On our first day away in the UK, I accidentally blew up my breast pump. Luckily I wasn't attached at the time as god knows what harm I could have come to. Apparently there was a voltage issue and while it didn't exactly blow up into smithereens, there was a lot of smoke pouring out of the socket. This meant that my lovely husband had to rush out and buy me a manual breast pump.

Poor him, I would have gone myself, but after a 15-hour journey door-to-door, I could no longer leave the house for fear of injuring myself or others. Unfortunately Chloe couldn't help me out as she had long since dumped me in favour of a faster flowing bottle!

Pump disasters aside, the rest of our trip was great. Chloe seemed to be delighted to be the star of her own little roadshow and so long as she was happy, so were we. We spent our time hanging out with friends and family, basking in the sunshine and drinking endless cups of tea. Despite being from England myself, it has always amazed me how addicted the English are to their cups of tea — even in the roasting weather.

Of course, having fully acclimatised to the heat of Bermuda, I was still wearing my jeans and grateful for something hot. Everyone else though had stripped off to next to nothing and they were still savouring their steaming drinks. However, although the comfort of a hot cup of something is undeniable, it's probably the caffeinated pick-me-up that everyone is really craving.

Although I'm not sure that Bermuda quite matches the tea and coffee consumption of the UK, we still drink a remarkable amount of caffeinated drinks. Aside from tea and coffee, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and a wide range of energy drinks also contain caffeine. The problem is that while caffeine can make us feel better in the short-term, in the long-term — in excessive quantities — it can hinder our health and well-being.

If you only drink one or two cups of tea and coffee a day, your caffeine intake is likely to be fine. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, a caffeine intake of over 500mg daily can cause (or contribute to) restlessness, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, abnormal heart rhythms, muscle tremors, irritability, nausea and IBS-type symptoms. I would go further and suggest that even much smaller quantities can interfere with digestion, blood sugar balance, energy levels and skin health.

If you have any of the symptoms above, it would be worth taking note of how much caffeine you consume in one day.

To help you do this, look at the chart below:

So, if you decide to try and cut down your intake of tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks, the healthiest alternatives are either water or herbal teas. Fortunately, the herbal tea market is no longer dominated by a boring monopoly of chamomile or chamomile — brands such as Stash, Dr. Stuarts and even Twinings have completely revitalised things.

Herbal tea flavours include: Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla, Lemon & Ginger, Apple & Cinnamon, Blueberry, Wild Raspberry, Peppermint¿. the list goes on and on. The majority of these also make fantastic iced teas — go to www.stashteas.com for ideas. Bear in mind, however, that not all herbal/fruit teas are decaffeinated as some do contain black, green or white tea — so check the labels.

Also, if you would rather drink something simpler, then try Rooibosch (Red Tea) which tastes very similar to normal tea, but contains no caffeine and is extremely high in antioxidants. It also tastes good with milk, but bear in mind that some studies show that adding milk to any tea neutralises the antioxidant properties. One further thing to note is that many of the herbal/fruit teas contain citric acid, which attacks tooth enamel, so don't drink too may of these.

If you still aren't tempted, then have a closer look at functional brands such as Dr. Stuarts. These teas are formulated to help boost specific aspects of your health — e.g. by improving your digestion or helping you sleep better. The Dr. Stuarts tea pictured here is called Skin Purify.

The ingredients help support the detoxification pathways of the digestive tract and the liver, helping to reduce your chances of breaking out. Of course, teas like this only really work if you also take fundamental dietary and lifestyle steps too, but it's certainly a help!

Dr. Stuarts teas are available in many of the grocery stores here and Down to Earth stock two fantastic brands of functional teas — Traditional Medicinals and Yogi Teas.

Finally, while I would encourage everyone to reduce their caffeine intake and try herbal teas instead, please note that if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a health condition or are taking any kind of medication, then you should always properly research the ingredients. Herbs can be extremely powerful and can also interact with or contraindicate contemporary medicines. To be safe, check with your doctor.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted at clinicalnutrition@gmail.com.