Health experts have issued a warning to anyone who drinks too much tea or coffee.
Caffeine can have detrimental effects on your health, causing symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, and nausea. Brits love a good brew, with approximately 100 million cups being drank across the UK every day - however, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
Drinking excessive amounts of tea can have side effects. Isaac Robertson, a health expert and co-founder of TotalShape.com revealed what they are and how you can avoid them without entirely cutting out tea from your diet.
READ MORE: What your tongue can tell you about your health
Here is what symptoms he says tea and coffee can cause and how to avoid the negative effects.
Nausea
The bitter, dry taste of tea is the result of tannins. They have an astringent effect on your digestive tissue, meaning that they cause your cells to shrink. This can result in stomach ache or nausea.
Depending on how sensitive your body is, you can experience these symptoms even after one or two cups of tea. The best solution would be to never drink tea on an empty stomach, or to add milk to your tea, as tannin will bind to its proteins and carbs, so that it won’t irritate your stomach as much.
Restlessness, stress and anxiety
Depending on the variety, a single cup of tea can contain anywhere from 10 to 60 mg of caffeine. Black tea has the highest amount of caffeine; one cup can contain as much as 90 mg.
Research shows that consuming up to 200 mg of caffeine a day will rarely result in anxiety, but that number is individual, as it depends on how sensitive your body is to caffeine. Also, keep in mind that the caffeine content of your tea gets higher the longer you steep it.
Heartburn
Apart from increasing stomach acid production, research shows that caffeine can relax the muscles between your oesophagus and stomach, which allows the acidic content from your stomach back into the oesophagus, which is what causes the feeling of heartburn.
Not everyone who drinks tea, even in excessive amounts, will experience heartburn. Again, the effects are very individual.
Headaches
Headaches occur because of the increased blood flow around the brain. Since caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties, it narrows your blood vessels and that takes the pressure off the surrounding nerves that were sending pain signals to your brain.
However, if you consume excessive amounts of caffeine, it can have the opposite effect and cause headaches. Although tea doesn’t contain the highest concentration of caffeine compared to other caffeinated beverages, it can significantly contribute to your daily intake, especially if you drink more than one or two cups a day.
Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Martin Lewis issues £66 warning to those on pre-payment meters
Michael Owen posts cryptic message as Luca Bish 'missing' from family photo
DWP shares most common health conditions that qualify for PIP
DWP urging a million households to claim extra £65 a week
Emmerdale's Eden Taylor-Draper upset as 'favourite' leaves soap
