Tea (green) and nutrient absorption: what's the truth?

[fire_snake]

So, long time, die-hard tea-drinkers, what's the reality when it comes to your constant, sustained, regular tea-drinking (green tea especially) and nutrient absorption (and *alleged* blockage thereof.)

I'm drinking a lot of high-quality loose-leaf teas - often the same as yourselves. Sencha, Oolong, Chinese greens, etc. I'm hearing lots of warnings (mostly from those who don't drink tea regularly) about the dangers of tea inhibiting nutrient absorption. Elsewhere, however, I'm reading that those who drink tea regularly and for prolonged periods (years) have acclimated to tea and enjoy it without any ill effects.

By all accounts I should have collapsed by now. And YOU too! From Beriberi, vitamin B deficiency, non-heme iron deficiency, etc.

So what's the deal?

Christian

[Marco]

+1 on that question

I drink tea for about a year now and about 3 liters a day. Some people I know warned me about health issues - but I laughed and said "I feel fine".
So what is that all about?

[Tead Off]

+1 on that question

I drink tea for about a year now and about 3 liters a day. Some people I know warned me about health issues - but I laughed and said "I feel fine".
So what is that all about?

3 litres per day? Do you work?

[Oni]

Tea is safe, I think you can drink as much as you like, and as much as your body can handle, but if I drink too much tea I have a problem with sleeping.

[Chasm]

I'm not following what the concern is, I think. I know there have been problems when people drink single-steep red or black tea in liters per day.

I drink tea in the liters per day range, but it's only 2-3 fresh sets of leaf, if that. I really like those barely-tinted water late infusions of very good greens -- I find flavors in them, delicate though they are, not available or covered up in earlier infusions. What evidence I've seen is that this is good for me, not bad.

It's good practice to rinse your mouth with water after eating or drinking anything that is not plain water.

[lkj23]

I drink 1,5 or 2 liters per day. Is good if you do a blood test to see iron levels. I did it and my ferritin level is low so I´m taking Fero Gradumet now but I don´t know if is due to drink tea.

Sometimes I take B1 too (whit other vitamins, sometimes in high concentration-->Hidroxil, sometimes normal concentration-->Now food derma...) in the morning, separated of compsumtion of tea, like iron.

Here talk about, but I don´t know his source:
http://www.sirbrak.com/green-tea-and-vitamin-b1.htm

[tortoise]

I really don't mean to sound rude (so please don't take this personally!), but I find the obsession with tea's effect on human nutrition to be a total buzz-kill.

I am happy to hear there are some "dangerous" rumors surrounding tea, though. All the "good for you" marketing is flooding the shelves with crummy, high-production tea, and there is nothing more baneful than a purely virtuous existence anyway.

Be wreck-less! Live on the edge, man!

DRINK TEA!

(This has been a message paid for by the Association for the Proliferation of Boutique Teas and Tea Culture.)

[Chasm]

My green tea habit hasn't put a dent in my iron levels -- I know because it's been checked.

Here talk about, but I don´t know his source:
http://www.sirbrak.com/green-tea-and-vitamin-b1.htm

I couldn't find anything like a credible source attached to that link, and it had a number of what I consider red flags for arrant nonsense. I want to see the journal citations for the actual studies before I believe any of the claims, good or bad, about green tea and nutrition, and even then I'll make up my own mind after reading the studies.

[lkj23]

Some time ago I searched some studies about tea and I went now to read again, but I think is not why to concern about it, simply is good to do blood test sometimes to see :

Inhibitory effect of (-) -epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and grape seed extract (GSE) on nonheme iron absorption.

Bioactive dietary polyphenolic compounds reduce nonheme iron transport across human intestinal cell monolayers.
Kim EY, Ham SK, Shigenaga MK, Han O.

Effect of tea and other dietary factors on iron absorption.
Zijp IM, Korver O, Tijburg LB.

Bioactive dietary polyphenols decrease heme iron absorption by decreasing basolateral iron release in human intestinal Caco-2 cells.


Urinary thiamin losses were depressed with the use of tea but niacin losses were increased. Blood serum concentrations of thiamin diphosphate also were depressed during the tea drinking period as compared to values during the non-tea period. No significant effect on blood serum levels of nicotinaminde or N'-methylnicotinamine were found but values tended to be lower during the tea than the non-tea period. These results suggest that tea consumption inhibits the utilization of thiamin. However, niacin availability was unaffected by tea drinking. Because of the decreased availability of thiamin, the need for niacin was depressed which caused a greater than expected urinary loss of this vitamin.

Niacin, thiamin, iron and protein status of humans as affected by the consumption of tea (Camellia sinensis) infusions.
Wang RS, Kies C.


I think Green tea has other good propierties on memory, oxidation, and more and more and is terrefic, i love green tea

[tortoise]

Ugh, iron, niacin, thiamin,
L-theanine, caffeine, blood sugar, intestinal cell monolayers...snooze...ZZZ...ZZZ...ZZZ

Someone brew up the aged Shui Xian and let's get drunk!

[bryan_drinks_tea]

i can only give a little info-
I'm irish-american, and we've always had iron absorption and retention problems on one side of the family. I was born normal, but it seemed later on that i lost iron a little faster and easier than some people - with all the tea drinking I do, I have no choice but to take an iron supplement to keep my iron levels up. in short, the tea drinking lowered my iron levels pretty fast. just go on what works for you out there.

[Marco]

+1 on that question

I drink tea for about a year now and about 3 liters a day. Some people I know warned me about health issues - but I laughed and said "I feel fine".
So what is that all about?

3 litres per day? Do you work?

On free days I double this amount

[bagua7]

So, long time, die-hard tea-drinkers, what's the reality when it comes to your constant, sustained, regular tea-drinking (green tea especially) and nutrient absorption (and *alleged* blockage thereof.

Things I would worry about more:

1. Air quality you breathe

2. Water quality you drink

3. Degree of food processing you eat

4. Your daily exercise levels

5. Stress management

6. Positive thinking

Keep enjoying your green tea.

Regards,

[fire_snake]

Somehow, starting the day off with some Fukamushi Sencha in a warmed kyusu made me forget about all this.

[tortoise]

Somehow, starting the day off with some Fukamushi Sencha in a warmed kyusu made me forget about all this.