Can Tea Really Help Sober Up?
Vitamin C can indeed act as a catalyst for enzymes, helping the liver to hydrolyze alcohol. But how much vitamin C is actually in tea?
Does every type of tea have the same amount of vitamin C?
The tea we drink is called finished tea. All finished teas are made from fresh tea leaves and tender buds. Fresh tea leaves and tender buds, like fresh vegetables and fruits, are rich in vitamin C—this is not in doubt. But how much vitamin C remains in the finished tea after processing?
We know that vitamin C is quite fragile. It is destroyed by water, heat, light, oxygen, and smoke. One step in tea production is called "fixation" (kill-green). Some teas use steam fixation, others use pan-firing—both are high-temperature treatments. High temperatures naturally cause a significant loss of vitamin C from the fresh leaves and tender buds. And when we brew tea with boiling water, how much vitamin C can survive such high heat?
In fact, not only can tea not help sober up, but there is currently no such thing as a hangover cure.
The best approach is to drink alcohol in moderation and avoid overconsumption. If you want to increase your vitamin C intake, it is better to eat more vegetables during the meal, or have fruit like oranges, pears, or apples after the meal—watermelon juice is even better. If you want to slow down the absorption of alcohol, the best method is to drink plenty of water, especially during and after drinking.
Drinking large amounts of strong tea after alcohol not only fails to sober you up but can also be harmful. After alcohol is absorbed in the digestive tract, 90% is broken down in the liver, a process that takes 2 to 4 hours. Drinking strong tea in large quantities after alcohol causes the theophylline in the tea to act quickly on the kidneys, producing a diuretic effect. This means that acetaldehyde, converted from alcohol, is excreted by the kidneys before it can be further broken down, stimulating the kidneys and affecting kidney function. In addition, drinking too much tea increases the burden on the heart, which is especially harmful for people with high blood pressure or heart disease.