This much Green Tea can Damage your Liver
Green tea is pack full of health benefits. But, even this ancient beverage made from the leaves of the plant Camellia Sinensis does put a toll onto your liver. How much you take in your body is something you have to have take into consideration.
@healthbiztips by Arlene Gentallan
Green tea and Liver damage
Here's a case of a 16 year old girl who suffered from hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) because of drinking 3 cups of Chinese green tea for 3 months. She had purchased the green tea online as a weight loss supplement.
The girl's identity was kept confidential on the article published on BMJ case reports.
The girl claimed she did not take any over the counter meditation, and did not drink alcoholic beverages. Hepatitis is commonly caused by virus, but the medical team did not find any infection in her.
This finding is frightening because it undermines green tea's many beneficial effects. But, this is a wake-up call to everyone that we should always put into consideration the amount we take in.
Eventually, when she stopped drinking tea for several months, her liver was able to recover.
Green tea contains an antioxidant called catechins which gives a lot of health benefits like decrease risk of cancer and weight loss aid, but too much of this good stuff can in turn damage our liver.
How much green tea should we drink per day?
The Harvard Health Publications and University of Maryland recommends drinking 2 to 3 cups of green tea per day.
We're talking about the typical green tea, not the one being marketed as a weight loss supplement.
But, you definitely can't drink green tea freely like water. Even excess water intake can be deadly.
The amount of catechins a green tea contains can vary. A cup of green tea typically contains roughly 140 mg of catechins. That's within the acceptable limit, but green tea extract added to weight loss supplements is a concern.
Food supplement can contain massive amount of catechins
Caution should be exercised when taking food supplements. Green tea extracts and supplements marketed for weight loss typically contains concentrated amount of catechins. This is not your typical cup of green tea. The public should be more wary of taking these.
According to the University of Maryland, the recommended 2 to 3 cups of green tea is equivalent to 240 to 340 mg of catechins.
Now, compare this to the 800 to 1500 mg catechin a typical dietary supplement contains and you'll get an idea as to how much concentrated a slimming pill or a green tea extract could contain.
This puts a doubt as to the relative safety of dietary supplement. Studies have shown that there are food supplements being marketed whose content does not live up to it's label. A number of food supplements had been identified to contain a significant amount of toxic metals.
Food supplements and Liver damage
Slimming and food supplements is one of the most common culprit of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI).
In fact, there's another case where a 26 year old man suffered liver failure from taking dietary supplement prompting the need for a liver transplant (2016).
A 44 year old obese patient, who have been taking green tea extract to loose weight, had undergone liver transplant because of liver failure (2005).
Here's the case of Matthew Whitby who accepted a liver transplant from a hepatitis B positive donor. He had taken a food supplement containing green tea extract and garcinia cambogia he bought online causing liver failure requiring him to have an emergency liver transplant so he can live.
Food supplements are not as well regulated as prescription drugs so coming up with a recommended dose is not easy. Each person has varying susceptibility to the effects of food supplement. Likewise, there are people who are prone to the liver damaging effect of certain food supplements.
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| This much Green Tea can Damage your Liver |
@healthbiztips by Arlene Gentallan
Green tea and Liver damage
Here's a case of a 16 year old girl who suffered from hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) because of drinking 3 cups of Chinese green tea for 3 months. She had purchased the green tea online as a weight loss supplement.
The girl's identity was kept confidential on the article published on BMJ case reports.
The girl claimed she did not take any over the counter meditation, and did not drink alcoholic beverages. Hepatitis is commonly caused by virus, but the medical team did not find any infection in her.
This finding is frightening because it undermines green tea's many beneficial effects. But, this is a wake-up call to everyone that we should always put into consideration the amount we take in.
Eventually, when she stopped drinking tea for several months, her liver was able to recover.
Green tea contains an antioxidant called catechins which gives a lot of health benefits like decrease risk of cancer and weight loss aid, but too much of this good stuff can in turn damage our liver.
How much green tea should we drink per day?
The Harvard Health Publications and University of Maryland recommends drinking 2 to 3 cups of green tea per day.
We're talking about the typical green tea, not the one being marketed as a weight loss supplement.
But, you definitely can't drink green tea freely like water. Even excess water intake can be deadly.
The amount of catechins a green tea contains can vary. A cup of green tea typically contains roughly 140 mg of catechins. That's within the acceptable limit, but green tea extract added to weight loss supplements is a concern.
Food supplement can contain massive amount of catechins
Caution should be exercised when taking food supplements. Green tea extracts and supplements marketed for weight loss typically contains concentrated amount of catechins. This is not your typical cup of green tea. The public should be more wary of taking these.
According to the University of Maryland, the recommended 2 to 3 cups of green tea is equivalent to 240 to 340 mg of catechins.
Now, compare this to the 800 to 1500 mg catechin a typical dietary supplement contains and you'll get an idea as to how much concentrated a slimming pill or a green tea extract could contain.
This puts a doubt as to the relative safety of dietary supplement. Studies have shown that there are food supplements being marketed whose content does not live up to it's label. A number of food supplements had been identified to contain a significant amount of toxic metals.
Food supplements and Liver damage
Slimming and food supplements is one of the most common culprit of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI).
In fact, there's another case where a 26 year old man suffered liver failure from taking dietary supplement prompting the need for a liver transplant (2016).
A 44 year old obese patient, who have been taking green tea extract to loose weight, had undergone liver transplant because of liver failure (2005).
Here's the case of Matthew Whitby who accepted a liver transplant from a hepatitis B positive donor. He had taken a food supplement containing green tea extract and garcinia cambogia he bought online causing liver failure requiring him to have an emergency liver transplant so he can live.
Food supplements are not as well regulated as prescription drugs so coming up with a recommended dose is not easy. Each person has varying susceptibility to the effects of food supplement. Likewise, there are people who are prone to the liver damaging effect of certain food supplements.
