Q: Is decaffeinated black tea just as good for you as the regular kind of tea?
A: Actually, green tea is the best in terms of being an antioxidant. That means it combats free radicals that might lead to cancer. Black tea is good too, but contains lesser amounts of the good substances. I do not think that decaffeination affects this property.
Regular tea contains 50 milligrams of caffeine per cup while decaffeinated tea has only two mg per cup. Decaffeinated coffee has four mg per cup, 75 mg for instant coffee and 100-115 for brewed coffee.
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Don’t forget that drinking chocolate also has one to eight mg per large cup and Coke has 11-70 mg in a 330 mL can.
Q: Are women more likely to develop a hangover after heavy drinking than men?
A: Yes. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia surveyed 1,230 college students and discovered that about 26 percent of them reported having hangover symptoms at least once a month. Even after accounting for differences in the amount of alcohol consumed, women appeared to suffer more than men.
Researchers thought this was because women have less muscle mass and tend to weigh less. Since women’s bodies contain less water, they are more likely to suffer the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Individuals who admitted to having a drinking problem were also more likely to develop hangovers.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding medical questions and treatments.
