• Question: as i know, tea has caffeine in but how much are you supposed to drink? also if we add sweetner can it harm you with the chemicals?

    Asked by lucyjdb to Will, Amy, Karen, Sarah, Vijay on 15 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by meg123, atomandelements, vikki.
    • Photo: Will Reynolds

      Will Reynolds answered on 15 Jun 2012:

      Hi lucy. Cafine can be good for you as it can improve your concentration and make you more alert. However it has to be removed from your blood by your liver and just like alcohol and some medicines, having too much can damage it. The guideline for safe levels of cafine is 300 mg per day, which is between 4-8 cups of tea or coffee depending on the strength. But both tea and coffee contain other beneficial things like antioxidants and compounds called polyphenols that can be good for you and there is still research being done on exactly how all these things affect our health.

      Its a similar story with sweetners, small amounts are fine but too much can be harmful. Like most things, as long as you drink tea in moderation (I know its hard beacuse tea is so yummy, but be strong!) you will be fine.

    • Photo: Sarah Martin

      Sarah Martin answered on 18 Jun 2012:

      Hi lucyjdb! I completely agree with Will – everything in moderation. Our bodies have worked out great ways to cope with all the different things we eat, the trick is not to eat or drink too much of one thing. So if you absolutely have to have sweet tea, it’s good not to always have it with sugar – that may do horrible things to your teeth, skin and weight! So a bit of everything, occasionally is best.
      And there are really yummy teas that don’t have caffeine in them and that are good for you – like vanilla redbush, hmmm, my favourite!

      🙂 Sarah

Comments

  • Photo: Karen

    Karen commented on :

    Hiya Lucy,
    As Will says all things in moderation and you’re fine.
    About 10 years or so ago there was a small health scare that artificial sweetners increased the chances of getting some types of cancer – but further research can not show any link. The only adverse affect sweetners have been shown to cause is they can cause weight gain – kind of opposite to what you might think. That’s because they can kind of trick your body so it no longer makes the link between sweet things being high calory foods and people then tend to over-indulge in the sweeter things therefore putting on weight.