedy
    • Drink Water!
    • A little planning
    • Buy Gourmet Coffee Beans

    How to get caffeine out of your system

    The best answer is: time and planning.

    Setting a time limit on caffeine consumption (such as last drink by 4 PM) can help to ensure you're mostly free of caffeine's effects by bed time. You should also plan you

    A healthy adult's half life for caffeine is approximately 5.7 hours (see: NIH).

    If you take an average 1.5 oz espresso made from 7 g of espresso beans that contains 77 mg of caffeine at 8 PM, you would still have almost 40 mg in your body by 2 AM!

    Yikes.

    Studies on rats suggest that a chemical known as Rutaecarpine may increase the rate at which caffeine is metabolized, in rats. While this is yet to be studied in humans, herbal supplements have popped up on the market containing Rutaecarpine that people can take at their own risk.

    Anything you're consuming is going to take time to counteract the effect of caffeine however, and will not provide immediate relief. While there have been very few cases of caffeine causing death (most are related to alcohol, or caffeine exasperating other conditions), you should go to the emergency room if you feel you may be in serious danger.

    Regular overdoing it with your caffeine consumption can lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms - this can be avoided by avoiding regular high doses of caffeine in the first place.

    Nicotine as a remedy

    Smoking (nicotine) has been shown to increase the metabolism of caffeine (source) from about 6 hours down to 3.5 hours, clearing it out of your system faster. It makes it an "antidote" in a very loose way.

    This however, introduces nicotine into your body, which is another stimulant, and is just terribly unhealthy.

    Garlic as a remedy

    There are no known methods by which garlic can help counteract having too much caffeine. This is an old wive's tale.

    Bananas as a remedy

    Similar to Garlic, there is nothing in Bananas that is known to counteract caffeine. Bananas are known to be a good source of potassium, so if you're experiencing cramps due to dehydration from caffeine's diuretic effects, they may help alleviate cramping symptoms.

    Drink Water!

    Being dehydrated can increase the negative effects of caffeine - jitters, headache, increased heart rate. These are all signs your body is in distress and can work to multiply the bad reaction.

    It's important not to overdo it though, over-hydration can lead to increase blood pressure (among other problems), which can just compound the effect of a raised blood pressure from caffeine.

    A little planning

    Ultimately, you're best off planning your hard work earlier in the day rather than relying on caffeine to keep you up. If you absolutely need to have something done for the next day, it's better to sleep now and wake up early, have that loving cup of coffee to get you alert, and get the work done early in the morning.

    See other tips on how to cut your caffeine intake.

    Additional reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223808/

    Buy Gourmet Coffee Beans

    Buy fresh roasted coffee from Canada
    Buy fresh roasted coffee from the U.S.
    • ✔️ Fresh roasted to order
    • ✔️ 100% high qualtiy Arabica coffee
    • ✔️ Custom grind (or whole bean)
    • ✔️ 1-way valve, laminate bag (for freshness)
    • ✔️ Bulk discounts


    Why do you want to sponsor this page?
    Loading

    Sharing is caring!

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. O S

      June 17, 2018 at 7:13 pm

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17266520/
      Broccoli is excellent to detox your body in general

    2. CoffeeFAQ

      March 21, 2018 at 9:07 am

      Hey Janet!

      Can you provide a link to a couple of the studies you've seen?

    3. janet

      March 21, 2018 at 2:13 am

      Broccoli, guaranteed, increases the activity of the CYP1A2 that metabolizes caffeine. studies done and proven.

    4. User

      June 21, 2017 at 8:17 pm

      If of have anxiety switch to Green tea, it has 1/3 of the caffine coffee does plus it has a chemical in it called (I think) L-thimine(has natural anti-anxiety effects)

    5. Susan McFie

      March 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

      I agree...I find fresh grapefruit neutralises caffeine jitters as does a little sodium bicarb in water. Good oils like fish oils and avocado also.

    6. Sphelele

      February 25, 2017 at 5:41 pm

      Did that help you please unswer. im currently trying to treat caffein out of my body

    7. User

      February 19, 2017 at 11:31 pm

      Lemon juice, garlic and minarel water are seperately reduce effect of caffeine.They reduce also anxiety caused by caffeine. Try after drinking tea or coffee or eating chocolate.

    8. Anonymous

      November 13, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      re: No...

      6 caffeinated beverages is NOT 1800 mg of caffeine, at most it's around 100 mg per 20 oz. of soda.

    9. Anonymous

      February 03, 2016 at 10:04 am

      re: Not exactly true

      Chocolate can have very small amounts of natural caffeine in it depending on it's production. The husks of cacao beans in particularly contain small amounts caffeine and this can easily get into the chocolate during production. But yes you are right the main stimulant in chocolate is Theobromine.

    10. Anonymous

      February 03, 2016 at 8:00 am

      re: Did you know chocolate actually does not have caffeine

      Chocolate actually contains Theobromine a stimulant similar to caffeine but chocolate actually does not have any natural caffeine but some chocolate companies make an energy version of their chocolate and add caffeine.

    11. Anonymous

      January 31, 2016 at 3:35 pm

      re: Yo..

      No one is coming back to this display of ignorance to check if you have defended yourself by logging into another account and pretending to defend some one else who is really just you. Also, no one cares about your opinion on hate when you cant even google a fact before you leave a big long giant post about your inaccurate opinion.

      Tldr; no one is coming back to check your ignorant posts stop posting to defend yourself and cluttering up the comments section with your nonsense. Spend that time learning something, you clearly rarely do this, who knows it may even be fun.

    12. Anonymous

      January 31, 2016 at 3:26 pm

      re: Wow.

      Their parents made bad decisions so it an addiction. They cant possibly be terrible people, your friends cant possibly be lying. This is scientific evidence that weed is addictive here people !!!# you made everything that you said up. STFU!!!!!!!!! WEED IS NOT ADDICTIVE, the only thing that can happen is that people can have addictive personality disorder. This is to say that this person becomes addicted to things in their lives. Anything. Having sex with sheep, eating nail polish or even cutting themselves. This doesnt MEAN THAT THE WEED WAS ADDICTIVE it means that that person has a personality flaw. It is difficult to help people with a personality disorder as they generlly make them feel better while doing them than while not, unlike depression where a person who recovers can note dramatic improvement a person with personality disorder may feel much worse on their way to getting help just like an addict. For this reason recovery is often delayed and very difficult.

      NOW, for you to claim that this, or even just poor willpower means that weed is addictive, instead of looking it up and reading the facts about it tells me that you are not a very smart person. I am sorry to hear about your friends situations but there are programs put in place to help people like this in the united states. I hope yhat you did your job as a friend and reached out and helped them. My parents would often leave me homeless and yet that has nothing to do with weed my friend. It is most important to offer help or to offer to find help.

      As for your developed tendancies to lie about things without having researched them, I have never found a cure for ignorance so if any one has any ideas please feel free to chime in.

    13. Anonymous

      December 23, 2015 at 8:30 pm

      re: garlic thanks soooo much

      thank u sooo much i was crying from nervousness i took overdose caffeine thought that it will help me study more but i was so nevous and my heart beat was so rapid but after eating garlic and drinking alot of water it worked and am feeling way better :')

    14. Anonymous

      December 11, 2015 at 7:34 pm

      re: Yes it is garlic that can

      Yes it is garlic that can cause some serious stomache. Lemon is good for stomach it alkalizes the body. Garlic in that amount could burn your stomach like fire. You are one lucky retard.

    15. Anonymous

      December 10, 2015 at 9:22 am

      re: jitters

      I have drank 12 cups of coffee in the last 5 hours, how safe is this? im assuming not very safe.

    16. Anonymous

      August 31, 2015 at 3:39 pm

      re: Banana

      I didn't have any garlic but I had a banana and some water. I drank a big glass of water and ate the banana. It's only been 5 min but I feel better.

    17. Anonymous

      July 23, 2015 at 1:09 pm

      re: Garlic - not lemon - is what hurt your stomach

      Raw garlic is very hard on the stomach and hard to digest. Lemon is good for digestion. It is the raw garlic that gives you that knawing burning feeling.

    18. Anonymous

      July 15, 2015 at 2:30 pm

      re: Worked for me too!!!

      Thank you so much for the suggestion.I had taken too much espresso and got very bad effect. I tried banana and drank water and it worked out really well for me.Thanks again...:)

    19. Anonymous

      July 14, 2015 at 2:29 am

      re: hyponeutremia shouldnt be a

      hyponeutremia shouldnt be a concern unless the person has kidney disease, or is consuming waaaaaaay too much water such as in a contest or to pass a drug test, an american diet provides about 100x more sodium than someone needs.

    20. Anonymous

      June 09, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      re: Anyone plz

      I cant sleep when i drink 2 monester engery at afternoon help to clean caffine in my body
      plz i want a help

    21. Anonymous

      May 29, 2015 at 8:37 pm

      re: True but...

      That is true! You can get gastric ulcer. But you can get that by anything that got low Ph. Coca-Cola (and other softdrinks) could be considerable worse than coffé to stomach though... "Coconout water" may sounds much like some health/diet trends. If you're not into such lifestyle (like I am not) you may be happy with just milk. But I may depend on your location since milk could have additives. I am from Sweden and here we don't got any additives at all in our milk. But some other places in the world got preservatives and such that I don't know if it could have any impact.

    22. Anonymous

      May 15, 2015 at 6:05 pm

      re: Reducing the Effect of Caffeine

      I am also very sensitive to caffeine. It causes my heart to race, insomnia, and jitteriness. Yesterday I had 2-3 carbonated beverages with caffeine, a chocolate bar, and junior mints. I knew I would suffer that night. I decided to try out the garlic/lemon juice remedy. I took 4 cloves of garlic and put them in the Bullet blender, added 1/2 cup of lemon juice and hot water. Drank it. Didn't feel great in my stomach - probably too much lemon juice. But, by golly, it knocked the jitteriness way down...and I actually had a fantastic night's sleep. Better than usual, and unheard of considering the caffeine I consumed the day before. I find it amazing. Next time I will try less lemon - maybe 1/2 lemon instead of a 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Thanks!

    23. Anonymous

      April 24, 2015 at 10:26 pm

      re: I think the most useful comments....

      are those providing relief using easy to find items which are probably already in the home or office.

      The caffeine OD is not something planned and may result from forgetting about how much caffeine is in particular foods.

      Ingestion of 1800 mg of caffeine can induce a panic attack very easily. That's only 6 regular caffeinated beverages and even fewer if you add espresso shots or buy jumbo sizes.

    24. Anonymous

      March 07, 2015 at 5:20 pm

      re: [email protected]

      Hi,

      I thought you might find this interesting. Healthline has compiled a list of the Effects of Caffeine on the Body in a visual graphic and I thought you and your readers would be interested in seeing the information.

      You can check out the information at http://www.healthline.com/health/caffeine-effects-on-body We’ve had good feedback about the article and we think it will benefit your readers by giving them med-reviewed information in a visual way.

      If you think this information is a good fit for your audience would you share it on your site, http://coffeefaq.com/site/node/127 , or social media?

      Let me know what you think and have a great week.

      All the best,
      Nicole Lascurain • Assistant Marketing Manager
      p: 415-281-3100 | f: 415-281-3199

      Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
      660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
      http://www.healthline.com | @Healthline | @HealthlineCorp

    25. Anonymous

      February 09, 2015 at 7:36 am

      re: Neurocalm and magnesium

      I am super super sensitive to caffeine - like even decaf keeps me up all night with severe anxiety attacks. I accidentally drank an energy drink (wasn't told it was caffeinated). started having panic attacks so took two neurocalm tablets and two magnesium tablets and it helped so so much!!

    26. Anonymous

      February 01, 2015 at 12:19 pm

      re: How did that even just happen?

      I felt the same way. I was afraid to fall asleep in fear of not waking up. I ate 3 cloves of garlic and drank a glass of lemon water and felt better almost immediately. I have bad breath now but at least I can calm down. I can't believe that just worked so well. And so fast.... Wow.

    27. Anonymous

      January 14, 2015 at 7:57 pm

      re: get help!

      You are very wicked, you have anger issues and you are very ignorant.

    28. Anonymous

      January 03, 2015 at 10:43 am

      re: You're* Retarded*

      Pot has never killed any brain cells. I smoke pot,* and it helps me go to sleep. It* also helps with my asthma and sleep apnea. I dont wake up gasping for air anymore like I used to and dont recieve any attacks,* and when I dont smoke I dont get any side effects. If you state that* you're* addicted to it,* you're* mentally weak. I stopped just to prove I could and had no desire at all to smoke one. It's all mental. I just don't* understand how you think that* coffee is good,* but pot,* which has never killed anyone,* is bad.

      If you're going to call someone dumb, at least take the time to use proper grammar and not look stupid yourself.

    29. Anonymous

      December 27, 2014 at 8:18 pm

      re: all it did for me was give me

      all it did for me was give me bad breath.

    30. Anonymous

      December 26, 2014 at 9:45 am

      re: wonderful works well

      thanks for sharing it really does work!!

    31. Anonymous

      December 26, 2014 at 9:41 am

      re: great relief 4 cms of ginger root, 3 cloves of garlic & cayenne

      Works fantastic 4 cms of grated ginger root, 3 cloves of garlic pressed and pured & 1 tablespoonful of cayenne pepper in a glass of warm water works better fresh and raw but if its too much to handle a tea of all of this can help.

      Hope this helps to all because it helped me heaps.

    32. Anonymous

      November 29, 2014 at 8:15 am

      re: Electrolytes

      True, I also drink Vitacoco (coconut water) which helps to replace electrolytes and also helps to counterbalance the acidity of coffee. I've also read that, ideally, you should never have coffee on an empty stomach because it's so acid forming.

    33. Anonymous

      November 29, 2014 at 4:23 am

      re: Not too much

      Drinking too much water can be dangerous since coffee will cause you to pee a lot. You lose a lot of electrolytes along with the caffeine you pee and can dilute your blood.

    34. Anonymous

      November 17, 2014 at 11:21 pm

      re: Garlic to counteract Caffeine

      I got some caffeine today by mistake. I haven't had a significant amount of caffeine in over 20 years so I am very sensitive. I tried the garlic cure. I think it worked! Thanks so much!

    35. Anonymous

      November 01, 2014 at 3:47 pm

      re: maryjane

      Well said by an obviously wacked out stoner!

    36. Anonymous

      October 23, 2014 at 3:28 am

      re: Roasted Garlic is easier

      I love coffee but get severe migraines and nausea with it.
      Like an idiot after a year I got greedy and had two cups of coffee after dinner.
      Now I felt all uneasy, nauseas, heady, racing heartbeats all that.. I saw your garlic suggestion and tried it.
      Since its difficult for me to take raw garlic because it's too strong to bite into.. I pierced it with a sharp knife and put in on my stove until I made it black.. It gets really soft and easy to eat. The relief is quite quick. Try not to drink water for 10 mins after.. Works better..
      I'm going to have another one now it's been 20 mins.. I know I'll feel even better.

      Thanks so much guys. Hope the next person feels better too 🙂

    37. Anonymous

      September 14, 2014 at 5:49 am

      re: Garlic powder does not equal minced garlic

      I just want let you guys know that garlic powder is not the same. It is so disgusting. 1/2 tsp and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I currently have two atomic fireballs in my mouth to get rid of the stench/taste.
      Overall, this is awful.
      I'm going to vomit.

    38. Anonymous

      August 29, 2014 at 11:56 pm

      re: ^ this

      I second this statement

    39. Anonymous

      August 28, 2014 at 10:36 pm

      re: you are an ignorant, hypocritical person

      First of all, I just wanna start by saying that marijana is a simple plant that close minded people such as yourself choose to get worked up about. If you seriously believe that weed is bad for you, then I want to ask you: how bad is it? Is it worse than those cigarettes you smoke?
      Cigarettes contain 7000 chemicals with about 70 of those being cancer causing carcinogens. There are 400,000 deaths a year from tobacco and no recorded deaths from marijuana smoke. Even caffiene kills more people. Sure, it isnt good to smoke anything, but why choose the one that causes cancer and is addictive? As for the tar, a pack of cigarretes has about 20 grams of tobacco in it and by the way you said " I REALLY enjoy smoking cigarettes" you probably smoke about a pack a day. If a stoner were to smoke an 8th oz. (3.5g or about 5 joints) Of weed a day which has 5x the tar, he would still be putting less in his lungs because 5 x 3.5 is 17.5g. As for your bullshit side effects, weed is no different than a drug like alcohol that makes you happy and carefree.
      My point is that you are stupid and jump to conclusions too quickly without actually knowing anything you are talking about. You are a hypocrite. Dont try to judge people for what makes them happy when you clearly arent a health fanatic yourself. So what I am getting at is that you should kill yourself. The world would be a better place without stupid people like you who repeat everything they hear without first making sure its right.

      Seriously,
      Kill Yourself

    40. Anonymous

      July 11, 2014 at 2:18 pm

      re: ...

      lol... right??

    41. Anonymous

      June 07, 2014 at 7:02 pm

      re: magnesium seems to work.

      Today I bought a new brand of coffee (as in one that i did not try before). I was eager to test it so at 4pm i tried two cups and it tasted very good. I already sampled another coffee at the shop at 11am earlier that day, so 3 cups filter coffee as i normally should only take 1 cup because i am very sensitive to caffeine in coffee. For some weird reason i can drink a liter of coca-cola and i feel great and don't get restless but to much coffee makes me anxious, restless, sometimes on the border of paranoid, not very pleasant at all.

      I took some calming herbs. first 800mg hop. almost had no effect, then i took a second one still not desired effect, only very mild and 1600mg hop probably should make even a horse feel sleepy. Then I used 500mg tablet of magnesium with a little st johns worth.

      Guess what i fell shitty for 5 hours straight, i take 500mg magnesium and i feel almost normal after 20 minutes.
      Seems to work great for me. I take these pills anyway because of sports and is good for muscle recovery and helps you sleep too.

      I definitly going to try garlic if it happens again but magnesium works good too. I actually did not read this forum until after i took magnesium, so it was just by accident that i know now that magnesium is the cure.
      But garlic is a lot cheaper and i have it in the fridge so if it happens again i go eat garlic-gloves with magnesium for desert.

      BTW if you don't have magnesium pills or if it is too expensive maybe by kelp or seaweed, just dried and make yourself a noodle soup with seeweed, it has 8000mg potassium and and a lot magnesium in it (more then daily dose anyway), works better then a banana and taste pretty nice too. You just need a little bit of it (maybe 20 or 30 grams) and should already work better then 3 bananas

    42. Anonymous

      April 23, 2014 at 8:21 pm

      re: Haha, maybe I'll try that 😀

      Haha, maybe I'll try that 😀

    43. Anonymous

      March 31, 2014 at 1:32 am

      re: Rutacarpine herb works too.

      Rutacarpine herb works too.

    44. Anonymous

      March 08, 2014 at 2:31 pm

      re: Coffee Antidote

      Any food or supplement with: Magnesium, melatonin or Vitamin C

    45. Anonymous

      January 31, 2014 at 9:38 am

      re: Re Kick you depression, one way or anoher

      Thanks for this - great insight and very useful and inspiring. Reading it made me feel immediately more positive and wanting to do more to make my life better. All the best. Jackie

    46. Anonymous

      January 04, 2014 at 8:37 pm

      re: Drink some hot water

      Taken some hot water, i always get benifit from it. i don't know why? but it work.

    47. Anonymous

      December 02, 2013 at 11:08 pm

      re: Incorrect on grapefruit

      White grapefruit juice *inactivates* an enzyme in the liver (CY89 I believe). This enzyme is used for metabolizing many prescription drugs. So if a person drinks a lot of grapefruit juice, he is at risk for an excess amount of certain prescription drugs in his body.

    48. Anonymous

      October 15, 2013 at 3:02 am

      re: kola nut

      Kola nut is an intense stimulant. I believe it was one of the ingredients removed from the 19th century cola beverages because it was dangerous for people with heart problems. I believe it used to be the primary ingredient in old-fasioned cola beverages along with coca leaf extract, hence the name Coca-Cola. I would say the coca leaf was probably the less harmful of the two ingredients. One can still legally purchase both coca leaf tea and kola nut from herbalists, but there are many things herbalists sell that require caution, just like you have to use caution with any medicine. Anything that has a biological action on an organism has the potential to be toxic and cause harm. It is a matter of dosage.

      If your blood pressure had been dangerously high, such as 200s over 100s, they would have (or should have) take you to a hospital where they would likely have given something to lower your blood pressure to safe ranges.

      I am glad you are okay and I hope you will start with very small doses if you plan to experiment with bioactive substances, although I have to advise against it. People die of subsance overdoses very frequently, often from heart attack.

    49. Anonymous

      October 09, 2013 at 12:21 am

      re: your logic is faulty

      Benzos are WAY more addictive than weed, regardless of whether or not a doctor is prescribing them. The withdrawals from benzos are worse than any other withdrawals (this is coming from an ex heroin addict...I would rather kick heroin over benzos any day!). The withdrawals from benzos can cause seizures and hallucinations. It's a scary, scray drug.

    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    Search

    specialty coffee association logo

    Guide to the Top Coffees

    • Kenya Coffee Beans
    • Sulawesi Coffee Beans
    • Yirgacheffe Coffee Beans
    • Sumatra Coffee Beans
    • Harrar Coffee Beans
    • Costa Rican Coffee Beans
    • Brazilian Coffee Beans
    • Mocha Java Coffee Beans
    • Tanzania Coffee Beans
    • Guatemala Coffee Beans
    • Ethiopian Coffee Beans
    • Colombian Coffee Beans
    • Honduran Coffee Beans
    • Hawaiian Kona Coffee Beans
    • Geisha Coffee Beans
    • Espresso Beans
    • Best Coffee Beans

    Footer

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT ESPRESSOCOFFEEGUIDE.COM

    Find out more About us and what we're doing.

    Information is pulled from a number of locations including official sources ICO, SCA, as well as proprietary third party databases. Beginning circa 2006, we've compiled data and written about coffee and continue to revise and add as new sources come to light. If you have any recommendations or suggested revisions please contact us!

    Information on single origins is updated over time and only reflects the data we have at the time of writing on current crops. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. EspressoCoffeeGuide.com reserves the right to all its own content.

    COLLABORATE WITH US

    We're always looking to team up with individuals and companies doing awesome things in the coffee industry. If you'd like to contribute please reach out to us with a proposal!

    Contact us

    Privacy Policy

    Disclosure: We may earn commission at no cost to you from some links on this website. However, the content, opinions and analysis are 100% objective and editorial objectivity is our priority.

    Copyright © 2023 EspressoCoffeeGuide