Green Tea Allergy?
I heard something the other day that I’d never heard before. We were talking about the purported benefits of jasmine tea, and green tea in general, at work the other day, and one of my coworkers said that she can’t drink green tea, because she has a horrible reaction to it. She said it made her jittery, anxious, and have big mood swings all day. After her first experience drinking green tea, she had no inclination to do so again. But with all the news about the health benefits of green tea, she tried something with green tea extract in it. Same reaction. No more green tea for her. She said she also had a friend that this might have happened to as well.
Now, I know, the plural of anecdote is not data. And I certainly drink a lot of green tea, as do many of the people I know, with no ill effects. But I was curious to see if this was an acknowledged phenomenon, given how widespread green tea and its extracts are becoming. I’m sure people can develop a food allergy to pretty much anything, but usually it’s to a certain thing in the food, and what would it be in green tea? Is it in other stuff, too?
The vast, vast majority of things Google turned up to me in the first few pages of results was the same old green tea health benefits stuff. Cure allergies! Antioxidants! Wards off ailments! Etc. (I didn’t say this was going to be an exhaustive effort, did I? Besides, I figure the top several pages of a Google search is a pretty good estimation of prevalence. Ish.)
The only thing I could find was this open letter, which appears to concentrate on the idea that green tea has a much higher concentration of flouride than is considered healthy. The writer also lays out a lot of apparent links between flouride poisoning and a variety of health issues, many of which seem related to the thyroid. Honestly, though, it’s not very gripping writing, and seems almost purposefully written in a confusing imitation of “medical journalese” style, so I just skimmed it. Ah, the writer is from the group, Parents of Flouride Poisoned Children.
Anyway, I’m not very convinced that this was my coworker’s problem, so it’s still a mystery. Has anyone else ever heard of anything like this? She doesn’t have problems with black tea, or caffeine in general, so it’s kind of an interesting question.
-posted by Dana
June 20, 2007 at 11:18 pm
If you search for “green tea allergy” on Google. you get a bunch of links, most suggesting that people who have caffeine or tannin allergies should avoid green tea. Green tea has different types of tannins than black tea, so a tannin allergy could still be possible.
June 21, 2007 at 9:50 am
Hmmm, a tannin allergy could make sense, though it looks like the allergy symptoms those sites are talking about are the more typical food allergy ones of difficulty breathing, throat swelling, hives, etc. They also indicate that people who have this allergy are likely also sensitive to other teas and coffee, suggesting more of a caffeine sensitivity than a specific green tea one. Like this, for example:
Even searching more closely for “green tea tannin allergy” got references to caffeine and tannins in general, which my coworker doesn’t have, and none of the sites ever talk about the strong anxiety symptoms she indicated.
June 21, 2007 at 10:47 am
I have seen several articles about wheat or gluten allergy or intolerance that lists anxiety and mood swings as one of the symptoms. This may be a common symptom of food allergy, but I have never heard of anyone being allergic to green tea.
June 22, 2007 at 11:06 am
I drink green tea all the time but every time I have a cup I suffer from cramping in my abdomen. I don’t know why, no other type of tea does this but with green tea it always happens. Not bad enough to keep me away though!
July 4, 2007 at 3:28 am
Nice blog, I think you have written this article very well, you bring up some solid information. Thank you for sharing this information with me I really do appreciate it. Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing what else this blog has to offer. =) TY for taking so much time working on such a great blog.
August 23, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I found this blog while searching for info about possible reactions to green tea. I have recently started drinking green tea as part of a low allergy diet, to eliminate the milk I had in black tea. Have also been eating nuts as part of these changes. Am clearly not coping with something, and will experiment with elimination of a couple of these new additions to my diet. Symptoms include nagging headache, brain fog, back pain, fatigue, breathing problems - usual allergy stuff. Have a lifetime history of atopy, and currently recovering from an undiagnosed (till 3 weeks ago) drug reaction (Irbesartan). Will let you know how I go. Thanks for the input folks!
August 27, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I just went to a favorite veggie restaurant and started off lunch with a pot of jasmine tea. Over the course of lunch, my upper lip up to my nose started feeling like it was inflamed and red. This area is very hot to the touch. The burning has continued throughout the afternoon and I went home and took an antihistamine. I have many allergies but had not known of one to jasmine tea. Hmmmm.
September 14, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I have Crohn’s disease and am careful about what I eat and don’t eat. Every time I have a flareup I note what might have set it off….and, I swear, green tea does it every time. At first I discounted the possibility…how could something so praised cause misery. I got on a blueberry/green tea, iced and yummy kick earlier this summer. Never again.
September 19, 2007 at 10:00 am
I love the flavor of real tea (green, black & red), but have found that drinking it on an empty stomach can give me severe nausea & headache. Usually this reaction is to the stronger teas, especially black, though occasionally it can be to white tea as well. It’s not the caffeine or the acid because I don’t have any such reaction to coffee, which is generally more caffeinated and more acidic. At least two other people I know have had this reaction as well, though neither are as severe as I am (I’ve gone home from work for throwing up after drinking tea on an empty stomach). It can happen from drinking iced tea on an empty stomach as well. But it’s bizzare, because I almost never have any such reaction when I have tea at a restaurant with my meal - and that’s why probably more people who have this sensitivity aren’t aware of it, because drinking tea with food is more common than drinking it by itself.
It’s very frustrating to try and figure out what causes this reaction, because when you search for “tea allergy” or “tea indigestion”, all Google tells you is how good tea is for curing seasonal allergies! And everyone confuses real teas with herbal “teas” - most of which I have no problem with. Arrgh! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
September 19, 2007 at 11:40 am
OnMon…I think you have something there with the empty tummy thought. I did drink big glasses of that iced blueberry tea mid afternoons while ironing, etc. On an empty tummy.
I, too, have searched for “tea allergiy” etc. and gotten the same results. Tea is wonderful for you!
September 20, 2007 at 10:37 pm
I, as well have had reactions to tea, especially green tea.
I always get a very dry mouth when i drink it, and sometimes I even get pins and needles and my throat feels very dry. I’ve always thought that this was normal, but a friend of mine has the same reaction to sunflower oil (she is allergic to sunflower seeds), especially when it’s in potato chips.
I don’t even think that I taste the same flavour as everyone else when I drink tea, because I never understood why everyone thought it was so great, it’s really only mediocre to me.
Well, it’s good to know that other people have had reactions to tea, especially green tea, and I’m not the only one!
October 13, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I’ve had an allergic reaction to green tea the three times I’ve tried it. The first time I thought I was a little anxious and had difficulty breathing. Just passed it off as a strange occurence. The next time I drank some I was unable to breathe without making myself do it. In other words, the nervous system which automatically regulates your breathing, just quit and I had to make myself inhale and exhale each breath. Let me tell you, it requires all your attention and wears you out. Thankfully I had recently taken an anatomy and physiology class and knew about the parts of the brain that regulate breathing, like when we sleep, and knew I could still breathe by my own effort. It was frightening but I remained as calm as possible and paced the floor. The movement helped move the blood and oxygen through my body. After an hour the problem went away. I still wasn’t sure if the tea was the problem or just a coincidence and tried green tea again resulting in minor difficulty. That proved to me tea was the culprit and to never drink it again. The real danger in having your “automatic breather” turned off is that you may become unconcious for some reason, in which case you won’t be able to force yourself to breathe.
I wonder if the coworker actually had trouble breathing and became anxious because of that or interpreted the difficulty in breathing as anxiety.
October 15, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I do have anxiety issues in general, but they’re not too bad, generally. I drank quite a bit of green and jasmine tea last night - went to the local Asian specialty store yesterday and bought a bunch of yummy bottles to chill. I woke up this morning in a complete panic. Unable to think straight / focus. That is not usual at all for me. May be two unrelated events, but I was websurfing to find out if this had happened to anyone else and found this blog.
Several years ago, I went to my favorite bubble tea place and got a big, sweet, iced and strong jasmine tea with boba. Mmmm. Delicious. And then I threw up in my car. But I went back a few weeks later and got more. (Shrug.) I think I might have a jasmine tea issue.
October 18, 2007 at 7:47 pm
I actually had the exact same problem as Stacia and haven’t been able to breathe right for the past day or two. I’m always having to force myself to breathe and is making me kind of anxious because of it. My head also feels really cloudy and haven’t been able to think straight. weird. Stupid tea…
Other than not drinking it…
has anyone found anything that makes the symptoms go away?
October 18, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Justin,
Since I’m not sure if this is truly an allergic reaction (hence the question mark in the title), your symptoms might not respond, but I’d suggest taking an antihistamine to see if that eases your breathing. If it doesn’t, please, please go to the doctor, because they may need to put you on an asthma inhaler temporarily, in order to open up your bronchial tubes. While I don’t have this reaction to tea myself, I do have asthma, and I know it really sucks when breathing becomes a conscious act. And I have enough friends with other food allergies to suggest the antihistamine as a first step.
October 28, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Just a few comments — I cannot drink tea of any sort but have no problems with caffeine from other foods. I have no medical expertise here but 50 years of personal experience have proven that the caffeine in tea is not the same as the caffeine in coffee. Perhaps it is not the caffeine–but the reaction I have (and as is reported by Dana’s coworker) is the same as reported “caffeine” intolerance–jittery, mood swings, lack of sleep. Interestingly, I happened onto your site in search of “tannin allergies” which I do suffer. Could the two be the same? Still seraching!
November 22, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Green tea makes me sweat, feel nauseaus and vomit.
November 27, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I have the same reaction as Katherine, but I drink coffee and herbal tea all the time! Even green tea soy milk (which has green tea powder) makes me sick. It’s a bummer because I’m a health nut and I want to drink it.
November 28, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Kristen I have exactly the same reaction to all green teas as you do A very dry mouth and throat swelling of the tongue etc I have tried every possible green tea/organic/eecg/in vitamins/extract etc and the reaction is always the same I am curious if anyone has tried white tea instead since it is the buds of the tea prior to any fermenting ?
December 7, 2007 at 6:07 am
I first noticed a sensitivity to green tea when I took a multivitamin with the extract, and it made me horribly ill. I felt the above-mentioned symptoms as soon as I took it. Then this past summer I started buying this brand of cold green tea. I loved the taste. I got it every day for lunch. It didn’t give me the same symptoms that the extract in the multivitamin did. Then I started noticing horrible pain in my stomach which eventually spread to my lower back. I went to the ER. They thought it was early appendicitis, but tests did not show anything. I cut back on my daily green tea habit. I have been off of green tea for a few weeks now and feel completely fine.
December 7, 2007 at 8:59 am
I started to drink green tea in the summer and after a few days My nose totally blocked, especially at night and I started to get terrible palpitations with irregular heart beat. I have never suffered with this heart thing before and was also mistified why my nose kept stuffing up. I was spraying it every night with Otropin to clear it! It suddendly dawned on me that it was this green tea. I stopped it and have not suffered with the blocked nose or the irregular heart beating since.
December 23, 2007 at 12:31 am
Excellent article and site .your piece is a great resource to the online audience. Please when you have time check out my site with many articles like seasonal allergies http://allergieshelp.blogspot.com
January 12, 2008 at 3:14 pm
January 12,2008
I am having a reaction right now, it is so strange. I tried green tea a few nights ago while I was baking and I thought I was going to faint. My head was so light and dizzy. I thought if I hit the granite counter tops I”m out and no one is home. I thought that it could be the tea. This morning I drank half a cup and within an hour I became real dizzy again so I went and googled and found this site. Am I done or do I want to go through this again to see if it happens again. My husband suggested drinking alot of water to get it out of me. I can live without the green, black doesn’t bother me.
January 14, 2008 at 7:35 am
Just Google’d across this blog. Glad to see i’m not the only one. I drink plenty of black tea without any problem but whenever I have green tea by the end of the cup I start to retch & vomit. Just happend to me after a cup of jasmine tea (must have similar properties). As far as i know, i don’t have allergies to anything else & can pretty much eat/drink anything which is why i’m so interested to find out more. Strange one!
January 16, 2008 at 9:58 am
Hi, I started drinkin normal green tea from the supermarket and have felt great on it.. it wasnt until 3 weeks ago my mom had bought some of the ’super’ pu’ erh green tea and over the last 3 weeks I have come out in a rash. As days have passed its changed from being under the skin with no colour , on my chest and inside of my arms, to a red, angry raised rash. Up until yesterday I had cut everything out, dairy, wheat, etc.. and changed the washing up powder, everything. Then I realised this morning, it must be the Pu erh green tea making me worse. I have been to the doctors twice, and the pharmacy, and they say its an allergy but are unsure of what, however the more I read about the green tea the more I believe this to be the case. I have been taking alot of anti histamines, Piraton, Clarityn everything I have tried has not worked which has been given by the doctor or Pharmacists. This is my first day of not drinking the tea, so I shall keep you posted. Other than that, the only other effect I seem to have had is the feeling that someone is sitting on my chest, which isnt painful, it just feels strange.
January 19, 2008 at 2:59 am
i don’t drink green tea because i didn’t like the taste the first time i tried it like ten years ago, but i have the agitated can’t sleep thing from black tea, so i relate to this thread. it’s definitely an allergic reaction and not the caffeine because i drink WAY TOO MUCH COFFEE and am totally caffeine-desensitived. my point is that all-over itchiness, agitation and insomnia are classic allergic reactions. so it’s clear people are allergic to green tea just like i am allergic to black tea. i think it’s probably the tannins. tannins are a histamine. anybody get a stuffed up sinus and general itchiness and achiness from red wine? it’s a tannin thing. then there is a the sulfur thing, but that is a different subject, and it would be rude to get off topic because this is such a focused and fascinating blog. p.s. i am totally quoting you on “the plural of anecdote is not data” — brilliant and hilarious.
January 20, 2008 at 11:04 am
So I started drinking green tea about 4 weeks ago. At the same time, I was eating right and exercising. About 2 weeks ago, I broke out in a nasty hive-like red rash on my neck that burns and itches…i’ve been to the Dr and the dermatologist. they both say it’s something i came in contact with. I’m on creams, claritin and benadryl. I’ve changed detergents and everything I can think of….yesterday, i bought a cup of hot green tea at starbucks and the skin on my neck was burning up within five minutes. i am going to cut out the green tea and see what happens…I’ve never been allergic to anything ever…. I will keep you posted. Anyone have a similar reaction?
January 22, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I was relived to see I’m not alone. My nephew gave me a tin of green tea (gold grade-gunpower tea) for Christmas. I drank one cup at about 6:30 AM and by 8 AM I was starting to break out in hives. I’ve never been allergic to anything. I had hives on my stomach, legs, arms, scalp and on top of my feet. Saw the doctor. Received a shot of cortisone and scrip for Zyrtec. Also took OTC Benydral. The second day was the worst. Took about a week for all the hives to disappear. I’m not going near any more green tea!
January 27, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I think I can sleep a little better tonight. I too, have had a severe skin rash for three months now. I have been to my family doctor, dermatologist, allergy specialist and have had lab wok done and none can tell me what is causing the reaction. I had been without green tea for two weeks now and my skin was almost completely clear. Today, I had a cold green tea, well, mt skin broke out in the same weird rash all over. I will stay off it again and if goes away I will make my own conclusion, it’s the green tea !!!!! Kind of expensive trying to figure out allergic reactions and only oneself coming up with our own conclusions in the end.
January 28, 2008 at 11:12 am
I suffered TIA (mini strokes) and didn’t associate my troubles to green tea until I read an article in BottomLine Health magazine. I suffer from high blood pressure and was on medicine to reduce (Lotrel) it. It wasn’t until I passed on from running to catch a bus and found someone trying to put a plastic spoon or fork in my mouth (they thought I was having a seizure). I went to the hospital and was told I was having a stroke. I continue taking the medication but discontinued drinking green tea.
When I tried “white” tea and started feeling some of the same things I read the label and discovered that this was “green” tea as well and stopped drinking it and my symptoms went away.
I love black and all the other herbs and teas without problem. It’s only green tea that did me in and now I can’t find the original story in BL about the tea and reactions to medications that control blood pressure.
I have skin rashes also but I’m off the green tea but still drink almost a gallon of other teas a day. I’m allergic to citric acid and consume too much of that in almost everything so I contribute my skin allergies to that. I do try to limit how much I eat.
February 4, 2008 at 12:50 am
I drink lots of Green Tea and love it and it is great. But I just brought a new brand. My daughter drank some first, and told me her throat was sore from it. I ignored her and made myself a cup too!! It hurt my throat to even drink it, but for some ??? reason I carried on drinking it. Something about the taste reminded me of beer, although it did not taste ‘like beer’. Now my throat feels very sore like Tonsilitus, and I have foggy head and feel a bit trembly and strange. I have slept all afternoon. Headache lessened with sleep. the new tea was organic fair trade from sri lanka.
February 7, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I found this blog while searching for info on green tea allergies. Thanks for a great article and thanks to everyone for your input. My 18yo daughter came home from school today throwing up. She had a bottle of Lipton Green Tea at study hall. This is the third time she has had this reaction to a product containing green tea. The first two times were from taking a Green Tea dietary supplement. She had the reaction the first time but didn’t put two and two together until it happened again. She said today that she thought the drink would be ok as the tea was diluted with water, but she was wrong. No more anything with green tea for her.
February 8, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I love tea! I regularly drink black, red and green tea (including jasmine) with no side effects whatsoever however, I recently tried white tea and I have a really unpleasant reaction to it every time - firstly my jawline and under my chin starts to itch really badly then the area around my temples/top of my cheekbones starts to itch, the itching intensifies until it’s so bad I want to scratch my face off, then my whole face gets really hot and no amount of cold water will cool it down and I begin to feel a little shakey. It, thankfully, gets no worse than this but it lasts for several hours (and allergy relief tablets have no effect whatsoever), it’s normally over 6 hours before I’m back to normal. Over the last few weeks I’ve been cutting out and reintroducing different food stuffs to try to work out what has been causing my reaction. I’d not had a reaction for a while but today was the day I reintroduced white tea and within an hour of drinking a cup I’ve had one of my worst reactions ever. I still couldn’t quite believe that tea was resonsible but after reading all your comments I am 100% convinced I have a white tea allergy. I’m off to throw my white tea in the bin!
February 26, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I just found this after Googling for Green Tea Allergy.
I love tea, can drink boat loads of Orange Pekoe or black tea with no ill effects. Last week I made a pot of green tea - drank half a cup, added more warm tea to the mug then as soon as I started to drink it my mouth felt funny, hives started emerging in my throat and my breathing became laboured. I rarely get heachaches and immediately had one deep in my right temple area. I took a Reactine right away because I knew I was having a severe allergy attack. How come I can drink regular tea with no problem?
March 2, 2008 at 1:31 pm
My ears are itching. I have lots of mild allergies and have begun to wonder if tea (both black and green, or maybe only black) might be the cause. My ears seem to itch more when I am at home (gourmet loose tea) than away (tea bags). I usually have one cup of green tea and two cups of black tea in the morning.
Google found this site for me and I’m interested in the conversation.
March 3, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This is directed to “Laura” as I experienced the same problem. I broke out into a similar rash after a few weeks of taking the green tea pills, and I was eliminating everything and trying to figure out what it was, the doctor didn’t know except an allergic reaction to something. I remembered about ten years ago I was consuming lots of green tea and I had broken out, now I realize that is highly possible to be allergic to green tea, after all it is very potent.
March 6, 2008 at 6:24 am
Its entirely possible to allergic to any kind of food. However, here are some questions to be posed related to the tea allergy - is only green tea, organic being consumed? I wonder if some people may be reacting to pesticides or other chemicals that end up in the foods during processing. Its very difficult to trust many food manufacturers today. And not all tea is organically processed. For instance decaf tea may have added flavorings and some are not gluten free.
In any case I drank black tea most of my young adult life with no obvious problems. But I did develop celiac disease and multiple food allergies over the past decade. I cut out tea because for a long time it was difficult to find gluten free decaf tea. I tried some black and green recently and noticed that my mouth feels extremely dry when drinking it, as though it leaves a film - something I dont recall from the past experience. Im just too apprehensive at trying new foods so I only drank a few sips to gauge my reaction. Now I am not sure if I should attempt it again.
March 9, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I too found this site by googling “green tea allergy”. I gave up coffee and started drinking green tea while I was suffering from a sinus problem. I can drink coffee and black tea with no adverse reaction. But I developed a low grade itchy rash after I started green tea. Then it became raised, very red, and very itchy, to the point where I needed to take a Benadryl. I gave up green tea, switched to black tea. The rash subsided, but is still present and itchy, although lessened. It’s been a week and 5 days. I was starting to wonder if it really was the tea. But after reading this information, I am more confident it was the green tea. Hopefully the rash and itching will continue to subside.
March 10, 2008 at 11:13 am
Apparently many of us have green tea issues, because like others here, I found this site while googling “green tea headaches”. Green Tea is the current “it” drug and is found in so many health products. When I drink or take anything with green tea in it I get a very peculiar headache, radiating up from the base of my head where it attaches to the spine and it just feels like someone is squeezing as hard as they can. The first time I noticed it, I had just drank an Arizona diet Green Tea. The headache was so severe I had to take medicine and go to sleep. Then I started taking an appetite suppressant with the same result. I looked at the label to see what ingredients could be the same — only the green tea. Then I started experimenting to see if any product containing green tea would do the same thing. Yep. An amount of green tea in just about any form puts me in bed for the rest of the day.
March 19, 2008 at 9:41 am
Hi, wow! What a great site for my questions to be answered. I too found this from Google. I’ve been having an itchy diarrhea/type bowel movement over the past few months. I’ve been drinking Jasmine Pearl tea from Numi every morning for the past year and I love it but everytime I cut it out from my diet, the bowel issue clears up. I also was getting an itchy forehead & chest. Does anyone know if it could just be the jasmine flowers or if it’s green tea? What a bummer if it is as I love green tea…thanks for the wonderful sharing,
March 21, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I started taking green tea extract a couple of weeks ago and ended up in the doctors office with an extremely painful distended abdomen. I also had trouble sleeping while taking it.
(I started turmeric at the same time as the green tree extract and thought that might be the cause. After doing some research I did find that turmeric might cause problems with people who have gallstones. I do have them, but have never had any problems with them. To be on the safe side I discontinued the turmeric.) No relief. I experienced another painful abdominal attack and then noticed the warning on the back of the green tea extract bottle. After googling adverse reactions to it, I found that it definitely can affect some people in a negative way. Has anyone else experienced the terrible bloating and abdominal cramping after taking the green tea extract?
March 21, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I have been drinking green tea for about 2 months. I am on blood pressure meds(lotrel) and thyroid meds(synthyroid), not sure if there is any link. I started having terrible difficulty breathing.I did not consider the green tea because of all of it’s reported health benefits. I drink it cold and hot and I noticed that the shortness of breath got worse with hot Celestial Seasoning Green Tea. I love the stuff and continued to drink it,and made an appointment to see the Doc. I’ve not had any hot tea for two days and the breating has gotten better.However, I did drink some cold lipton green tea and seem not to notice any difference. Also I am experiencing what appears to be a rash on my face. I’m gonna not drink any tea for the next few days and see what happens. My breathing has definitely gotten better though without the hot tea. Stay Tuned.
March 23, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I goggled ‘green tea and itching’ and was taken to this site. though particular set of symptoms was not mentioned. I sometimes take 1 sometimes 2 green tea pills (otc) for weight loss during the day and that night seem to have the most incredible itching on arms legs back scalp. I think there is a connection.
March 24, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Most Green Teas sold in shops are made using leaves from China - Japanese leaf tea is entirely different. I can drink Japanese green tea with absolutely no side effects what so ever - but chinese green tea (sometimes even mistakenly labeled Japanese) makes me very sick, giving me everything from stomache cramps to nausea. I have only found real Japanese green tea sold in specialist shops - maybe try to buy this kind, rather than tea made in china, and hopefully there will be no side effects!
March 24, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I guess it would help to mention that I work in travel, and my department deals with China and Japan. When we go on work trips, we bring back tea (it’s just a nice thing to have in the office!) - the Japanese stuff I can drink, no problems, but if I misread a box I soon know about it. Japanese green tea has a distinctly different taste to chinese (well, at least to me it does). Both countries call it ‘green tea’, but it’s like calling lemonade and coke the same thing. Don’t drink the chinese stuff - if you can, and if you have one, go to a foreign foodstore and pick up a box of Japanese. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea#Japanese_green_teas
March 25, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I found another sight with info about green tea and green tea extract. http://www.thirdage.com/ebsco/files/21771.html
Studies weakly suggest that 3 cups of green tea daily might provide protection against cancer. However, because not everyone wants to take the time to drink green tea, manufacturers have offered extracts that can be taken in pill form. A typical dosage is 100 to 150 mg three times daily of a green tea extract standardized to contain 80% total polyphenols and 50% epigallocatechin gallate. Whether these extracts offer any benefit remains unknown. Furthermore, there are growing concerns about liver toxicity with use of green tea extracts. (see Safety Issues)
Warning: In an analysis performed in 2006 by the respected testing organization ConsumerLabs.com, some tested green tea products were found to be contaminated with lead. 34
Safety Issues
As a widely consumed beverage, green tea is generally regarded as safe. It does contain caffeine, at perhaps a slightly lower level than black tea, and can therefore cause insomnia, nervousness, and the other well-known symptoms of excess caffeine intake.
Green tea extracts, however, may not be safe. There are a growing number of case reports in which use of a concentrated green tea extract was associated with liver inflamation; 35, 40 In most cases, liver problems disappeared after the extract was discontinued, but in two cases, permanent liver failure ensued requiring liver transplantation. 36, 40 While it is not absolutely certain that the green tea extract caused the liver problems, nor how it might do so, these reports do raise significant concerns about use of green tea extracts, especially by those with liver disease or prone to it.
Green tea should not be given to infants and young children. There are theoretical concerns that high dosages of EGCG might be unsafe for pregnant women. 37
Dried green tea leaf contains significant levels of vitamin K on a per-weight basis. On this basis, it has been stated that people using blood thinners in the Coumadin family should avoid green tea, because vitamin K antagonizes the effect of those drugs. However green tea taken as a beverage provides such small amounts of the vitamin that the risk seems minimal for normal consumption. There is one case report of problems that developed in a person on warfarin who consumed as much as a gallon of green tea daily. 38
Interactions You Should Know About
If you are taking
· MAO inhibitors : The caffeine in green tea could cause serious problems.
· Coumadin (warfarin) : avoid drinking large quantities of green tea.
March 25, 2008 at 10:16 pm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/green-tea/NS_patient-green_tea
Allergies
People with known allergy/hypersensitivity to caffeine or tannin should avoid green tea. Skin rash and hives have been reported with caffeine ingestion.
Side Effects and Warnings
Studies of the side effects of green tea specifically are limited. However, green tea is a source of caffeine, for which multiple reactions are reported.
Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, and may cause insomnia in adults, children, and infants (including nursing infants of mothers taking caffeine). Caffeine acts on the kidneys as a diuretic (increasing urine and urine sodium/potassium levels, and potentially decreasing blood sodium/potassium levels), and may worsen urge incontinence. Caffeine-containing beverages may increase the production of stomach acid, and may worsen ulcer symptoms. Tannin in tea can cause constipation. Caffeine in doses of 250 to 350 milligrams can increase heart rate and blood pressure, although people who consume caffeine regularly do not seem to experience these effects in the long-term.
An increase in blood sugar levels may occur. Caffeine-containing beverages such as green tea should be used cautiously in patients with diabetes. In contrast, lowering of blood sugar levels from drinking green tea has also been reported in preliminary research. Additional study is needed in this area.
People with severe liver disease should use caffeine cautiously, as levels of caffeine in the blood may build up and last longer. Skin rashes have been associated with caffeine ingestion. In laboratory and animal studies, caffeine has been found to affect blood clotting, although effects in humans are not known.
Caffeine toxicity is possible with high doses. Doses greater than 1,000 milligrams may be fatal. Chronic use can result in tolerance, psychological dependence, and may be habit forming. Abrupt discontinuation may result in withdrawal symptoms.
Several population studies initially suggested a possible association between caffeine use and fibrocystic breast disease, although more recent research has not found this connection. Limited research reports a possible relationship between caffeine use and multiple sclerosis, although evidence is not definitive in this area. Animal study reports that tannin fractions from tea plants may increase the risk of cancer, although it is not clear that the tannin present in green tea has significant carcinogenic effects in humans.
Drinking tannin-containing beverages such as tea may contribute to iron deficiency, and in infants, tea has been associated with impaired iron metabolism and microcytic anemia.
In preliminary research, green tea has been associated with decreased levels of estrogens in the body. It is not clear if significant side effects such as hot flashes may occur.
March 28, 2008 at 9:26 am
I have been drinking green tea for a couple of years..I am also on synthroid….My dr said my levels have changed and might need more meds…I just reallized this morning after I drink my first cup of tea ,my throat seems to have mucus in it and feels like its swelling,..I have to clear my throat constantly..SO after 1 cup of tea I stopped, drank a v-8 and a few cups of warm water..It seems better…SO is it something in the green tea…I do miss my 2 or 3 cups of tea in the Morning
March 31, 2008 at 11:34 am
I appreciate the comments here greatly! I have been trying a new nutrition plan (no dairy, no gluten) for 4 weeks now. The first week was great, but the last 3 weeks I have had bouts of diarrhea at least once a day (sorry, TMI). I have been drinking green tea for several years now, but I’ve increased the amount over the past few weeks to 3-4 cups per day because of all of the hype about its benefits. I started thinking that I was allergic to something and started the process of elimination, and now I believe it’s the green tea. I’ve backed down to a max of 1 cup per day but I think I’m going to have to eliminate it altogether. Question: does anyone know about the effects of drinking white tea? I understand that the tannin and antioxidant content in white tea is different than green tea. (Note: One of the articles that Andrea posted pointed to green tea contaminated with lead. My symptoms seem to point to the possibility of mild lead poisoning, but that’s just too scary.)
April 2, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Like a few others who commented here, I too suffer abdominal cramping, pain, and boating from tea. I noticed this with Jasmine tea, and have yet to test it to see if it’s the jasmine I’m reacting to or the green tea itself. I’m starting to suspect it’s all green tea, but will have to test it to be sure. Unfortunately it’s a long and painful stomach ache I get fro it so if I am indeed allergic to all green tea, the “test” will not be very comfortable. Usualy the pain kicks in the day after I have the tea, but sometimes very soon after as well. I also often get nautious from many caffinated teas.
I wonder though what the allergy really is to, is it the tea itself or as other mentioned, gluten/wheat or some other issue? Obviously, I’d like to know b/c Id like to avoid other items that may contain the offending ingredient, whatever that may be. Thanks for writing on this topic, it seems from the responses that many people react to green tea–it’s something I’d have never expected.
April 8, 2008 at 8:41 am
This is all very riveting to me. I, through my own powers of deduction through subtracting different foods and beverages did find I have developed an allergy to caffeine. This after being diagnosed with shingles and working in a very high stress job (which I have since moved on from).
I however, after hearing of all the health benefits of green tea started drinking it in many forms. The caffeine level in it did not produce reactions similar to that of coffee or regular teas, thus, I assumed I was not having any reactions.
One thing that did begin to occur was that my knee joints have been aching so horribly I was even having problems sleeping. I initially chalked this up to a number of years doing an elliptical workout and since, have switched to swimming, thinking this would totally relieve my knee issue. It did not. (My knees hurt so bad I was having problems going up and down steps and even squatting or bending over, I’m 38.)
Recently, I went cold turkey on the green tea and green tea products and my knees have not hurt since the cessation. While I do realize there could be numerous other causes of my knee pain, I am baffled by the seeming coincidence of stopping the green tea intake and my knees no longer hurting.
My doctors have been no help in this situation….with the caffeine allergy identification or now with my knee issues and I have been made to feel like a hypochondriac or crazy.
I suppose the question I have is about what the actual culprit could be with the green tea….is it the caffeine, the tannins, the fluoride, a thyroid issue……what could affect my knee joints that way, but no other joints?
Well in any case, thank you all for the information in this blog, as I have found nothing anywhere else to even come close to answering some of my questions.
April 8, 2008 at 1:16 pm
What a relief! I thought I was being hypochondriacal as I too suffered from brain fog, dry mouth and fatigue when I drank green tea. I just wanted to go to bed. I also experienced a difference between generic green tea and green tea from Japan. If I brew Japanese green tea the correct way, using very little tea, water just off the boil and steeping for only one minute I can tolerate it. I have heard horror stories about the production of green tea in China and am concerned about contamination.
There might also be something to the hypo-thyroid connection as that is an issue for me. It could relate to green tea’s ability to alter glucose levels.
Thank you for the only informative site on this obvious problem.
April 10, 2008 at 12:48 am
I started drinking green tea and alternated each day between black and green tea each day. Lately I have stopped drinking black tea and began to drink only green tea. some with lunch and decaffinated with dinner.
I have developed a terrible rash on my arms and burning rash on my face. My eyes even seem to have swollen.
I have stopped drinking the green tea starting today. I just figured out that maybe it is the green tea giving me a some sort of an allergy. I also seem to have mood swings, joint pain, and a burning sensation on my skin. Mostly on my face. I have had terrrible insomnia also that is why I switched to decaf. It has not helped. It has been about two or three weeks since I made the switch to all green tea. I will keep you updated to see if I get better. thanks for sharing.
April 10, 2008 at 11:23 am
Greetings to all!
Last night I thought I was gonna die. Earlier in the evening I had several cups of loose green tea, including the flower ball (it was my first flower ever). Palpitations, nausea and vomiting, I was quite tired but didn’t dare close my eyes for quite some time as I was afraid I would stop breathing - needed to employ my breathing consciously.
I’d never had any problems with jasmine green tea in the past, used to consume it in great quantities, and here I mean high quality loose green tea. However, after a couple of years’ break, things seem to have changed.
I think I’m gonna stick to the glorious Japanese Matcha. Anyhow it’s far more superior to regular green teas, and can be drunk in a base of something really tasty, e.g. thai lemongrass with honey and extra lemon. I start every day with a cup of refreshing Matcha.
http://www.muzitea.com
Good luck, all!
April 14, 2008 at 9:22 am
Ha - I’m relieved to see that others also have symptoms from Green Tea, but I feel like a freak because mine are so different. I use quality green tea (or so I think) and love to drink several glasses every now and again and then I get UTI-like symptoms. I’ve never had any urinary problems in my life (except for one UTI, which came around a time I had made a nice batch of tea for myself), but it happens every time (and becomes increasingly more uncomfortable) every time I drink green tea.
I don’t have any caffeine or food allergies that I know of. Perhaps there is a lower body anxiety that is causing my pelvic muscles to act strangely.
April 15, 2008 at 11:11 pm
It has been a month since my initial “attack” during the night of horrible bloating and belching which took me to the walk-in clinic and eventually to my PCP. He recommended I see a GI and both of them have referred me to a surgeon to discuss having my gallbladder removed. My appointment is next week. I did have gallstones, but never had a problem with them until taking turmeric and green tea extract. I think it might have been the caffeine in the g.t extract. I had trouble sleeping at night also and totally lost my appetite. Lost about 8 lbs. in a couple of weeks. I had to eat very small portions, otherwise my abdomen would bloat. I am finally getting my appetite back, but still cannot eat very much without feeling uncomfortable. Would like to try a gallbladder flush and liver cleanse, but am fearful of doing so, because I have larger gallstones. Sure don’t want to have the surgery unless I absolutely have to! I read that caffeine can be a trigger for a gall bladder attack and also raises blood glucose levels. Most people have gallstones and don’t even know it, so be careful with green tea extract and caffeine. Thanks to everyone who shared their experience and reactions. When our doctors pooh-pooh our concerns about a reaction to green tea, at least we can console one another on this website.
April 16, 2008 at 12:24 am
I googled: dangers of green tea and came up with quite a few different websites with warnings.
thyroid.about.com/od/bookssupportresources/a/barbeeinterview.htm
Kelly mentioned joint pain. Check out the above website which talks about the relationship between joint pain and flouride, which is supposed to be in green tea! There is also a warning to those who take Synthroid…NOT to use green tea! I googled: dangers of green tea and came up with quite a few different websites with warnings.
Check out this website for the info mentioned below: http://www.slimvia.com/the-dangers-of-stimulants
Green tea is another caffeine containing beverage that has gained popularity among dieters. Clinical studies to date have been inconclusive, much more research is required to understand the true effects of green tea on weight loss. Some research, however, has found possible links to the devastating chronic disease, multiple sclerosis. Green tea also contains tannin, a substance has been linked to esophageal cancer.
This next one is REALLY interesting!
Green Tea Side Effects Warnings! - Advice To New Drinkers
Potential side effects include weakened bones, bad teeth, cancers and allergies. Green Tea Energy Drinks Dangers! Green Tea Side Effects Alert #7: …
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/green-tea-side-effects.html - Similar pages
April 16, 2008 at 2:45 am
I’ve been drinking green tea for a long time now, over a year and a half (I live in Japan). I’ve also had a skin condition for that long, and was wondering if maybe that’s to blame. I’ll be quitting green tea for about two weeks, and I’ll post back about my success/failure to clear up the problem.
My situation: all-over body “rashes,” which are raised red blotches that are terribly itchy and feel leathery to the touch.
April 16, 2008 at 8:01 am
Thanks for the info Andrea. Personally I think that my excessive drinking of green tea and my symptoms have been related to the flouride buildup in my system (thyroid). In looking at some of the other links posted I have numerous other symptoms which I was not tuned into (bloating, dry mouth, thinning of eyebrows toward the outer corner, total reduction of cuticles, night sweats and then my trigger symptom - horrible knee joint pain).
I have not returned to the Dr. to ask for a flouride test, but plan to upon my next visit. Only fear I have with this is that when you tell a Dr. you’ve done some research and believe you have symptoms, is that they tend to think your a crack-pot in search of a problem which you need medication for. The last think I want is medication, I started drinking the green tea due to publisized antioxidant effects and thoughts that it would help reduce my cholesterol. To me natural remedies are better than taking synthetic drugs. I suppose the natural approach, in this instance didn’t work too well for me. I’m just hoping I can detox the flouride out of my system and that I haven’t done too much damage already.
Thanks agan, to all of you for posting your symptoms and information.
Regards!
April 27, 2008 at 9:51 am
Thank you for this! I too had a reaction recently. It is high pollen/hayfever season here and I am having the usual itchy eyes and runny nose and bad ears - but after a few cups of green tea the symptoms got so bad that I needed antihistamine. I dismissed the tea as the culprint and had another cup. 2 hours later, same reaction - almost blocked my breathing, ran for another antihistamine. I am using very high quality Hojicha green tea from Japan. I am going to try different types to see what the reactions are - but, I truly thought I was crazy making the allergy connection. It seems that I’m not.
Green tea is reported to support the liver, not hamper it. It is also supposed to bring sugar and thyroid into balance - not throw them off. I am wondering if there is something in the processing that causes the allergic reaction. I will try white tea as suggested and continue to seek out some answers. But the allergic reaction is real.
April 30, 2008 at 5:05 am
Ever since I was pregnant last summer, ANY kind of tea- green tea, black, white… makes me sweat, nauseas, sometimes vomit, and have anxiety. I also get light headed and dizzy. I tested it again today with Lipton raspberry white tea in the bottle- just to see if it would happen. It sure did, within about 5 minutes of drinking about 8 oz.
May 5, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I drank regular green tea every day for years. A month ago, I went on a raw foods diet, and stopped drinking green tea because raw foodists are not supposed to have caffeine. However, I missed it, so decided to try organic, decaf green tea, which I had for the first time this morning (after no green tea in my system for a month), and suffered a violent allergic reaction - my face totally swelled up and itched, and I got so nauseated I almost threw up. So, I seem to be allergic to green tea, and my system had such an extreme reaction because it’s been pure for a while. I’ll wait 2 weeks and try it one more time - if I have a problem again, then that will confirm it…
May 7, 2008 at 12:24 pm
The problem with testing the allergy on your own is your sensitivity to the allergen may get worse. Repeated exposures can cause the reaction to become deadly. If you suspect an allergy you want to go to your doctor and get tested in a controlled setting. I have been tested and I am allergic to tea (green, white and black teas are made from the same plant.) I am intolerant to the theobromine it the tea, which means that I am also have a reaction to chocolate, coffee, and cola. I get severe hives and become extremely nauseous. Currently I carry a allergy card to make sure I don’t get exposed to tea when I am on business trips.
May 7, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I’m so glad to read that!! Your friend’s symptoms are exactly like mine! I have no trouble with regular coffee or black tea, but even a small amount of green tea is like I’m being electrocuted with an annoying energy probe!! Instead of a broad spectrum energy boost, it just takes one nerve and wires it to the max ALL DAY!!! Hot flashes, anxiety, and ravenous insatiable hunger!! Some diet aid! You just want to make it stop.
By the way, I got the exact same reaction from decaffeinated green tea. Both the “regular” and “decaf” were Celestial Seasonings. Interestingly, I have tried Japanese green tea in Japan and also in an office and had no side effects at all, so I think some of the comments above about the Chinese vs. Japanese tea are interesting. I am also interested in the thyroid connection.
May 9, 2008 at 9:46 am
The only reaction I get from green tea (and its common amongst all my friends) is that if you drink it on an empty stomach you can feel queasy and sick afterwards. Its really common for people to have reactions to any herbal or caffienated drink if taken on an empty stomach, and isnt necessarily sign of an allergy.
I get nauseous on black tea too, unless i add milk (then I CAN sometimes have it even on an empty stomach).
It has something to do with the way these substances work on stomach acid, and milk negates that effect.
May 10, 2008 at 9:29 am
I have a reaction to tea that I can’t find any information about. Whenever I drink tea, any kind, I develop hard lumps under my skin aroaund my chin area. They are very sore and take a month to go away. Every female member of my mother’s family (cousins, aunts) has this reaction. I love tea, and would absolutely love to drink it regularly but can’t. I’ve tried black, green, white, etc. Always the same reaction.
May 15, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I had bad eczema/ dermatitus as a child (bad enough to be hospitalised until I was treated with Aristocort). It flared up again in my early twenties and went away for good. I am now 34.
About a month ago I had what I thought was a ‘fatigue’ virus that lasted about three weeks - sleeping 12 hours, exhausted, swollen glands, etc. But the weird thing was the eczema came back during that time, but not like ever before; on the inside of both elbows I had an area about the size of a man’s foot that was hot, red, raised, painful and itchy. It looked more like psoriasis than eczema - a uniform colour, like red leather, where my eczema has always been dry and broken (hope no-one’s eating). There was some on my abdomen, as well.
Now, this could be a symptom of my fatigue illness…I went to the doctor for some Aristocort and the rash was already receding. It completely cleared in four days. I had started drinking green & jasmine tea (a couple of hundred cups?) from Sri Lanka this year - I’m wary of Chinese food ingredients - but stopped while I was ill. Yesterday, I had three cups, and lo and behold woke up in the night scratching my arms. The rash isn’t back, but I’m going to drink three cups a day for a fortnight and see what develops.
Keep you posted.
May 21, 2008 at 10:32 am
Hi Folks,
I was glad to find that out that there are other people out there with allergies to green tea. There never seemed to be any negative info on tea anywhere. It was only a perfect drink that would cure anything. I am a 52 year old white male with very minor psoratic arthritis who is fit and a bit of a health nut. When ever I drink more than 3 cups a day my arthritis seems worse, my knees hurt and I have to get up 2 or 3 times a night to go to the bathroom. When I stop, all symtoms dissapear within 2 days. I was also taking a daily green tea extract pill, which I stopped after reading about the purity of the pills. (The same people in China that used to paint toys are now making tea extract pills). Does anyone else out there have allergies to other foods related to green tea? Google talks about blueberries, apples, chocolate, and red wine,
all of which are big in my diet. Im wondering if there are problems with other foods that should be avoided by green tea intolerate people.
May 31, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Last week I started drinking a 16.9 oz. bottle of green tea each day. Have consumed
four bottles to date, none today. I have a itching burning red welts downn the right side
of my neck to below my sholder, front and back. At first I thought it was a poison ivy
reaction, I was workinng in the woods, but the usual blistering has not occurred.
I have had reactions to fluoride toothpastes , sore spots on the gums and red swelling
around the lips, in the past so I am suspiciuos of the fluoride content of green tea.
My daughter also has the fluoride sensitivity as I do. She has stomach pains and vomits after drinking green tea. Taking a vitiman containing green tea will cause her to have stomach pain.
June 2, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Like OnMom, I can’t drink tea on an empty stomach — it gives me nausea. In fact, I really can only handle it after lunch in the mid-afternoon. I have no problem with coffee, so it sure isn’t the caffeine. Since I can drink tea OK in the afternoon, this isn’t an allergy but some other sensitivity.
My mother and sister have the same reaction, and once several years ago, I found several people from Ireland and England that also did. Which was interesting, since tea for breakfast is very popular in those societies.
I suspect it’s a reaction to the tannins, but I must say I haven’t tried red wine or oak leaves on an empty stomach. I bet it’s just a little genetic quirk and nothing to worry about.
June 4, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I just googled green tea allergy because for the past two weeks I have been having horrible anxiety, muscle twitching and cramping. I’d never had any of that before. But it also coincides with the health kick I got on two weeks ago and started drinking up to 3 cups a day while at work. Organic Japanese green tea. I just had one before I left for my lunch hour and the whole time I was on lunch I thought I couldn’t breath and that I was going to pass out. As soon as I came back to my office I googled green tea allergy. I really think my anxiety is from the green tea. I am not going to drink another ounce of it. I will post back here and let you know if things improved.
June 4, 2008 at 9:39 pm
When I drank green tea the first time, I was sick. When I drank it the second time, I honestly felt like I would die. I had trouble breathing, my heart pounded, felt like the world was whirling and was near passing out and sweating.
June 9, 2008 at 1:43 am
Finally - I suffer from really bad psoriasis, particularly on my scalp and my physio suggested I go on a detox diet for three weeks. Instead of my usual black tea, I decided to use Green Tea whilst detoxing as I had heard so much about its health benefits. The psoriasis has almost cleared but I broke out in the most irritating itchy rash, on my thighs, ankles, abdomen and back. The skin feels dry, bumpy and is red. Sometimes really angry red I thought that the psoriasis was now attacking the rest of my body but strangely leaving my scalp fairly clear. I decided to google the green tea allergy as this was the only “new” addition to my diet other than the detox juice I have been drinking, and found this site. As soon as I read that others have reacted to green tea with this rash, I decided that the cup of green tea I had just finished was my last, ever. I too had noticed dry throat, headaches painful joints but put that down to lack of food. Green tea is the only new addition to my diet and on reflection, the rash started the day after I had my first cup.
BTW Anyone suffering from psoriasis - the detox diet I was on has really helped me (just wish I hadnt taken the green tea!!) - it consisted of daily juicing 2.5kg carrots, two large red apples, two large green apples, 2 large yellow apples and a small (1/3 size of your fist) beetroot. I only had that for 3 weeks straight (apart from the green tea!!!) and my psoriasis has almost gone.
June 9, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I am so glad finally to make a little sense out of what has been happening to me for the past several months. Several months ago I started to break out in the worst hives I have ever had since I had a penicillin reaction when I was a teen. For months I have been trying to get to the bottom of this. I went to an allergist, who ran a battery of test but found nothing serious but a cat reaction, which I was very much aware of and is manifested more as respiratory rather then a skin rash. I had been taking allery medication which helped some and tried to eliminate every type of common allergin I could think of. But finally things started to get better. I never tied it to the fact that I had run out of green tea and had not bought any for a while. I recently bought some and started back drinking it . Within two days I started to itch like crazy again. That’s when I goggled “green tea allergy” and found your site. It is all very clear to me now that one can be allergic to green tea. I occasionally drink coffee and regular tea with no adverse affects. I am so greatful to have come across your article. You are so right there is hardly any information that would indicate green tea allergies. Needless to say, no more green tea for me.
June 18, 2008 at 4:40 am
I’m very similar to Lisa from May 9. I used to drink green tea, and only get a slight reaction to it sometimes, if my stomach was empty. Now I have no tolerance at all to it - even two sips of extremely weak green tea will make me feel very nauseous in the tummy, and any more and I will more then likely throw up. The reaction is very quick - if I’m going to vomit, it’s probably going to be within 5 minutes. I get no other symptom really, or at least the nausea stops me noticing anything else.
I’m dead set sure it’s tannins though, because I have a high caffeine intake. Black tea has the same effect, though slightly less. Even medium-strength black tea will certainly make me throw up though. Also, some cheap red wines have the same effect. It takes a few glasses in this case - don’t laugh! I’m not talking about being drunk - it’s a very different feeling and much more horrible!
I’m convinced these are wines that have been ‘over-pressed’, which squeezes all the nasty tannins in the grape seeds and stalks out. Better wines will be gently pressed to minimise the type and quantity of these tannins - wine makers do not want to split the seeds, as we all know that grape seeds taste bad because of the tannin!
Peppermint tea once had the same effect - it bounced within minutes! I’ve read that unlike many herbal teas, peppermint also has quite a bit of tannin
Finally, milk in tea makes it much more drinkable, but I still have to be careful on an empty stomach. I’ve read somewhere that protein breaks down tannins, so maybe this is what is going on. Perhaps I’ll try and experiment with some egg white and green tea and see what happens!
It seems there are a lot of people out there with a variety of intolerances to green tea and/or tannins. I’d love to know more about it, as I’m a bit worried that it’s slowly getting worse.
July 9, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Interesting to see how many folks have a reaction to tea, esp. green tea. I am allergic to green tea, black tea, and rooibos tea. I first discovered that tea was what caused a chronic cough when black tea showed up as an allergen on skin tests, producing a wheal.
I posted twice about tea allergy on my blog and got a few comments. One writer pointed out that tea contains nicotine! For a scientific study on nicotine content of certain vegetables and tea, see http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/1999/47/i08/abs/jf990089w.html.
July 10, 2008 at 8:09 pm
My problem is exactly like what Mary described above on June 9th. My rash is red, raised, and very itchy. I thought it was eczema spreading like wildfire down my legs as I do suffer mildly from it on my hands but this was a little different. I too ran out of green tea and hadn’t bought any to replace in a while…noticing my skin did get some better. I bought a case of green tea and almost instantly after I started drinking it again, BAM!…the rash was back. I haven’t had this reaction to coffee or other teas. To be safe, I’ve stopped ingesting anything with caffeine. It has been four days now and my rash is almost completely gone. I hope it stays gone! This is something I’ve suffered with for about 2 years and had been to dermatologists only to get creams that temporarily work. I hope so much this is the true cure. Thank you.
July 11, 2008 at 9:52 am
I decided today as part of a weight loss strategy to start drinking green tea. I had my first cup, and it was very tasty. 10 minutes later, I had to lay down to fight nausea and broke out in a sweat. No problem with coffee or cola. Has to be the tea. It’s been about half an hour, and I’m OK. Started searching for answers on Google, and looks like I’m not alone. Well, back to coffee and diet Coke!