Panera’s Loaded Lemonade is high in caffeine. But is it really too much?

Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade has been steeped in controversy after lawsuits linked the drink to two deaths. The latest lawsuit claimed a Florida man died of cardiac arrest after drinking three Charged Lemonades.

The drink contains a lot of caffeine. A lot 30oz Loaded Lemonade with ice contains 237 milligrams of caffeine, though Panera previously said the same drink contained 390 mg of caffeine.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adults can safely consume 400 mg of caffeine per day.

“It’s actually a lot more than you might think. That’s about four or five 8-ounce cups of coffee a day.” Allison Childress, MD, PhD, Dietitianregistered clinical dietitian and assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, told Verywell.

Moderate caffeine consumption can make people feel more alert. Some studies have also linked caffeine to a reduced risk of depression and Parkinson’s disease.

Childress said the problem comes when someone takes caffeine in vast amounts throughout the day, which could put them close to the toxic threshold of 1,200 mg. Consuming too much caffeine can cause heart palpitations, anxiety, agitation, high blood pressure, or convulsions.

“People don’t realize they had two cups of coffee in the morning, a soda for lunch, a lemonade in the afternoon and now they have 500, 600, 700 milligrams of caffeine,” she said.

How does Panera’s Charged Lemonade compare to other drinks?

Panera’s regular 20-ounce Strawberry Lemon Mint Charged lemonade contains 158 mg of caffeine, which is more than Red Bull and about the same as Monster Energy Drink. But it’s not the most caffeinated drink on the market.

For example, a 20-ounce Panera dim roast coffee contains 268 mg of caffeine, while 20-ounce Starbucks Blonde Roast Brewed Coffee has 475 mg.

According to Childress, what matters is the speed at which someone drinks these beverages.

“We tend to drink a cool drink with a meal faster than a cup of coffee, so we can absorb a larger amount of caffeine in a shorter period of time,” she said.

Sweetened varieties of Charged Lemonade contain more calories and sugar than black coffee. 20-Ounce Mango Yuzu Citrus Lemonade contains 50 grams of sugar and 210 calories, while a 20-ounce Starbucks black coffee contains no sugar and has 5 calories.

According to the American Heart Association, men should consume no more than 36 g of sugar per day, and women should not exceed 25 g.

“We also have to look at this metabolically. This can cause issues with insulin resistance, weight gain and inflammation,” Childress said.

Is Panera’s Loaded Lemonade Actually Perilous?

Panera first It was introduced Loaded Lemonade last spring, and some social media users quickly shared videos warning fans about the drink’s caffeine content.

A Panera spokesman denied allegations that the two recent deaths were caused by the company’s lemonades. “Panera stands firmly behind the safety of our products,” the spokesman said.

Panera’s website states that Charged Lemonades are not recommended for “children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or breastfeeding women.”

There are some reports that the beverage dispensers have been moved behind the counter, but drinks are still included in Panera’s “Unlimited Sip Club” program, which allows members to have unlimited drink refills at the coffee shop.

“For the general population, it’s not going to be harmful. But if you’re teenage, you’re not used to caffeine and/or you’ve had a lot of caffeine throughout the day, you’re more likely to have an adverse reaction,” Childress said. “A lot of variables have to come together for someone to have a bad reaction like that, but it can happen.”