For many of us, a large dose of caffeine may be the best way to start the day, but for some people too much caffeine could have serious health effects and even lead to fatal poisoning, health experts said yesterday.
To help people calculate how much caffeine they gulp down with their morning coffee, the Department of Health will ask big coffee chain stores, such as Starbucks and Dante, to explicitly label coffee with a caffeine content of more than 500ppm.
According to the Food Safety Law (
"Although many studies report the beneficial effects moderate caffeine consumption can have on alertness, cognitive functions and mood, the story of science is not empirically true for everyone," said Lin Ja-liang (
According to Lin, patients with cardiovascular diseases, pregnant women and children under the age of six should limit their coffee intake, as well as only drinking coffee with a lower caffeine concentration.
Pregnant women who ingest more than 600mg of caffeine run a higher risk of miscarriage and giving birth prematurely. In patients suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases, too much caffeine could lead to a rapid, irregular heartbeat and convulsions. Children cannot handle the same dosage of stimulants as adults, and too much caffeine may cause difficulties in sleeping, anxiety and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Lin said.
He said that a dose of 5g to 10g of caffeine could be poisonous.
"In the worst case, a healthy adult could die from brain edema or enter into a coma," Lin said.
He suggested that coffee aficionados keep their caffeine intake to less than 300mg per day, which amounts to about one cup of coffee per day.
A 300ml cup of coffee contains about 150mg of caffeine, and people drinking four cups of coffee per day are at risk of caffeine poisoning, Lin said.
Chen Chi-chang (
"For people suffering from depression, an anxiety disorder or panic attacks, an overdose of caffeine will cause sleeplessness and compromise both their mental and psychical health," Chen said.
However, the rate of absorption of caffeine depends on a person's size, weight and tolerance, health officials said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
RSS