Health Problems with tea!

[LuisBrandao]

Hello everyone,

I decided to make this new post on the green tea "sub-forum" although this involves white and pu-ehr as well. I hope that's ok...

So a while ago I decided to try the benefits of green tea. I was very excited with getting all the benefits people were talking about, especially those to my skin since I had a acne problem and I read green tea would make my skin look better. I started drinking 3-5 cups of tea a day and I was happily seeing the results coming. My skin was healing faster and having a better tone and aspect in general. But then the problems began... My skin was having some color spots and flaking and I was feeling some pain on my stomach, especially on the liver area. I told this to my mother and she told me I should stop drinking the tea as it was very strong to my liver (I had a liver condition when I was very young). I had to visit my doctor shortly after and she agreed with my mother and so I stopped drinking green tea...

But recently I've found the benefits of white tea (to my skin as well) as well as red pu-erh tea (especially to help me detoxify my body, as I believe that will help me improve my liver condition). I decided I was going to drink one cup of white tea on one day and one of pu-erh on the other. The results were showing again and I was very happy but some conditions started appearing again... I'm having some thrush on my tongue, from time to time I feel some pain on the liver region again (maybe that's just me being paranoid, not sure; it definitely is not as strong as the last time) and I'm also waking up without hunger and feeling not so great.

What I would like to know is if you guys know what's happening to me? Do I have some kind of problem and so I should not be drinking tea? Am I preparing my teas incorrectly (I know I was overcooking green tea, but I'm not doing it this time)? Is it normal to feel this on the beginning?

Any help or comments are very much appreciated!

Thanks

[solitude]

I was experiencing something similar when I started to drink tea regularly. I had some problems with my stomach and especially with gallbladder (what is closely related to liver). There was one think what significantly helped me and the fact that I started to purchase higher quality tea. Now I am ordering it from China or Japan and rather paying more but then I drink something what is real not some thrash from the local tea.
However, I don’t know about the quality of the tea you drink, so maybe this is not your case.

Another very important think is when you drink your tea. Never drink it on empty stomach.

I hope I helped you.

[Peacock]

I'm no expert, but I did find this while searching google.

http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/advers ... n-tea.html

Are you sensitive to caffeine?

[Proinsias]

I don't know much about health benefits but I would echo Solitude's point about the importance of sourcing good quality tea.

If caffeine is an issue something like Japanese bancha might be worth a shot, not caffeine free but fairly low in caffeine compared to many teas.

If you're drinking good quality, well sourced, tea without any additives I reckon the healthiest way to proceed is to follow your tastebuds and keep an eye on how the rest of you reacts.

I'm presuming red pu'erh is cooked pu'erh which can often be quite nasty and made in less than ideal sanitary conditions.

The kind of tea that screams healthy to me is fresh Japanese green, especially matcha.

If you want to find out if one of the teas you mention is causing issues then drink one of them exclusively for a week or two before switching to the other.

[Proinsias]

Is it also possible that the tea has very little to do with the above symptoms and that the main change tea will make in your life is that it tastes nice.

[chingwa]

Other people may disagree with me about this subject, but I find that the health benefits of green tea are seen long-term, and involve more than just drinking green-tea itself, but also lifestyle changes as well. Most "benefits" you hear about in the news are grossly overstated (usually to sell some form of machinized or industrialized green tea 'product'... not green tea itself). It seems to me most benefits are circumstantial... i.e., if you are drinking natural tea you are less likely to drink unnatural beverages.

If you have acne trouble there's a few things I can recommend (assuming you aren't just in that early teen phase many people go through). First... if you're looking for tea to cure your acne you are bound for disappointment. Green-tea (or any tea) will NOT cure acne. believe it. While most people think there is some corollation between what they eat/drink and acne, and this is sometimes true to some degree, it has also been grossly overemphasized. For sure, refined sugar is a non-food and should be cut out of your diet as much as possible. This means NO SODA. Very limited desserts (or none ^_^ ), etc. You should definitely replace soda with green tea to a small degree and WATER to a large degree. Sugar doesn't cause acne... but it can mess up your body in impressive ways (not to mention lead to complications like diabetes and cancer) which acne will gladly take advantage of.

green-tea does have caffeine, and many people are sensitive to it, but it is rather unlikely that is the root cause of your continuing problems.

A bigger factor contributing to acne in many cases is a little-known something called 'Multiple-Chemical-Sensitivity'. Essentially your skin goes haywire because of the cocktail of chemicals it is exposed to over the years and decades of being alive (starting with Johnson and Johnson 'baby' shampoo... ). this includes cologne/perfume, soap, shampoo, conditioner, face-wash, wrinkle cream, moisturizers, acne topicals, tooth-paste, makeup etc etc. Just sit back and think of all the products you use and then think of all the ingredients that are in all those products. that is an impressively evil soup of chemicals. (not to mention a lot of $$$ better spent on tea ^_^ )

The human body does not actually need any of these 'cleaning' products to be clean... and I would suggest cutting out as much as them as possible (with the possible exception of a natural toothpaste ^_^ I mean I'm not COMPLETELY whacked). Send me a PM if you're interested and I'll share as much info as I can. (don't want to get too far away from the tea subject here... )

P.S. I am not a doctor.

[Oni]

You should drink high quality organic tea of any kind and brew it right, that way it is a wonder beverage, if you buy your local crap sold as tea you never know what kind of chemicals you might get for free in that teabag, try buying tea online from china and japan, you will see the HUGE diffrence, try o-cha for example.

[auhckw]

Somehow related:-

Too much of a good thing can be bad

We've all heard that moderation is the key to good health. It's also great for the environment since moderation equals less consumption and therefore less stress on the planet.

But aren't there some things that you just can't have too much of? Not really. Even things that are good for you can be damaging if you consume too much

More: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscio ... e-bad.html

[rdl]

But aren't there some things that you just can't have too much of? Not really. Even things that are good for you can be damaging if you consume too much

auhckw, you hit the nail on the head. never before have we had access to foods at all times, all seasons, in quantities like never before, and the leisure time and means to indulge like never before. this over-consumption takes a toll on the human body, which is not capable to tolerate the stress put on it.
your post reminds us all to care for ourselves. there are tea breaks and breaks from tea; the two go hand in hand.

[IPT]

never before have we had access to foods at all times, all seasons, in quantities like never before

You aren't kidding. One thing I really loved when I moved to China was the seasonality of foods. Growing up, if a vegetable or fruit wasn't in season, we simply didn't have it. Well, except for the things we canned. The fruits were ripe and flavorful. I ate a ton of fruit growing up and had all but stopped by the time I left the States because most of the fruits and veggies were flavorless. Here though, if the fruit is ripe or the vegetable is ready, it is picked and sold. Oh man! The difference is absolutely incredible! I so look forward to each new season and the fruits it brings.

[AlexZorach]

Different people respond differently to any sort of food, drink, or chemical substances. I think a few tips that I'd follow with anything are:

• Listen to your body. If you don't feel well when you eat or drink something, stop eating or drinking it.
• Always ease into things in moderation. Don't go from drinking no tea to drinking 3-5 cups a day. Start drinking a cup a day and see how your body reacts, then drink another.
• As others have recommended, pay attention to brewing, and, I'd also say, buy organically-produced (not necessarily always certified) tea of high quality, and pay attention to brewing. With green tea, improper brewing can make it really harsh, and poorly brewed tea makes me feel pretty crappy if I drink it. The same goes for some low-quality tea.

[ryan]

When I first starting drinking green tea I was having up to 10 cups per day... After doing this for months I started having stomach problems with indigestion and other similar symptoms after having "too much tea". I ignored it and continued with the large quantities of tea and eventually gave myself something similar to an ulcer. It was quite painful (usually after meals) and was a burning/stabbing/sharp pain.

I had to stop consuming all things with caffeine, and alcohol as well as other foods that stimulate high acidity in the stomach (citrus, tomatoes, etc). After a few months my stomach healed and I am able to drink tea in more reasonable quantities (2-3 cups per day).

Good luck figuring out what is causing your pains... and remember as other people have already said tea is not a cure... lead a healthy life style of moderation and it will pay off.