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 |
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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?
April 19, 2009 at 8:14 am |
Yes, same thing happened to me! And the rash on my neck only happens after several days of drinking it. The rash also spread to the side of my face.
May 24, 2009 at 4:43 pm |
I used to drink a lot of tea (black)over the years and about 6 years ago the symptoms started…feelings of intense anxiety, distinct body odor, and the most horrible, boils! I tried to figure out what was causing all of this and came to the conclusion that it was the tea. I also tried to convince myself that it wasn’t because I absolutely loved drinking it…like smokers love their cigarettes! When I stopped, though, all of the symptoms stopped too.
I thought that I would have better luck with green tea, but that didn’t work out either. It just seemed to take a wee bit longer for the same symptoms to appear.
For years I thought it was sulfites, but I’m starting to think maybe it was the tannins..especially since I can’t drink red wine or have vietnamese fish sauce or apple cider vinegar( all fermented in wooden barrels) without reactions.
May 31, 2009 at 5:52 am |
After years of near freedom from skin allergies, I began to suffer again, in varying severity. A course of cortisone (so hard on the body) was ultimately necessary. That cleared up all but the red, itchy, flaky skin around my eyes, mouth and cheeks. These areas would also vary in severity, disappearing altogether for days at a time then reappearing suddenly. Finally, I made the connection of the relapses coming shortly after drinking Arizona Brand Diet Green Tea. I have stopped that beverage and my facial skin has been getting progressively clearer and healthier, and I have had zero regression since stopping the Ariz. Diet Green Tea. I suspect neither caffeine nor nutra-sweet was involved because I still drink Diet Sodas that contain both ingredients with no symptoms mentioned above. God Bless, and take care…..
‘Shred
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?
May 8, 2009 at 4:49 pm |
I have started drinking Arizona Green tea w/ginsing & honey after i drank a 42 oz. bottle, I started getting bad lower abdominal pains,bloating really bad and cramping which i thought that that type (Ariz.) was maybe stronger than the lipton green tea which btw gave me headaches, but i still kept drinking the Ariz. Gn Tea cuz i liked the taste but then i got a bad urinary tract infection and i said enoughs enuf and have stopped with all green tea products. Iv been googling green tea and all i can find is good stuf about it so glad i found this blog. Has anyone else experinced a urinary tract inection after drinking this stuff? It seems that the Ariz. green tea may be stronger.
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.
June 9, 2009 at 10:35 am |
Thank you thank you…
Of all the things that have gone wrong lately I would have never believed green tea could have caused them. I have come up with 2 kinds of rashes and HORRIBLE knee pain that I have never had before. The green tea just got poured down the drain. I have drank green tea exclusively for almost 8 months or so. I went to a dermatologist and he took biopsy’s and still had no answer and I have an appt. with an orthopedic surgeon because of knee pain that is not normal (like from an injury). I will watch and see what happens- I guess I will go to homemade lemon and orange aid to bring to work- I quit Diet Coke a year or so ago. Thank you for this information. I thought I was going crazy.
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!
August 10, 2008 at 5:43 pm |
Hey glad i found this!!! I was entralled with matcha green tea for quite a while and started out drinking the starbucks green tea latte. Loved the stuff and couldnt get enough! I had no reacton to it then one day i was getting my hair cut and started feeling hot and woozy and spinny i really cant describe it! I wrote it off as a virus thing at first and continued drinking it (in martinis! ) again i thought i was fine. Knowing how much i loved ths stuff my hubbby bought me a green tea latte powder for my birthday from Japan I was thrilled! that was until i had an iced version of it the next morning! I was shopping and started feeling hot flashes i thought it was the store! i sat in my car for the longest time and felt horrible I was afraid to drive and freeked out my hubby ! I finally got things under control but when i got to work the wooziness started again i had to get some benedryl and was fine after that! Now howver i am super scared to eat or drink things new which bums me out because i am totally a foodie I really want to know what causes this specifically I talked to my doctor and she was no help at all!
August 14, 2008 at 7:47 am |
It would be great if a doctor or doctors were to peek in on our forum here and try to provide some actual medical feedback. While clearly we all know we’ve experienced the symptoms we’ve discussed, reception when discussing them with our individual practitioners doesn’t always appear to provide an acceptable response.
August 17, 2008 at 8:50 pm |
Lots of stories here: here’s mine: if I drink tea (green or black, though green tea may have the strongest reaction) on a not-full enough stomach my whole body starts to rev up after an hour or so and I start throwing up. Then, after I’ve done that, i feel fine. Coffee does not give me this reaction. My stomach my get upset from too much coffee, but not in the same way. Tea may also be linked to a feeling of fatigue, but that’s hard for me to evidence. I would note a few things, apologies if people have already noted them: there’s a heck of a lot of chemicals in green tea. But the big “unique” one is EGCG. Green tea has more of this than most other foods do , and it’s this chemical that induces the cell-death of cancer cells and lots of other good things. Its also the chemical that pregnant women are warned against, because it can be too much of a good thing for a fetus. Perhaps, it’s also this chemical that some people are responding negatively too. Also, just a reminder, red-tea is not from the same plant as green, black, and white tea. It’s from a plant popular in South Africa and Botswana, not camelia sinensis.
August 20, 2008 at 9:07 am |
My girlfriend brought back a “blooming” green tea ball from China that we prepared and drank. The next day I was covered in hives, my joints ached, and I felt lethargic. I have never been allergic to anything before in my life, so this was a huge surprise to me. Needless to say, I am not drinking anymore of that stuff.
August 28, 2008 at 11:56 pm |
i’ve always had this same weird reaction, maybe an allergy (i have actual allergies to cats which are much more severe), to any kind of tea (green, black, herbal) it’s very mild so i used to actually wonder if i was imagining it but it always happens, i get mildly achey (joint discomfort and stiffness, not pain) and itchy and slightly irritable. happens with a lot of different “herbal” things, including the illegal ones ; ) also ginseng, etc.
coffee is fine, so it’s not the caffeine. definitely happens with green tea. i never heard of anyone else getting this from tea.
August 29, 2008 at 11:55 am |
I had pretty bad allergies when I was younger and have been really healthy for the most part in the past 3 years, so I realize more quickly than others when it’s an allergic reaction and not just feeling sick.
But, I got sick over the winter and they had free tea at my school on thursdays.. When I drank the tea I felt even sicker, but thought it was just the sickness I had.
Today I got a smoothie w/ a green tea additive and got really sick, let’s just say it’s probably a detox for me. I don’t like the taste, but I keep on going back (antioxidants they claim!) and that was a baaad idea. Glad to see I’m not the only one.. I didn’t know it was possible to be allergic to tea and really wish I could figure out what part of the tea I’m allergic too. I drink caffeine in coffee and soda, so I know it’s not that unless like someone said above, the caffeine is molecularly or something different.
September 3, 2008 at 8:26 pm |
Now this site is interesting. I have had what I thought was a random breathing problem for years. It normally hit me when I was home (I work out of town) and I had always associated it with the air near home, a nearby factory or something. Or stress. I could find no other correlation.
And this morning I woke early, jet lagged and drank a green tea – which I (re)started drinking a few weeks ago. I felt quite nauseous. And then I realized my latest bout of breathing problems started a few weeks ago also. It is hard to describe, I can breathe ok, enough to go for a run or whatever, but I just always seem to be breathing at 95%, and then every 5 mins (or more frequently when I am aware of it) I really need to have that “proper” breath, where you can catch your breath fully. Sometimes yawning helps (true).
And then later this morning I had another green tea and realized it had become worse. So I googled my way here. As for many in this blog, I’m fine with coffee. So ok, no more green tea for a few days and let’s see how it goes. I had booked a chest x-ray and lung function test for next week, so here’s hoping it’s an easy solution to an old mystery (for me).
Thanks for the blog.
September 8, 2008 at 8:40 am |
I am trying to figure out what is causing my dry mouth and swollen lips. I have been drinking at leat 2-3 cups of GNC Jackie Chans green tea every day. Has anyone else had these symptoms?
September 15, 2008 at 4:57 am |
Firstly, I read that Green tea, like all teas do come from the same species of plant, but the leaves are treated differnetly; could any allergic reaction specific to green tea in fact be related to something in the processing? i.e. enzymes.
Secondly, flouride, if it is infact the difference between green tea and other teas, should not be ruled out as a possible source of irritation, especailly if it is distinctive of green tea. In Australia we have flouride in the water for dental health reasons and I wonder if there are allergic reactions documented from the ingestion of this water? and if so how do the concentrations compare between the two?
Thirdly, I think tannin allergy is the most likely culprit. Especailly if again there are tannins unique to green tea, which seems likely given the clour differneces between the different types.
September 18, 2008 at 5:56 pm |
i have been taking a green tea extract 98% polyphenols pills and after a couple days i had a difficulty breathing. i have never had anything like this before and i don’t having any breathing problems normally. i stopped taking it three days ago and the difficulty breathing is still there. i feel like i can’t catch a breath and find myself needing to yawn excessively and sometimes i cant even get a breath in. i went to the E.R. but they said it was fine and i just have anxiety but it won’t go away. anyone ever had this problem?
September 20, 2008 at 2:30 pm |
Thankyou for your blog. I have had an intense itching of my scalp, neck and body over this past week. I had realised I was becoming quite addicted to Coffee so I stopped drinking occasionally drinking decaf but I had a few glasses of coca cola this week and at work had a lot more green tea (jasmine) than I normally would. I find jasmine tea soothing but since investigating after looking at your site I think I have a tannin and caffeine allergy. I realise after such a long time of drinking waaay too much coffee my immune system became overload in the stimulants of the coffee and tannins. So when I had coke and then had a lot of green tea my body reacted to this overloaded to this increase. It makes perfect sense. I am now going to try drinking rooibosh tea. I have to let these allergens out of my system amazing. I also found this link you may find interesting on tannins for anyone reading this that is wanting further info. I stumbled upon it when searching and realise it is possibly what is causing my partners increase of migraines. We will try this out. While green tea may be good for a lot of people I did not realise how much tannins and caffeine have been affecting me. I would wish this incessant itching on anyone. My scalp has been driving me crazy as has my neck and legs and arms well bascially where there is skin I have had itching. It has lasted a week now which is about the time I stopped coffee and went onto coke and a lot of green tea.
September 20, 2008 at 2:37 pm |
I forgot the link! had to post via another email as it kept being discarded and I could not find your contact details to send it to you.
http://www.widomaker.com/~jnavia/tannins/myexp.htm
September 24, 2008 at 2:53 am |
This is so interesting, I have just started taking green tea tablets after hearing about the healing powers of green tea. The past four days, at the same time every morning, I have been stricken with severe headaches, nausea and vomiting. I experimented, thinking I hadn’t taken the tablets with enough food in my stomach, etc – but to no avail. I think the tablets might have to be relegated to the bin! Interesting to see so many people out there with similar problems.
September 25, 2008 at 1:36 pm |
I lived in Japan for a while and didn’t drink any green tea while there. On my return home I was given a parcel of Japanese green tea from a friend, whose family grows tea for a living. Before drinking this tea I went to China and stocked up on a lot of teas such as Jasmine, Chrysanthemum, Rose, Oolong etc.
I have never really drank caffeinated beverages so I was not sure what to expect. I drink tea perhaps 5 times a day but only mint and hibiscus non caffeinated teas.
I decided to drink some of the Jasmine tea once before and I became quite light headed and a bit nauseous. I decided I may have made the tea a bit too strong and now I drink one pot of jasmine with half a teaspoon of leaves. It’s quite light and the taste is very mild. I have no problems drinking Jasmine in this manner.
Today, I wanted to start maintaining my weight by drinking Green tea, so I made a very large pot of tea using about 11/2 teaspoons placed in an infusion bag. I decided to ice the tea so it was quite watered down. In minutes I had the overwhelmimg light- headedness and it’s half an hour and it’s just now subsiding. I believe this is a reaction to caffeine in general for me but the Green tea causes an instantaneous reaction. I now have a HUGE pot of fine tea that cannot be used.
I wondered earlier if my symptoms are lasting this long due to a 1/4 cup of Noni I drank this morning. Usually the dizziness lasts for less than 10 minutes.
October 2, 2008 at 4:17 am |
i think i know why it make ur mouth dry. Ok i dont think its an allergy. I found that when i keep the green tea bag in the mug for a long time the tea make my mouth dry, but when i leave it in the for a shorter time the tea does not dry my mouth. this is conclusive as i have tried it alot of times. so i think the mouth drying is because ur green tea is tooo strong
October 10, 2008 at 5:49 pm |
Very, very interesting! I have suffered chronic atopic eczema on both ankles for over three decades. Traditional western medicine no help. I’ve tried almost everything, traditional and alternatieve. Gave up coffee a year ago for (you guessed it!) GREEN TEA, which I adore. Decided to try more cleansing and switched over to hot water with lemon (organic). Seems to be helping, symptoms are shifting, less intense itching and inflammation. the connections is that breathing/Asthma issues and arthritis are inflammatory condidtions, as is eczema. I am particularly interested to hear from people experiencing SKIN reactions. Are we dealing with a caffiene allergy, a substance on/in the tea such as floride or pesticides or are TANNINS the culprit? anybody got any got info about tannins and what foods have them? I know about wines, but wonder what over foods may be involved. Thanks for all your comments and candor. May we all be peaceful, may we all be health, may we all be free.
October 11, 2008 at 4:19 pm |
I experienced vaginal itching which i attributed to my daily swimming, though that had never happened before (i swim in a non chlorine pool). Vaginal mucosa ph measurements were very high alkaline, treated with boric acid vag suppositories. I began eliminating supplements/vitamins from my regular routine and found it was the green tea extract that caused the burning and itching. Having ceased this supplment, I no longer need the suppositories; the problem has disappeared.
October 13, 2008 at 7:53 pm |
I originally posted comments in March and April. After symptoms of abdominal bloating during the night after taking turmeric and green tea extract, I had gallbladder surgery in June. Since the surgery I continue to experience similar symptoms and some new ones, so, after numerous trips back to the doctor, I finally scheduled an appointment with a NEW G.I. in a nearby community. He immediately ordered a simple blood test to check for Celiac Disease, Chron’s and Ulcerative Colitus. So far only the test for Celiac Disease is back. I have tested positive (127 and it should be less than 20) for it. Not a pleasant diagnosis, but at least I know what to do to try to improve the situation. My PCP says that this blood test is relatively new (5 years old) and is not routinely given because only 1 in 133 people have CD. However, it is genetic and if it’s in your family, it goes down to 1 in 5. My suggestion to anyone who is experiencing bloating, gas, belching, diarrhea or constipation, unexplained weight loss, neuropathy, horrible rashes or fatigue… request this blood test! Celiac disease, if left undiagnosed, can be very serious. I only experienced the first 3 symptoms and everyone is different. To obtain more info on CD, go to the Mayo Clinic website and type in celiac disease. If you are a celiac, you must take responsibility for your own health, because not all doctors are familiar with the disease and it’s ramifications. More and more people are being diagnosed with this disease and are required to be on a gluten-free for the rest of their lives. If this comment helps one person, it will be worth the time I spent posting it.
October 15, 2008 at 7:12 am |
Tannin allergies a-plenty in the blogosphere, it looks like. Someone ought to write a real article on this!
October 22, 2008 at 11:59 am |
Just wanted to add myself to the record … green tea, in any form, immediately makes me break out into a cold sweat and puke!
November 4, 2008 at 7:36 pm |
hello yes I have green tea black tea any tea (real tea) allergy
especially strong reaction to tea bags packed tea. leaf tea slightly less but all packaged stuff is pretty much the same result in 30min to 1 day.
also chocolate cocoa cookies make my skin red but all give me skin reaction problems (red itchy painful sore dry…) if anyone finds solution to this please leave a message on here , yet only some anty histamines save my life.
symptoms are red skin and mood swings ( strange i didn’t know that allergy is affecting me in this way until i have tried antihistamines (most dont work as they say they will cousing drowsiness and or small effect) the one that helps me is “Desloratidine” hope this info will help another sufferer, oh yes and some honeys also couse skin reaction ( but not as bad as tea or cocoa products)
November 13, 2008 at 8:17 pm |
Hi, I’ve just had what I feel is a definite sensitivity to Green tea. I have been having green tea lattes the last couple of days because of the health benefits. All my joints feel like they are aching, aching all over really and mood swings. I have a salicylate allergy and fluoride can cause problems with people with that sensitivity. Lots of salicylate info on the web. I was really pleased you posted your letter so I was able to figure it out. I also have a gluten allergy but this was quite different.
November 20, 2008 at 4:00 pm |
Just so you know – you aren’t crazy if you think you are having a reaction to green tea.
I had a severe allergy to green tea without knowing it.
My fingers and toes were going numb. My tongue felt ‘big’, although it must have been swelling. I was jittery/anxious. Suffered from insomnia. Loss of appetite. Small muscle spasms every time I tried to relax. Knees ached. Trouble breathing, almost passed out one day. This coincided with my taking up drinking non-caffeine Lipton green tea. At the time – I did not put it all together. I was drinking 3-5 glasses a day while at work. Ironically, I was drinking even more as the days passed because I couldn’t sleep and would just head to work earlier and earlier and start my green tea routine earlier.
I ended up at the doctor – who sent me to test for MS because of my symptoms (the feeling of some of my extremities falling asleep). They determined I did not have MS after a whole lot of testing, but an anxiety disorder and gave me pills which I refused to take since these symptoms were so sudden and unlike me.
It took two months (from start to finish of symptoms and dr. visits) of hell before my sister (a nurse) told me that I should conisder it was the green tea. The DAY I stopped drinking it I felt better – and have not suffered another moment from my symptoms since. You should consider the green tea if you are having symptoms – and I stay away from all teas now because it scares me to much, although I have heard most are fine. I have never drank caffeine, so I know it isn’t that.
For all the articles about how great green tea is – they should at least make the possible ’side effects’ more published and known.
November 25, 2008 at 11:09 am |
I rarely get headaches – When I started drinking Green Tea I got bad migraine headaches and had to stop drinking it. I have no allergies and eat anything I want without any problems. I have read that green tea can do this to some people. Everyone has different body chemistry’s and need to be aware of this when trying various types of herbs. Since I stopped drinking the green tea the headaches went away.
November 28, 2008 at 3:49 pm |
Here is my really bad experience with Jasmin Dragon Tears tee.
Symptoms started on a monday, fingers were going numb and I started to have problems typing at the computer, next morning, muscle spasms, and extreme fatigue for 48 hours, I was unable to write, brush my teeth, and I had a hard time to walk; I went to the emergency as I was panicking, I did a blood test and urine test but nothing. I also felt thirst on the second day, I drank a lot of water.
After these 48 hours the next 2 days I felt really tired and I lost almost all of my strength on the right leg and arm. I panicked again I went back to the emergency, they did a head scan and found nothing.
The next 2 days were better but at the different moment of the day I felt I would faint if I stood too long, I had to rest a lot. At night I would have spasms on my knees, keeping me from sleeping. I also felt really slight nausea at different occasion, but nothing that bothers.
During this whole period I sometime felt dizzy just like if I had a couple of beers.
Symptoms stayed for two weeks.
I drank coffee for 10 years but I stopped earlier this year, I replaced it with herbal tees, which did not give me any problem, but this tee really got me. I also take multi-vitamins 4 times a week along with omega-3 supplements.
To resume everything, I lost 8 days of work because of this. I am 39 and I never experienced any allergic reactions before in my life. I really freaked out.
December 4, 2008 at 7:16 am |
A very interesting site.
I have suffered from seasonal allergies for years, which explains why it took me so long to realize that green tea was causing my sudden shortness of breath. After drinking only one cup of Hoji Cha Roasted Green Tea, ( a very low caffeinated tea) my chest would tighten, stomach cramp, and I would start to wheeze.
As to the comments about sore knees, I have that problem too, and like Kelly, mine came on suddenly, literally, overnight. In one day I went from running three miles every other day to barely walking. Doctors were little help. realize there are many causes for knee pain. It’s interesting though, that mine are far worse during allergy season.
December 4, 2008 at 10:07 pm |
I started drinking green tea about 3 month ago, because I was emotionally stress and figured cutting back on coffee and stopping cigarettes would help, I still drink my coffee in the morning (and generally feel great at this time of day). but I switched to GT after lunch and diner. I have been feeling very depressed and constantely tired, with anxiety, but always blamed it on the stress. I started to notice I felt bloated 15-30 mins after meals, and nausea and light-headedness, it never got to the point of vomitting but the disconfort is very unpleasant. this has been going on for weeks now, and just yesterday I didn`t have my cup after lunch and felt ok, so I decided not to have any last night……much to my pleaseant surprise, I finally felt hungry, I should mention, I have had no appetit mostly because of the nausea and constant fear of eating. I had noticed there were no perticular foods that were worst then others which always puzzled me (spicy tomato sauce or bland white rice made no difference!!)
An so this afternoon, after my lunch I drank my cup of GT, not more then 15-30mins later, nausea starts…..then the stomach aches and diarhea…….I couldn`t believe it until I went and googled ‘grean tea allergies’
I will definitely cut it out and and really looking forward to see if any of the symptoms come back!
December 7, 2008 at 4:32 am |
I think I have a green tea allergy, upon drinking it, my mouth feels almost numb and so does my throat, my mouth totally dries out like I have cotton mouth and I don’t feel right, nausea, stomach flipping…..so glad I found this blog because I thought I was the only one, my family and friends think I’m nuts since they all drink green tea and have no problems in fact they all feel great when they drink it!! I tried different brands and I get the same reaction, someone online in a chatroom was chatting as she was drinking it and told us she felt like her throat was closing up from it. I’m staying away from it, but I’m happy for the people who can drink it since it has alot of health benefits to it.
If you start to have a bad reaction, I heard taking maalox or mylanta immediately helps, has something to do with the magnesium in it, also buffered vitamin C, must be buffered again due to the magnesium. Great stuff to have on hand for a scary allergic reaction, although no claims that it helps anaphalaxis I don’t think.
Happy Holidays!
Ann
December 14, 2008 at 3:12 pm |
Thanks to all for the great information. I recently started taking a diet supplement that contains green tea extract and got a horrible rash on my neck. Since this was the only change I’d made to my diet, I stopped taking the supplement yesterday and notice the rash is getting much better. I have similar allergic reactions to red wine, so I guess the tannins may be the culprit. This site may have saved me a visit to the dermatologist! I’ll wait until tomorrow to see if the rash is improving further before canceling my appointment….
December 17, 2008 at 1:33 pm |
UPDATE!!
I just wanted to give an update since my post of dec.7th.
I stopped the green tea and started taking milk thistle to detoxify my liver (I reasearched it, and found that many imported Green Teas from China can be very badly contaminated, and Milk Thistle help to detoxify your liver where the toxines build up). It’s 100% nautral, so couldn’t be bad!
Within 2 days, the nausea was gone, my energy and appetite were back!!!
I can’t prove it was the Green tea……but I will definitely not try it again just to see!!!!
good luck all!
December 22, 2008 at 6:46 am |
Wow, I thought I was just crazy. I have tried Green tea 2 times, Both times were horrible. 1st time, was just the tea, and after I had an upset stomache with Diarrhea
and felt faint. 2nd time, I thought I would try to loose some weight and detox, and thought I would take some green tea supliments. I thought my 1st time was just all in my head, and I was just crazy. 2nd time was the worst and the last, thank god I was in the comfort of my own home. After I took the pills, I started feeling a little dizzy, so I laid down on the couch. I didnt get to rest long until I had to get up and run to the bathroom with Diarrhea. The worst Diarrhea I have ever had!! While I was doing my thing in the bathroom, the room started to spin and I kept fading in and out. I got horrible hot fashes and then passed out. Right there!! I was so embarrassed b/c my boyfriend came home right before I came too and found me sprawled out on the floor with my shorts around my feet. lol (Only now can I laugh) After that he helped me to bed. I rested a bit beforeDiarrhea hit me again, with no warning. and then a 3rd time when I wasnt even consous. It took me days to get back to normal. and a couple more days for my boyfriend to look at me normal..lol Now days I read all my ingredients to make sure it has no form of green tea!! Glad to see I found out that I should stay away from white tea before I tried that. (btw, I have no issues with black tea)
good luck all
December 25, 2008 at 11:13 am |
Did anyone ever complaint of itchy eyes?
December 28, 2008 at 6:33 pm |
Just found this site while searching for reactions to Green Tea. A bit of background. I have been diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago, but it is mild case. Blood sugar S/B between 4.0 and 6.0 (7.0 tops), but 2 hours after a meal go up to between 5.0 and 10.0. Almost all my readings have been in the “safe” green zone (up to 10.0).
One of the most severe symptoms of diabetes is “peripheral neuropathy” (nerve death in the extremities like feet and hands), but this usually occurs if diabetes has been undiagnosed and untreated for a long time and have wreaked all kinds of physiological havoc. I have had burning sensations/pins and needles/numbness in my feet for a few years now which I have been reluctant to attribute to the diabetes because my numbers did not seem to be that bad.
I just had a cup of Green Tea, and within 20 minutes my feet started burning again. It occurred to me that I started drinking Green Tea a few years ago, around the time I started having problems with my feet. Probably a coincidence, but I thought I’d do a search to see if anyone else had experienced a burning sensation in their feet after drinking Green Tea.
I’m going to try going off it for a while and see how my feet do. If the burning continues, I guess it’s not the tea after all.
If anyone else had heard of someone else having this symptom in relation to Green Tea, please let me know. Thanks.
December 29, 2008 at 12:51 am |
I drank a cup of Japanese Organic Green Tea that my sister offered to me. It was a free trial of some tea bags from tea gschwendner. I broke out in hives and my feet, hands, and lips were swollen. This was a classic allergic reaction. I’ve drinken green tea before, but this had a whole bunch of other ingredients that I have no idea what caused the reaction.
I will never drink green tea or anything organic, since I can’t nail down the cause. I couldn’t walk and my fingers ballooned up so that I couldn’t bend them for days. That was a terrible experience and one I definitely will never take a chance of getting again.
January 9, 2009 at 1:44 pm |
Hi,
I have also searched for tea allergy. I found these pages to be the most informative & interesting.
About 5-6 weeks ago I started having palpitations most of the day every day, which in turn made me slightly short of breath, which was worrying. I had blood tests which showed no problems & an ecg which at the time didn’t catch the palpitations. I am waiting for a heart monitor to be fitted & was told to avoid caffeine for the time being.
I have always drunk tea (teabags), for as long as I can remember, never thinking it may be causing any problems.
Off I went & bought decaf tea & coffee but was surprised when the palpitations were just as bad, if not worse. One day I drank just decaf coffee & found the palpitations lessened a great deal. Needless to say I haven’t drunk anymore tea since, although I love a nice cuppa & do miss it. I have also noticed I have had fewer stomach problems, my Dr thought I had mild form of irritable bowel. I am feeling much better although still having a few palpitations which need investigating.
Has anyone else had a similar experience, I would be interested to know. Thankyou.
January 13, 2009 at 4:12 am |
Wow, I thought I was the only one. I personally am a very anxoius person at certain times of the month and get palpitations when i’ve got something to worry about, so to help myelf I don’t drink coffee, and only ever drink decaff tea. I’ve cut out a lot of chocolate (contains caffine), and don’t drink coke or anything similar. I have probably done this for about two years now. So when I read about the benefits of green tea, I thoguht I’d give it a go and brought DECAF green tea bags. The first one I had I felt really out of it, and started to get a bad headache and slight palpitations. I shrugged it off just like I normally do. The second one I tried then had the same effect only worse. I felt drained and started to get the shakes.
I was tempted to have a cup this morning just to have one last check, but after finding this blog I think I’ll give them away.
I also picked up earlier on in the blog, that it could be related to the thyroid. Well my mum has the same anxiety problem as I do and also cuts out caffine because it gives her palpitations etc. Only a couple months ago she had to have her thyroid removed because she had cancerous tumour. Some how I just feel its all related, she now believes that before the tumour had developed she was suffering from an under active thyroid, which was the cause of her problems. Does anyone else have any ideas around this?
January 13, 2009 at 5:52 am |
I have been a regular drinker of green tea for years with no noticeable effects (positive or negative) and last year I switched to Green tea with jasmine for a change. About 4 months ago I developed an incredible itchiness, rash, welts that would appear all over my body. I would wake up every morning scratching my head like crazy! I went to the doctor who confirmed the rash was allergic…I couldn’t identify anything different that I was injesting or using (ie hadn’t changed soap or washing powder). The doctor advised to take antihistamines for a week and see if that made a difference (the antihistamines helped but as soon as I stopped taking them the rash came back). I stopped drinking coffee – no change, so then thought perhaps I had developed an allergy to wine. So I got through the silly season and for the last few weeks have totally cut alcohol out – rash didn’t go away. I was sitting drinking a cup of GT with jasmine the other night and started scratching. All of a sudden it occurred to me that maybe the GT is the trigger and I have developed an allergy to it. I stopped drinking it to see, the rash and itchiness is now significantly improved and thought I would google to see if it was a realistic posibility to be allergic to GT. Behold look what I have discovered – thank you to all who have contributed to this blog, it has been incredibly enlightening for me.
January 13, 2009 at 9:28 pm |
I have an interesting reaction to any tea except herbal ones – within 60 seconds or so I puke. Violently. Even a little tea, like in a hibiscus-flavored drink mix, does the trick. I could be bulemic so easily!
January 17, 2009 at 3:13 am |
I have incredible allergic reaction to green tea. The first time I took a green tea w ginseng supplement I broke out in hives all over my body. When I drink green tea I immediately vomit. And I notice when I drink the grassy tasting “Yerba Matte” tea (that has a similar taste to green tea) I experience the mood swings and anxious behavior. I’m thinking they’re from the same family and my body has a reaction to it because of it. Interesting, huh?
January 23, 2009 at 3:08 am |
I am so glad I found this website. For a year or two, I was drinking green tea on a regular basis, including such indulgences as green tea frappuccinos (delicious), green tea ice cream, green tea Sobe bottled beverages, and brewed Celestial Seasonings green tea. During that time, I was regularly experiencing the following symptoms: knee pain, dry mouth, cracking in my voice (I am a singer and pay close attention to my voice quality), mood swings (primarily depression), rapid or irregular heartbeat, and lack of focus. The worst of them was the knee pain and the depression/mood swings. I’m a level-headed guy normally, and I’m only 30, so it was not any fun at all feeling like an old grouch who could hardly stand up without grunting.
I was amazed when I eliminated green tea from my diet that ALL of these symptoms completely went away and have never returned! I was so excited that I was telling all my friends about my discovery as though I had just found a fortune!
January 28, 2009 at 7:55 pm |
I started having digestive problems and shortness of breadth episodes a couple of months ago. The only new things in my diet were oatmeal, yogurt, camomile tea and decaf Lipton green tea. Since it takes a while to get used to eat oatmeal every morning, I blamed it for all my problems, but after the first week I noticed the oatmeal was not it. I feel fine after eating yogurt; also after drinking camomile tea.
A couple of hours ago I started drinking a cup of decaf green tea at the office and the breathing problem started shortly afterwards (I only drank half a cup this time). I’m not drinking any more green tea to check out if it is indeed the problem.
I don’t have any other allergy whatsoever.
February 7, 2009 at 5:55 pm |
Wow! I thought I was the only person who had trouble with healthy green tea! I see from the previous comments that some of you also have celiac disease. I too have this disease and also have reactions to green tea. I got bloating, nausea and vomiting from drinking green tea on an empty stomach. I also was waking up at 2am in the morning. I also had problems focusing on my work and fatigue. I used to drink chinese green tea (organic).
February 11, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
[...] 1. Yes, people can be allergic to tea, all kinds of tea. [...]
February 17, 2009 at 1:55 am |
okay so my reaction to green tea hasn’t been nearly as bad as everyone else’s, but i had green tea for the first time today and my throat became really itchy. the green tea was raspberry green tea Crystal Light and everytime i got thirsty, i just drank it but it got even more itchy. i have bad allergies to pet dander and pollen and stuff and didn’t take a claritin today so that might possibly be a reason, but i’m just a little wary of it now. maybe i’ll try again tomorrow to see if the reaction is the same. this blog was a lot of help, i didn’t know if saying i was allergic to green tea would earn me weird looks from people, haha.
February 19, 2009 at 4:05 pm |
every time i drink green or jasmine tea, i find myself doing mild labored breathing and feeling brain-fogged for hours afterward. while doing a search on green tea and feeling ill, i came across this blog. i never would have thought of green tea allergy until i found this blog. i drink black and red teas all the time without any issues. it is only green and jasmine (which i also found out is made with green tea leaves)teas that make me feel this way after drinking them. thanks for starting this thread. it has been really helpful to learn of others with similar experiences.
July 20, 2009 at 7:25 pm |
Since a lot of my food allergies have actually been only to raw products, meaning something is destroyed in the cooking or heating process. Perhaps it’s a enzyme and it may be that some types of tea or the way that tea is processed (since all tea, even green tea is from that same Camellia sinensis plant). Look into this clue.
February 23, 2009 at 1:39 am |
Green tea, Black tea, White tea etc. are all coming from Camellia plant families, in other words, black tea, white teas, and green teas are all coming from green tea trees. What makes the different teas is because of the differences in the processes, or breeds. In China, you can find almost 3000 different breeds of green tea trees. Typically Japanese green teas are only steamed. Chinese green teas are steamed, or pan fried, and aged. English black teas are aged (fermented.) In Japanese green teas, the more of the natural substances are survived in the teas since it has the minimum process to the tea leaves. People who are absolutely cannot drink green teas are: 1. A person who cannot intake caffeine, or sensitive to caffeine. 2. A person who is on a medication of blood thinner due to the Vitamin K in green tea. 3. A person who is allergic to tannin. 4. A person who is in the middle of Chemo therapy treatment. (NOTE: Once person is in the remission then one can drink green tea. ) It is really hard to pin-point what causes the allergic reaction. Teas in the tea bags or bottled teas are treated (preservatives and additives are added) for the longer shelf-life. The material of the tea bags are usually bleached due to the sanitary reasons, unless it says on the label “unbleached.’ If a person is drinking flavored teas, there is a possibility that the person is allergic to the artificial flavoring. Green tea is a powerful detoxifying agent and it is dialytic so if you drink a high dosage of green tea on an empty stomach, it might cause dehydration and upset stomach. The best time to drink would be with meal or after the meals. I do recommend to drink HOT or WARM TEA over iced teas when you are digesting any food because dumping cold tea over the stomach won’t promote healthy digestions. By choosing less processed teas, no artificial flavoring teas might help to narrow down what ingredients in the tea may potentially cause the allergic reaction. It is no doubt that green tea is the hottest healthy drink nowadays. But individual can take more precautions and read the ingredients before purchasing green teas.
March 5, 2009 at 8:25 pm |
I absolutely love green tea and have been drinking 3-4 cups per day for the past 4-5 years. Over the past two years or so, my skin has just been horrible. I have broken out with acne all over my face, back and chest. I also have had pimples in my ears, behind my ears, etc. I am 41 years old. I have even had hives or breakouts on my trunk and places where I should not be breaking out at this age. I have tried giving up soy and wheat, and tried every acne remedy out there. I now believe it is the tea that is giving me the trouble with my skin. There have been many times that my skin has felt very itchy, which I now believe relates back to the tea, as well. I am so glad to read others have also found green tea to be a problem because all I ever read about it is how great it is — especially for the skin! I have been off it for a day and already I feel like things are starting to resolve themselves. I am replacing the green/white varieties with red tea which, thus far, does not seem to disagree with me. I have often read that when you crave something (which I always did with green tea) it is something your body may have trouble with. For me that is so the truth. Thanks for sharing your stories;they have helped me finally accept the reality of my situation.
March 12, 2009 at 8:51 pm |
For the past year or so I’ve been suffering from pretty itchy scalp. I had tried changing shampoos, using anti-dandruff shampoos, T/Gel, etc. Nothing was working. I didn’t know what was causing it.
I finally found the culprit: Green Tea!
About a year ago, I started adding green tea powder to my protein shakes, however, I didn’t link the itchy scalp to the green tea. I’ve never heard of allergy to green tea! I thought it was some sort of fungal infection or something that was causing the itchy scalp. Anyhow, a month ago I moved to a new apartment and I somehow accidentally threw my green tea powder bag away. I was without green tea powder for about 4 week and I noticed that my scalp itch had gone away. I thought it was because it was something in the last apartment that caused it. I ordered more green tea powder and noticed that the itch came back a couple of days after starting the new powder. So yes, green tea can cause allergic reactions!
March 14, 2009 at 9:15 am |
I developed an intolerence to black tea with milk some 30 years ago. It gave me stomach cramps and bloating. I then went on to drink green tea and more recently white tea – just one or two cups a day. First white and then green tea began to give me chest pains/indigestion. I am now drinking anything but tea – lots of hot water, fruit teas etc – boring! I still drink coffe, but limit this to one or two cups a week.
ALLERGIES – ASTHMA. I did some research on this when my children were young. My son had severe food alergies to ‘the cow’ and preservatives in bread etc.
Beef brought him up in very bad eczema – and the other foods make him sick/ill for days. My daughter developed asthma at the age of 12.
I read book/s by a USA author, Adelle Davis, ‘You are What you Eat’etc. She had found through USA research, that a deficiency of VIT B5 in a baby / childs diet could cause allergies and asthma. Experiments in the USA (1970’s) showed that animals made deficient in this one vitamin, developed allergies and asthma and some died of them.
I introduced eating lightly cooked lambs liver once a week (covered in lots of tomato sauce) and B complex supplements with B5. Within a few days – what a difference. My son stopped having new intolerences and got onto a stable diet – although we still avoid ‘the cow.’ My daughter – no more asthma for 6 years, until she left home at 18 and did her own thing at Uni. (Ended up in hospital with an asthma attack.)
My son – also had muscle weakness, could not walk until he was nearly 2. We introduced Vit E into his diet when he was 18 months and got him walking – but my doctor protested – so we took him off Vit E. 3 months later – 2 different doctors diagnosed that he was Spastic. I told them I had got him walking giving him Vit E – so they suggested I reintroduce it and take him back to the clinic a week later. Within 3 days he was walking again. A friend who had a 3 year old that could not walk – also introduced Vit E with the same results.
I have only explained my research into allergies – as it may help some of your contributers with lots of allergy and asthma problems.
Question – do they eat a little liver once a week?
Thank you for your blog.
Pleased to see that I’m not the only person who can’t drink tea. I wish someone could come up with the reason?
Susan
March 30, 2009 at 10:52 am |
I have had allergic reactions drinking green tea. I never thought to look it up, however. I’m shocked to see so many people responding with similar experiences. I am not sensitive to caffeine and enjoy a good caffeine buzz, but green tea makes me feel crazy. It’s funny because I can drink a triple mocha and feel fine, but drink half a cup of green tea and I feel dizzy, light-headed, extremely anxious and jittery – sort of how I feel when I am extremely hungry. I haven’t linked a headache to it yet, although I wouldn’t be surprised. The last time I tried drinking it, it just about made me nauseous – just the taste of it. Also, the smell of green tea (it is also a perfume) makes me sick to my stomach and makes me feel somewhat the same way as drinking it. Weird, huh?
March 30, 2009 at 7:43 pm |
I have tried green tea four different times. First, the taste was terrible–not delicious as reported by many people. I could hardly swallow it, not because of the taste, but because my throat muscles were rebelling. After about 30 minutes or so, I felt anxious, had difficulty breathing–panic. It was worse each time I tried it. No one believed me. Today we were dicussing tea at work, and I stumbled across this while searching for green tea allergic reactions. Glad to know I am not crazy. I will stick to black tea and grey tea. Never again will I try green tea. Also, I take thyroid medication (Synthroid) due to the absence of thyroid glands.
April 10, 2009 at 11:22 pm |
Thanks for this site and blog… I use green tea gel tabs for weight control and shared a bottle with a friend. My friend, after taking for about 3 weeks has recently broken out in a rash and itchiness all over. The thyroid links about this is also very helpful.
Blessings!
April 14, 2009 at 4:47 am |
I believe I have a slight sensitivity to caffeine. I can’t stand the taste of coffee but the strange thing is when I tried coffee it had no effect in keeping me alert. The reason I think I might have a sensitivity is I took a green tea supplement to assist weight loss and began to experience headaches, some mild anxiety, and occasional urinary urgency. I quit taking the supplement and the symptoms went away. About five days ago I started taking a supplement containing 200mg of Resveratrol and 200mg of green tea extract and I’ve had a headache for three straight days. Is this due to the green tea extract? I haven’t been drinking green tea since I started taking the supplement but I’ve drank up to two cups of green tea daily in the past and never experienced any negative effects.
April 15, 2009 at 11:04 pm |
I have just tried White Tea for the first time today. Half hour later I’m feeling light-headed & nauseous! Didn’t think this could happen from a “health” product such as tea! I have tried green tea before, but haven’t noticed any adverse reaction. Interesting to read other people’s similar experiences…
April 23, 2009 at 3:50 am |
Came to search for green tea allergy when I came across your blog. I like green tea so much but I have realised lately that I have heard some problems with my throat any time I drink green tea. Initially I thought it was due to winter infections but some four weeks after I was treated for throat infections, I decided to drink it again. The tea- YESIL CAY GREEN TEA- was not receptive at all. I started experiencing itching in my throat immediately I drank it. Without any doubt I now know that I am allergic to green tea, or this particular green tea. This is after spit and nose specimens diagnosis have come negative.
May 5, 2009 at 2:59 am |
Just started digging around today to see if anyone else had as such strong reactions to Green Tea as I do. All I found was the usual, “It’s awesome for you!” jargon. My Mom, Aunt, Cousin, and I all have reactions to Green Tea, but not due to the caffeine – we are a highly caffeinated bunch. I was so relieved when I found so many other people with the same symptoms as me: Nausea, Vomiting, Dizziness, etc… I’m pretty convinced we have some sort of tannin allergy, but now I’m wondering if it’s genetic too? Needless to say, I won’t be drinking Green Tea ever again…
May 12, 2009 at 10:40 pm |
Like others on this thread, I drank green tea and felt very stuffy, tightness in my throat and dizziness. My allery tests show positive for grasses and weeds, so I’m wonder if there is a connection to the plants used in green tea.
May 17, 2009 at 7:02 pm |
I feel sick and anxious when I drink Tetley tea but not PG Tips..???
May 19, 2009 at 12:41 am |
Hi There
I tried Green Tea about 1 hour ago and felt and instantly felt like I was having an panic attack, I have got a red rash on my face and neck and feel like my face is on fire,I feel unwell like I am going to be sick and very dizzy. No more green tea for me.
Kylie
May 21, 2009 at 1:56 am |
I have the same BAD reaction to green tea. Apparently it’s quite a rare thing. I get incredibly jumpy, panicky, emotional and CRANKY. Just awful.
I can have black tea and coffee – I definitely get affected but usually in a buzzy, happy way but green tea – WOAH, watch out ! Something to do with reaction to the chemical L-Thianine found in green tea.
June 7, 2009 at 1:52 pm |
Thought I would add in my 2-cents as well. I too found this site via google search “green tea makes me dizzy”.
Background:
I drink tons of coffee and black tea. Never has made me feel dizzy or bad in anyway. In fact, I can’t function without a cup of black coffee each morning.
Current:
I just got from a business trip to Hong Kong – and for those of you unaware – Green Tea or Jasmine tea is served at every meal. Like in the states or europe how its customary to always have a glass of water present, so is it with tea in Asia.
During my first business meeting (at lunch), I started feeling light headed and sweating. I attributed this to jet-lag. Never in a million years did I think it was tea related. I was sweating so much my lunch companion noticed it and he politely blamed the weather in Hong Kong (which I knew was wrong, me coming from the southern US).
Felt fine after an hour or so and didn’t think of it again until we went to dinner that night. Same exact thing happen to me….felt dizzy, sweaty, and generally unable to concentrate. Thankfully no one seemed to notice and I felt better after awhile. Still after both incidents I in now way thought it was the tea.
Leaving Hong Kong I bought a collection of Jasmine and Green Teas as a present to my wife. After arriving home we made some the next day after lunch. Immediately I was hit with the same sensation and googled it to find this page.
So to any of you out there, you are not going crazy – green tea evidently does effect certain people in very strange ways.
June 18, 2009 at 10:34 pm |
Amen to all of you, we all have different reactions. Mine is about 12 sneezes in a row. Just did a drink with that contained an energy drink at a bar. I forgot to ask for the ingredients. Sure enough in less than 5 minutes I started sneezing. People can’t believe that I can’t do green tea. A green tea chai gives me many of the symptoms you all discribe in this blog. You just have to ask and avoid it.
June 19, 2009 at 1:17 am |
I just had a glass of green tea (after a long abstinence due to my own suspicion of green tea allergy) because I wanted to be healthy . Green tea is good for you right? A few sips I am ok. and then a few gulps later. I get palpitations , and have a congestion in my throat and have very slight laboured breathing .Followed by sneezing about 6 times? Took a glass of hot water. am feeling a little better now.
I googled and found this site.Thanks for all your info…
June 20, 2009 at 10:01 am |
I too must add my experience to this growing list of voices. I am glad I am not alone! When ever drink green tea/oolong/jasmine tea I feel light headed and nauseous. It is especially worse on empty stomach. I do not feel such effects with milky tea/coffee/soda. If any one has definitive idea why this happens it would be interesting to find out.
June 21, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
I love tea, but I have difficulty drinking it. I get light-headed, my heart has weird palpitations, my stomach hurts, I get jittery & foggy-minded, & the strangest thing is that I have difficulty breathing. I’ve been told that this is due to the caffeine. However, I can drink 4 cups of coffee (my usual is 2) with no ill-effects. I can also drink colas with no problems, as well. So, I thought that maybe this was an allergic reaction…I feel the same when I eat shellfish. I had tried packaged chamomile tea once & had the same reaction, except my throat tightened. I live in the mountains, where wild chamomile grows & I get “hayfever” when I’m around it, so I know that that was an allergic reaction. Maybe its not the tannin, but another plant-based component that causes the allergic reaction.
June 24, 2009 at 12:35 pm |
I just started drinking the Lipton green tea and about 8 hrs after I drink it, it tears my stomach up. I hate it because I really like it. Did anyone else experience these symptoms?
June 24, 2009 at 3:55 pm |
Just started to drink green tea (jasmin) I have only drank it twice,,Seems to make me tired,,,After reading all these blogs im getting worried because I have asthma ans allergies. Maybe i should stop well im ahead What is the jasmin for?Can u tell me..Thanks Jackie
July 20, 2009 at 7:20 pm |
The jasmin is actually the added flowers of a jasmin plant to add scent to the tea. We grew tea (Camellia sinensis) on Hawaii and it actually had a sweet scented but very small white camellia flower itself, followed by a hard bladk seed that would fall and sprout into a new tea palnt.
June 28, 2009 at 4:32 pm |
I have had adrenal exhaust or the past 4 months due to drinking massive amounts of green tea. It is a tea that is healthy to a point, but in excess and taken over a long period of time, apparently, can run down the adrenal glands in certain people, particularly those who have a naturally high metabolism.
My symptoms were a debilitating fatigue (I was in bed most of the day barely able to lift my arms, and walking a short distance was difficult). I never dreamed that such a ‘great’ tea, could make me sick.
Now, 5 months later, my health is returning.
July 2, 2009 at 10:43 am |
I am researching green and white tea allergies. I have been drinking green tea for a few years now and only just started to have a reaction to it – well at least I have only became aware of a reaction. Each time I drink either green or white tea I get a dry sore back of the nose and throat and sometimes my head feels a bit out of sorts. I thought this seemed ridiculous as it is supposed to be so good for you but I really cannot ignore the reaction I have. I also had adrenal exhaustion so was quite interested in Serah Strandberg’s comment.
July 20, 2009 at 7:22 pm |
Just chewing on a couple of the fresh leaves of the plant (Camellia sinensis) picked straight off the plants, I found would have a notable stimulating effect as well as causing the increase in upper back/shoulder burning pain for me.
July 3, 2009 at 12:55 pm |
Hi,
I had some green tea and It resulted in heart palpitations, anxiety, and I could not sleep all night. The same thing happens with french vanilla coffee, and soda, I guess I am sensitive to caffeine. I have the decaf green tea, I will try that and report back because I saw where this person online said she still had a reaction drinking the decaf.
July 20, 2009 at 7:13 pm |
I’ve observed for years that attempting to substitute tea(Camellia sinensis) for coffee just caused a huge increase in upper back/shoulder buring pain. It has happened over and over whenever I have tea or even something with the extract of it — even green tea ice cream!
I’m assuming there is a minute but notable difference in the xanthines of tea and coffee, so unless I drink a lot of coffee, I do not get the burning upper back pain and increased tension. I have numerous food allergies and it maybe an allergy. Who knows?
July 20, 2009 at 7:16 pm |
I once tried using a strong solution of tea as a rinse after bathing on my skin — spraying it on — and hoping it might act as a UV protection. It only stained my clothing and then I noted lots of tension. It appears the stuff was being absorbed through my skin. I’d say watch out for anything we apply to our skin as many things may be absorbed!
July 22, 2009 at 1:49 pm |
I have tried green tea twice. Both times I had a horrible skin reaction. My face broke out worse than it ever has before.
July 28, 2009 at 10:44 pm |
I’m so glad to find this. Everytime I start drinking tea on the daily, after about four days, I feel anxious and moody, and sad sometimes. I’ve tried proving to myself that its all in my head, but with any kind of tea, as long as I drink it alot, I’ll get the same symptoms.
July 30, 2009 at 1:32 pm |
I heard so many positives from drinking green tea so bought a half gallon of Turkey Hill green tea with ginseng.That day was so hot and so thirsty I drank a little over half of the container just like we drink water. As soon as i went to bed I started feeling palpitations and felt like my heart was coming out of my chest and a little jitery,chest felt tight. Had a blood pressure monitor and to my surprise my blood pressure was fine but heart rate which is normally 75 to 80 was up to a 135. Today it is back to normal and I threw away the container of green tea. No way am I drinking it again!!!!
August 6, 2009 at 1:25 pm |
Started drinking green tea, because coffee was giving me intestinal problems. But, after drinking the tea for about a week, started experiencing extreme malaise, mild nausea, mild confusion. The symptoms were like the flu, but Bufferin helped a lot and a decongestant helped. Stopped drinking the tea and the flu-like symptoms are slowing going away. This was the only website I googled that had anything about green tea allergy. Thank you all for your comments. I thought I was going crazy. Green tea is supposed to be a miracle thing! Not for me!
August 19, 2009 at 12:56 pm |
I suspect green tea in causing eczema on my hands.
But it could be the packaging. Did anyone notice a difference in symptoms when drinking tea in teabags or without teabags?
August 22, 2009 at 9:15 pm |
Yeah, I thought I was crazy too. It makes me so sweaty and nauseous and gives me a headache. I thought it was maybe rose hips but even green tea without that does the same thing. The flouride thing is interesting to me because I have the same reaction at the dentist when they’ve made me do a special flouride rinse. The other thing that also does it is diet soda. Really anything with sweeteners. It actually makes me feel hungry. Or maybe my stomach just so unsettled I feel like I need a piece of bread or something. Wonder if it’s all related?
October 18, 2009 at 3:14 pm |
So glad to have discovered this blog. I started drinking green tea a few weeks ago and my runny nose has been getting worse each day. Had not occurred to me that it was the tea. I cannot drink wine either – it gives me asthma; there must be a connection?
October 31, 2009 at 12:57 pm |
thats exactly how mine started!!!! looking back it started in high school with a runny nose. then itchy eyes. then both at the same time lasting less then an hour…then my eyes started to get puffy..now the reaction occurs within minutes.
October 23, 2009 at 11:10 am |
Lipton Diet Green Tea always makes me jittery and anxious with blurred vision, even after just 6 to 8 ounces. It is not the caffeine. It is either aspartame or the properties of green tea itself. Certain gums with aspartame give a similar reaction.
I am not usually allergic to foods, but this particular drink is not good for me
October 28, 2009 at 12:02 pm |
I have the same problem described by many on this blog and I did some research too. I found a few references in scientific literature about green tea allergy and it seams that Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) is the causative agent of green tea-induced asthma. For the other symptoms (anxiety, skin reactions, dizziness etc.), I could not find anything, but there must be something to it. I personally have no problem with other kind of teas, have no other food allergies and still feel terrible after green tea. I just tried decaffed, seems to be a little better, but I’m still getting dizzy and shaky…
Here are three of the references I found for those who might be interested:
Food allergy to green tea. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 112, Issue 4, October 2003, Pages 805-806.
Shirai T, Reshad K, Yoshitomi A, Chida K, Nakamura H, Taniguchi M. Green tea–induced asthma: relationship between immunological reactivity, specific and nonspecific bronchial responsiveness. Clin Exp Allergy, In press 2003.
Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Volume 79, Issue 1, July 1997, Pages 65-69.
Epigallocatechin gallate-induced histamine release in patients with green tea-induced asthma. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Volume 79, Issue 1, July 1997, Pages 65-69.
October 31, 2009 at 12:56 pm |
I definitely have an allergic reaction to green tea. I have been unable to find any sources to explain. I get itchy eyes, clogged nose, and my eye lids swell shut. This reaction occurs within 20mins of consumption. I get this reaction consistently and it occurs faster and more severe with each subsequent exposure. Reaction occurs with green tea extract in diet supplements (which led me to my discovery of the allergy) but also occurs in regular green tea. I’ve gotten the reaction from a snapple peach tea which did not clearly advertise its usage of green tea ( i did see it on the back in the listed ingredients after my reaction started). I know that using anti histamines during the reaction stop its progression. I have been able to stop the reaction at itchy eyes with antihistamines. No anaphalaxsis occurs…yet..but i have an epipen just in case (bc of its increasing severity). Anyone else have these experiences?
October 31, 2009 at 12:58 pm |
I should not i have no other allergies or sensitivities to stimulants.
November 4, 2009 at 10:46 am |
I can drink green tea, but I have tried on two occasions to take a green tea supplement. Both times I got very jittery and my blood pressure went sky high. I don’t know if this is an allergy or not, but it only happens when I take the supplements.