Can Excessive Intake Of Green Tea Cause Jaundice?

What a doctor, dietician or nutritionist recommends is not the same as what your friend suggests. How the body reacts to a certain chemical or a particular herb may not be the same for two people.

What we’re trying to say is that just because there is a general trend of drinking n number of cups of a herbal drink does not mean that it’s right for you. Maybe your body has had enough at n-1?

3 Cups of Hepatitis B

A teenage girl has been treated for hepatitis and liver damage after drinking three cups of green tea a day.

The illnesses even caused her to turn YELLOW, and doctors say they serve as a warning for others who are over consuming the drink because they believe it is a useful dietary aid.

The case has been highlighted by the British Medical Journal Case Reports, which explains how the previously healthy 16-year-old presented symptoms of acute hepatitis.

Medics

The report explained that the girl, born in Yemen, had not taken any “prescribed or ‘over-the-counter’ medications, and there was no recent travel history”.

It states that it was only when following specific questioning did she reveal that she had, in the preceding three months, she had regularly consumed internet-ordered Chinese green tea , which contained Camellia sinensis.

Before & After

It went on: “After ceasing green tea consumption, there was a rapid and sustained recovery of her hepatitis.”

“The authors discuss the probable cause of herbal tea in this case of acute hepatitis, and the importance of awareness of this rare yet recurring theme for patients and clinicians alike,” the report added.

The girl was worried when she experienced nausea and abdominal pains, and her doctor diagnosed her with a urinary infection, but when her symptoms got worse, she went to the accident and emergency department in hospital .

So Much For Weight Loss?

When they asked her why she was consuming so much green tea, she explained “she had been told it had weight-loss properties”.

The girl herself explained: “I had bought the green tea over the internet to lose weight. I bought two boxes of 100 bags of tea and was drinking about three cups a day for a few months.”

“I had only lost a couple of pounds but then started having horrible pains in my joints, and felt very dizzy and sick,” she continued.

“I was very scared when I was admitted to hospital and had lots of tests, I didn’t fully understand what was going on at the time.

“Now I look back it was definitely due to the tea, I never took anything else and it all started happening after drinking the tea. I will never buy any online tea again or any weight loss pills.

“People should be more aware of what they are buying and the side effects. Most of the ingredients of the tea I bought were written in Chinese.”

Being Aware

The report said: “We acknowledge that green tea is predominantly a very safe and health drink, with antioxidant properties… This raises the possibility that it is the addition of other chemicals causing hepatotoxicity, particularly in preparations used for weight loss.

“Also, pesticides may be widely used during the growing of tea trees and are known to contaminate green tea infusions.”

Now, we are not against Chinese produce or green tea or even loosing weight for that matter. Just firm believers of the fact that ‘excess of anything is bad’. Even clichéd one-liners.