While the food industry would have you believe otherwise, decaffeination is the process of removing some caffeine from products using chemicals such as formaldehyde, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, carbon dioxide and benzene. Formaldehyde is a poison linked to cancer.  Gardeners will tell you not to pour decaffeinated coffee or tea onto your plants because they kill plants!

Consumer Reports says that there is no law about the level of caffeine in brewed decaf coffee.  In 12 oz. decafs, they found as much as: 32 mg of caffeine from Dunkin' Donuts,  29 mg from Seattle's Best and 21 mg from Starbucks!

In the interest of health, use “caffeine free”. For information on caffeine and its effects on the body, read my health tip on caffeine, the most commonly consumed drug.

Read all my nutrition tips to find out how easy it is to keep yourself healthy, and how to get healthier faster.

Best wishes,

Dr. Pepi

January 3, 2008