In recent years, milk tea has become more and more popular, and various Internet red milk tea seems to have become the "happy water for life" for more and more young people.
However, what many people don't know is that although milk tea is delicious, the caffeine content in it may be higher than coffee, and drinking it is likely to cause insomnia.
How much caffeine is really in milk tea?
How much caffeine is in a cup of milk tea? Someone may have seen this statement on the Internet:
One cup of milk tea is equivalent to 7 cans of Red Bull;
One cup of milk tea has a caffeine content equal to 4 cups of coffee;
If you drink the cup of milk tea that contains the most caffeine, it is equivalent to drinking 4 cups of coffee, or 8 cans of Red Bull;
……
First of all, the conclusion: there is basically no problem with the above statement, and the caffeine content in milk tea is indeed higher than that of coffee.
In 2017, the Shanghai Consumer Association conducted a spot check on milk tea, and the test results found that 51 milk tea varieties in 27 milk tea shops contained a lot of caffeine. Across all samples, each cup averaged 270 mg of caffeine, with the highest being 480 mg, which is roughly equivalent to 4 cups of coffee, or 8 cans of Red Bull. Know that a cup of Americano (medium cup) contains only 108 mg of caffeine; A can of Red Bull drink contains only 50 mg of caffeine.
In 2019, the Shenzhen Guangming District Consumer Committee and Shenzhen Food and Drug Safety Volunteer Service also tested 10 brands of bubble tea on the market, and found that all milk teas were detected to contain caffeine, with an average content of 258 mg/kg. Of these, the caffeine content is up to 522 mg/kg, which is equivalent to the total amount of caffeine in 7 cans of Red Bull.
Why is there caffeine in milk tea? This is because milk tea is made of "milk + tea", and tea contains caffeine.
The caffeine content per gram of tea is generally around 20 mg, and the high can reach 40 mg. When making tea, caffeine is easily dissolved from the tea leaves into water. It is worth noting that many milk teas on the market are concentrated tea powders used directly, so the caffeine content is usually higher.
According to the results of "Dietary Caffeine Intake Level and Risk Assessment of Chinese Residents", in mainland China, for adult consumers, the highest contribution rate of caffeine intake was tea, tea beverage, milk tea and coffee. The highest contribution rate of caffeine intake among minors was milk tea, tea drinks, tea leaves and chocolate.
That is to say, whether adults or children, when drinking milk tea, you should pay attention to the intake of caffeine, and do not think that there is no caffeine in it.
Why do some people have a cup of milk tea
Will it be awake until dawn?
Many people said that drinking a cup of milk tea will cause insomnia, poor sleep, and even a cup of milk tea awake until dawn.
This is because caffeine has a central nervous system excitatory effect, many people will feel very excited after drinking, can not sleep, some people who are more sensitive to caffeine will even a cup of milk tea can not sleep all night.
However, the refreshing and stimulating effects of caffeine vary greatly from person to person.
Because there are some genes in our body, such as CYP1A2, PDSS2, etc., that control the metabolism of caffeine. People with more active genes metabolize caffeine faster, and the caffeine ingested will soon be removed to the outside of the body, so drinking a few cups of milk tea does not affect sleep at all, and even drinking milk tea should be sleepy or sleepy.
But some people's coffee metabolism genes are relatively weak, and a little caffeine has to be metabolized for a long time. Even the coffee I drank in the morning was still bouncing in my brain at night, and I woke up to dawn with a cup of milk tea.
Is caffeine safe in milk tea?
What everyone is most concerned about is whether the caffeine in milk tea is safe and whether it will cause harm to the human body.
From the current research, it is safe for normal people to consume caffeine in moderation. Health agencies in countries such as the U.S. FDA, EU EFSA, Health Canada, and others consider it safe for healthy adults to consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.
According to the results of the "Dietary Caffeine Intake Level of Chinese Residents and Its Risk Assessment", it is safe for adults to drink up to 1524 g of liquid milk tea per day and not consume other caffeinated foods. Therefore, for normal people, a cup a day is completely no problem.
In particular, teenagers and pregnant women are more sensitive to caffeine, and they are generally not encouraged to consume caffeine. So, if you are a teenager, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, try not to drink it.
In addition, some people may be more sensitive to caffeine, and after drinking, there will be insomnia, trembling hands and feet, palpitation, insomnia and other symptoms, so it is best not to drink it first.
Can I drink milk tea with confidence?
There is usually no problem with the caffeine of a cup of milk tea, and friends who like to drink milk tea can rest assured.
However, in addition to milk tea, many foods/drinks in life also contain caffeine, such as cola, tea, coffee, certain energy drinks, chocolate, if you drink these drinks and eat chocolate, remember to drink less milk tea.
Moreover, everyone's tolerance to caffeine is different, some people drink several cups of milk tea + coffee is fine, but some people are uncomfortable with a few sips.
Therefore, it is recommended that everyone follow their own feelings. If after drinking milk tea, you experience insomnia, anxiety, palpitation, trembling, stomach upset, increased heart rate, headache, nausea and irritability, it may be more than your caffeine tolerance and you should make appropriate adjustments - drink less.
In addition, the biggest health problem with milk tea is too much sugar and fat. Many delicious milk tea will add a lot of cream, fat is definitely indispensable, a cup of milk tea fat content can usually be as high as 40 ~ 70 grams, a cup of bubble tea sugar content between 30 ~ 60 grams.
Everyone must pay attention to control the amount of milk tea, otherwise, it will only get fatter and fatter...
bibliography
[1] Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Communication Branch of Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, etc. Scientific consensus on coffee and health[J]. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2018(11). DOI:10.3760/cma.j.issn.0253-9624.2018.11.004.
[2] National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. Dietary Caffeine Intake Level and Risk Assessment of Chinese Residents
[3] Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine - EFSA[4] National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment.0, "Dietary Intake of Trans Fatty Acids in Chinese Residents and Their Risk Assessment"
Planning production
Author丨Nguyen Quang Feng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center
Review丨Gu Chuanling, Director of Capital Health and Nutrition Gastronomy Association, Registered Dietitian, Diet and Nutrition Expert of Public Security Border Defense Force
Source: Jingshi Health