Chewing and Swallowing Green Tea Leaves

I have done this, as a matter of fact, that's part of how I try out a tea new to me. More often, I chew a small amount of the brewed leaf. I would imagine you should make it a small enough amount so there won't be a caffeine problem. Also, tea might stain your teeth. Toci

You chew a small amount. Do you swallow it?

The caffeine does indeed seem stronger from tea consumed this way. As for teeth staining, I rinse my mouth thoroughly after one of my tea leaf chews.

I found a web site for a new company that is marketing a tea leaf (laced with nicotine) intended as a substitute for chewing tobacco. The nicotine addition is not for me, but the inventor's idea is to lure smokeless tobacco users away from chewing tobacco.

Since there are good things in tea leaves, why not get it all? I eat broccoli AND drink the water it's cooked in; I don't just drink its cooking water.

George

I say why not? I have chewed firstly a white tea leaf and rather enjoyed it so I have tried most of the whole leaf types. Just one or two tho. And white tea like silver needles was my most favorite Jenn

Okay, thanks. My next question: do you buy your "white tea like silver needles" on-line? If so, would you please give the link. I've been buying my tea in the super market and would like to do better than that--now that I'm eating the whole leaf.

George

While I will chew a dry leaf as a preliiminary assessment of tea quality if I cannot cup it, and fresh buds in the field to give an indication of the potential of the bushes (very bitter is best) it's not my idea of "tea heaven". In South East Asia, fresh tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) are pickled using a naturally induced lactobacillus ferment (like saurkraut) to make a sour tasting snack. In Myanmar the product is called leppet-so, in Thailand it is known as miang. The leaves preserved this way keep for months. I tasted some, somewhere, maybe in Nepal, and though not unpleasant was not worth crossing the road for again.

Nigel at Teacraft

PLEASE STOP CHEWING YOUR TEA LEAVES!!!! I am assuming you are in the states or in another "westernized" country. Fluoride is in your toothpaste and in your drinking water. This is generally natrium fluoride. Fluoride in tea is generally calcium fluoride. Fluoride is VERY present in tea leaves! Fluoridosis is a disease of over-consumption of fluoride that destroys bones and teeth. The more EGCG in tea the lower the fluoride; however, it's still in there. The American Journal of Medicine in its January issue carried a study from the FDA (this study continues) measuring fluoride in instant teas that are commercially used for "iced tea". Since the USA is the world's largest consumer of these teas, they initiated this study which is now measuring fluoride levels in most widely used teas. The results in these instant teas were very high - up to 6.5 parts per million. Drink your tea. In my opinion, the benefits outweigh the hazards unless you're doing several gallons a day. If your chewing tea leaves as one would tobacco, you might want to say good-bye to your teeth and perhaps your jawbones, as well. This is just my personal opinion. Shen

that would be a rather hefty ingestion of tea leaf that would produce fluoride toxicity.

i have not heard of fluoride causing anything except in children's teeth, and thats discoloration.

maybe someone who works in the emergency department could tell stories of fluoride toxicity in children who ate fluoridated tootpaste.

if theres anything to worry regarding bones and teeth in the top concerns is not fluoride.

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that should be: in a healthy, grown, adult.

On Sep 18, 11:53 am, SN wrote:

Perhaps, you may not have heard of problems with fluoride, but there are innumerable references to excessive fluoride conditions on the web, in WHO studies and in medical journals. This is an active debate which has gone on the in public health community for more than 50 years. Our dear friend is a newly retired Chicago Public Water System executive and he tells us that there is much more than an adequate dose of fluoride already in water. You just have to look to areas in Northern China, Africa and South America to see fluorosis. Excessive fluoride cause bone and cartilage malformation and can cause loss of teeth and osteosarcoma. It is especially dangerous for folks with kidney issues (hemodialysis), diabetes and thyroid problems since it can counteract iodine. Supposedly, drinking water in the US is safe (I have doubts); however, to add to the consumption of fluoride, which does, by the way, build up in bones and can support joint calcification and is in soil already, in a totally unnecessary way, seems foolish to me. When we lived in the Midwest, I used reverse osmosis to limit the amount of additives in my tea water. And, god-knows-what-else is on those tea leaves since the poster does not indicate his leaves are organic. And, most over-the-counter standard drugstore toothpastes and mouthwashes do contain fluoride. So, try it once or twice if you need to - but, why? and why chance it? That's all. It's just my professional opinion. I would not recommend chewing tea leaves to any of my patients. Shen

So, try it once or twice if you need to - but, why? and why chance it?

It is primarily grown adults in excessive fluoride studies that are suffering. We're talking excessive here - not a pot of tea a day. Shen

Scary!!!!!!!! Shen

you got me all interested in this subject, not trying to "fight", but continue a discussion:

first of all, osteosarcoma i have yet to see something that had fluoride as etiology for osteosarcoma uptodate: the majority of osteosarcomas are sporadic (= no exact cause set), while inherited predisposition accounts for a minority of cases. Risk factors: Prior irradiation or chemotherapy Paget's disease and other benign bone lesions Inherited conditions - Genetic conditions : ...retinoblastoma, Li- Fraumeni syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, and the related Bloom and Werner syndromes blah: bone tumors arise from an aberration of the normal process of bone growth and remodeling at a time when rapidly proliferating cells are particularly susceptible to oncogenic agents, mitotic errors, or other events leading to neoplastic transformation [18]. However, studies examining the relationship between factors related to growth and development and the risk of bone sarcomas have revealed no consistent pattern

1. fluoride = loss of teeth, and jaw bone ??? never heard of that excess fluoride will do some damage in child's teeth impairing enamel formation or something, but loss of jaw bone!!!??? where do you find this????

3: do you have any published studies in big journals, not pubmed obscure research articles?

62 articles only 2 have fluoride in the title and they concern acute poisoning in children.

(1998) Moreover, primary mineralization defects, whether genetic (as in hypophosphatasia) or acquired (e.g., as a result of excess fluoride, aluminum, or bisphosphonate), are rare causes of rickets or osteomalacia.

nejm Volume 333:1495-1496 November 30, 1995 Number 22 Internationally, the agents used most widely for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis are calcium, estrogen, calcitonin, fluoride, calcitriol, and an early bisphosphonate, etidronate. In general, these agents can be divided into two categories according to whether they stimulate bone formation or inhibit bone resorption. Fluoride, the only one of these agents that stimulates bone formation, can increase bone density substantially. The effect of fluoride on the risk of fractures has been disappointing, although reanalysis of the data from one large trial showed a protective effect in women who had moderate increases in bone density,3 and new, slow-release formulations offer promise.

nejm Preventing Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis 337:420, August 7,

1997 increases bone density. There is also some evidence of the effectiveness of calcitonin and fluoride in this context.

I would worry about kidney stones

At the risk of appearing repetitive on this thread; the chewing (as a masticatory) and the eating (as a common hors d'oevre) of pickled tea leaves is common and traditional practice in northern Thailand and Myanmar, apparently without ill effect.

Nigel at Teacraft

Laphet or pickled tea leaves, as you mentioned, are indeed a favourite appetizer in Myanmar (as in other Asian countries). The Burmese are suffering from extremely high rates of fluorosis since not only the tea, but the water used in the processing of laphet is chock full of fluoride (and ascenic). You may have not seen these effects since these tend to be rural peoples who use deep well water for irrigation, pickling and to make tea as a beverage. UNICEF and WHO have made these areas (high fluorosis) a serious focus for birth defects and other fluorosis supported health problems primarily affecting women and children. My point is simple: here in the states we have a lot of fluoride all ready in our tap water and we get it in our liquid teas, I think it's enough. This is my personal opinion. Shen

and I'd still worry about kidney stones. Very high concentrations of calcium oxalate in tea leaves.

Milk will bind to the oxalate rendering it harmless, but studies show milk also prevents most positive tea-related health benefits.

I wouldn't chew the things personally. My dad drank green tea for years and had the most terrible kidney stones.. wouldn't want to go through that. (I still drink lots of greens though)

Shen, come on, a tiny leaf or two is just a little treat not an obsession... Jenn

There is 1 case report in the USA, and thats a 52 year old lady who drank 1-2 gallons of "double-strength" Lipton instant tea (whatever that is) for "her entire adult life" (which means what ... about 20-30 years?), she got "mild skeletal fluorosis" which was discovered by accident. her complaints were "Spinal discomfort and stiffness for 5 years", "She had never had a fracture."

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Exposure to over 20 mg/day of fluoride for over 20 years can cause advanced skeletal fluorosis. (Instructor Dr. Eckhert EHS201 UCLA 2003)

---------------------------------------------------- Fluoride Content of tea

Leaf tea Fluoride concentration in tea infusion 1.12 (mg/ l ) Dissolvable fluoride in tea leaf 0.28 (mg/ g)

Bagged tea Fluoride concentration in tea infusion 2.08 (mg/ l ) Dissolvable fluoride in tea leaf 0.52 (mg/ g)

(Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2003)

13, 66 - 73) this is by a team in Taiwan.

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looking for these articles even tho informative, is time consuming, ,Shen u did not show me where you found the information on osteosarcoma, broken jaw bones and teeth.

I tend to be conservative when it comes to well-being. I've seen too many (American) patients who go waaaay overboard with any new food or supplement trend - i.e. soy. A bit does some good; too much can be disastrous to your health. Green tea is a new fad food. It's in everything from yogurt to nail polish. I agree that moderation in anything generally works well. I don't mean to sound cranky; but, I also have a great distrust (an old hippie) of the quality and quantity of fluoride that readily available in foods, dental care and the water supply. I'd just rather err on the side of caution. Shen