Overdrinking Tea?

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Henry rolled initiative and posted the following:

Depends on how one reacts to the tea.

I've discovered that I have a slightly adverse reaction to Bergamot - my throat dries out and it's very uncomfortable. So consuming "mass quantitites" of tea containing Bergamot is a bad thing for me.

I have also made myself jittery by rapid consumption of strong tea, but that's a different story.

Consider if it is not an organical tea. Then you consume a lot of other things too. I'm not talking of insects of course. I don't know what is allowed to import from other countries - if there are any maximum concentrations of herbicides or other things. And I don't think that such countries like India are very thoughtful in such things. But maybe I'm wrong. If so let me know. However, I prefer organical tea because of these thougts.

Robert

Am Sun, 8 Feb 2004 23:01:39 -0500 hat Henry geschrieben:

10 8oz cups in one day - don't kill yourself. I once had quite a few cups of gunpowder tea, used the car and it caught fire, or so I thought. The brain will react to caffeine, it is a poison.

JB

Organic does not mean herbicide/pesticide free, all it means is that the herbicide/pesticide used must be from an organic source (instead of chemically synthesized). There are plenty of organic herbicides/pesticides that are harmful to humans in high doses. I always strive for organic products as well, but I just thought I'd clarify the issue.

"Every medicine is a poison, and every poison a medicine."

Rick.

(my corollary: "Except homeopathy. Every homeopathic medicine is water, and all water is homeopathic medicine.")

The trouble with pesticides is not what they do to the crop but the ecosystem. I've tried to gather information on treatment and since tea bushes are many years old any application protects the young shoots and not mature leaf because it is harvest in time. The natural elements and processing essentially eliminate any residue. It isn't what you ingest it is what is left behind for wildlife which caused the ban of DDT in this country. Yes it is used elsewhere but it is wrecking the ecosystem and not the crops. I've seen the use of organic to mean crops grown in destroyed ecosystems because spraying is eventually banned.

Jim

"Homeopathy reduces arsenic poisoning in mice"

This jogged my memory and I recall reading and article in a newspaper a few years ago about a man who used to drink lots of Earl Grey every day. Eventually he started to get muscle cramps and went to see a doctor. Turned out that in large doses, the bergamot oil interferes with the intake of something or other that the body needs (calsium or potassium or whatever), which may be harmful in the long run. So the man switched to unflavored tea and the cramps went away.

But that was years ago and I may remember it incorrectly. Has anybody else heard about it (or similar)?

Jarmo

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Originally posted week beginning 13 May 2002

Too much Earl Grey causes problems

Summary

As reported in the journal Lancet, large quantities of tea flavoured with bergamot essence (as in Earl Grey tea) can cause health problems. It may bring on muscle cramps, involuntary twitches, burning or prickling feelings, and blurred vision. A man aged 44 years reported muscle cramps to his doctor. He had consumed up to four litres of black tea daily for 25 years and had recently switched to Earl Grey tea, believing it would be less harmful to his stomach. Within a week, he developed muscle cramps and other unusual symptoms, including a feeling of pressure in his eyes. He also had blurred vision, particularly in darkness. After five months, the patient switched from Earl Grey back to pure black tea and his symptoms completely disappeared within a week. They remained absent when he stopped drinking all tea for a week. He also found they did not recur as long as he consumed no more than one litre of Earl Grey tea daily. Essence of bergamot oil is used to flavour Earl Grey tea. The side effects observed in this man can be explained by one of its components bergapten. Finsterer J. Lancet 359:1484, 27 Apr 2002

Jarmo Louet wrote:

There have been a lot of articles on bergamot oil as a photosensitizer for bad (aromatherapist gets severe sunburn) or good (for psoriasis treatment). I did find one in The Lancet about a guy who drank four liters of Earl Grey per day: Earl Grey tea intoxication Josef Finsterer. The Lancet. London: Apr 27, 2002. Vol. 359, Iss. 9316; pg. 1484, 1 pgs Subjects: Case studies, Tea, Medical disorders Author(s): Josef Finsterer Article types: Feature Publication title: The Lancet. London: Apr 27, 2002. Vol. 359, Iss.

9316; pg. 1484, 1 pgs Source Type: Periodical ISSN/ISBN: 01406736 ProQuest document ID: 117311679 Text Word Count 804

Abstract (Article Summary)

A 44-year-old man presented in May, 2001, with muscle cramps. He had no medical history of note, but volunteered the fact that he had been drinking up to 4 L of black tea per day over the past 25 years. His preferred brand was GoldTeefix (Tekanne, Salzburg, Austria). Since this type of tea had given him occasional gastric pain, he changed to Earl Grey (Twinings & Company, London, UK), which he thought would be less harmful to his stomach. 1 week after the change, he noticed repeated muscle cramps for some seconds in his right foot. The longer he drank Earl Grey tea, the more intense the muscle cramps became. After 3 weeks, they also occurred in the left foot. After 5 weeks, muscle cramps had spread towards the hands and the right calf. Occasionally, he observed fasciculations of the right adductor pollicis and gastrocnemius. Additionally, he noted distal paraesthesias in all limbs, and a feeling of pressure in his eyes, associated with blurred vision, particularly in darkness. On neurologic examination he had reduced visual acuity and fasciculations in the right tibialis anterior and adductor pollicis. Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the right median, peroneal and sural nerves were normal. Needle electromyography of the right tibialis anterior showed fasciculations at 6 of 20 sites, but motor unit architecture was preserved. Ophthalmological tonometry and fundoscopy, and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging were normal. Tests of thyroid, hepatic, adrenal, and kidney functions showed no abnormalities. Serum and urine potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate were all within the normal range. He did not have polydipsia, and was quite capable of reducing his fluid intake to 1-2 L per day. Full Text (804 words)

A soothing cup of tea?

Case report

A 44-year-old man presented in May, 2001, with muscle cramps. He had no medical history of note, but volunteered the fact that he had been drinking up to 4 L of black tea per day over the past 25 years. His preferred brand was GoldTeefix (Tekanne, Salzburg, Austria). Since this type of tea had given him occasional gastric pain, he changed to Earl Grey (Twinings & Company, London, UK), which he thought would be less harmful to his stomach. 1 week after the change, he noticed repeated muscle cramps for some seconds in his right foot. The longer he drank Earl Grey tea, the more intense the muscle cramps became. After 3 weeks, they also occurred in the left foot. After 5 weeks, muscle cramps had spread towards the hands and the right calf. Occasionally, he observed fasciculations of the right adductor pollicis and gastrocnemius. Additionally, he noted and sural nerves were normal. Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the right median, peronealNeedle electromyography of the right tibialis anterior showed fasciculations at 6 of 20 sites, but motor unit architecture was preserved. Ophthalmological tonometry and fundoscopy, and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging were normal. Tests of thyroid, hepatic, adrenal, and kidney functions showed no abnormalities. Serum and urine potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate were all within the normal range. He did not have polydipsia, and was quite capable of reducing his fluid intake to 1-2 L per day. I excluded motor neurone disease, polyneuropathy, myopathy, neuromyotonia, stiff-man syndrome, and MachadoJoseph disease by appropriate tests. The patient assumed that there was a relation between his symptoms and his tea consumption, and stopped drinking Earl Grey after 5 months, reverting to pure black tea again. Within 1 week, his symptoms had completely disappeared. Symptoms also remained absent if he completely withdrew from tea, which he did in the nature of experiment, for about a week. He found that his symptoms did not recur as long as he consumed no more than 1 L of Earl Grey daily. When last seen in November, 2001, neurological examination, nerve conduction studies, and electromyography were normal. He was still drinking 2 L of plain black tea daily (his entire fluid intake), and had no complaints.

Earl Grey tea is composed of black tea and the essence of bergamot oil, an extract from the rind of bergamot orange (Citrus aurantium ssp bergamia), which has a pleasant, refreshing scent.1 Bergamot oil contains bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), bergamottin (5-geranyloxypsoralen), and citropten (5,7-dimethoxycoumarin), which can be found in grapefruit juice, celery, parsnips, and Seville orange juice. Bergamot oil is a well-known UVA-induced photosensitiser with a strong phototoxic effect, and is used therapeutically in psoriasis, vitiligo, mycosis fungoides, and cutaneous lymphoma. Because of this side-effect, bergamot oil has been widely banned as an ingredient in cosmetics and tanning products.1 Bergamot oil also has a hepatotoxic effect and may cause contact-allergy. The adverse effects of bergamot oil in this patient are explained by the effect of bergapten as a largely selective axolemmal potassium channel blocker,2 reducing potassium permeability at the nodes of Ranvier in a time-dependent manner.3 This may lead to hyperexcitability of the axonal membrane and phasic alterations of potassium currents, causing fasciculations and muscle cramps.3,4 Impaired potassium-- channel function plays a pathogenic role in other disorders with fasciculations, myokymia, and cramps such as Isaacs' syndrome, episodic ataxia/myokymia syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.4,5 Hyperexcitability may be enhanced by prolonged opening of voltage-gated sodium-- channels due to bergapten.3,4

Tea is regarded a delicious, aromatic stimulant worldwide. However, even tea may lead to health problems if flavoured and consumed in extraordinarily high quantities. Bergamot essence in Earl Grey tea, when consumed in excess, may induce muscle cramps, fasciculations, paraesthesias and blurred vision.

References

1 Kaddu S, Kerl H, Wolf P. Accidental bullous phototoxic reactions to bergamot aromatherapy oil. JAm Acad Dermatol 2001; 45: 458-61. 2 Wulff H, Rauer H, Doring T, et al. Alkoxypsoralens, novel nonpeptide blockers of Shaker-type K+ channels: synthesis and photoreactivity. JMed Chem 1998; 41: 4542-49. 3 During T, Gerst F, Hansel W, Wulff H, Koppenhofer E. Effects of three alkoxypsoralens on voltage gated ion channels in Ranvier nodes. Gen Physiol Biophys 2000; 19: 345-64. 4 Newsom-Davis J. Autoimmune neuromyotonia (Isaacs' syndrome): an antibody-mediated potassium channelopathy. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1997; 835: 111-19. 5 Browne DL, Gancher ST, Nutt JG, et al. Episodic ataxia/myokymia syndrome is associated with point mutations in the human potassium

channel gene, KCNAI. Nat Genet 1994; 8: 136-40.

[Author Affiliation] Neurologisches Krankenhaus Rosenhugel, Riedelgasse 5, 1130 Wien, Austria (J Finsterer PhD) (e-mail: snipped-for-privacy@jet2web.cc)

Copyright Lancet Ltd. Apr 27, 2002

Am I the only one readthing this that thinks 2L of tea per day is not such a large amount?

We're talking more or less about 2 pots of tea, right?

For what it's worth, I drink something around this much tea per day, most days, and have for quite some time. I have yet to develop any of the symptoms below.

electromyography of the right

Two liters = about 2 quarts = 64 ounces = about 11 cups. Not unheard of, but apparently bergamot oil is powerful stuff.

Rick.

I usually drink about that much, so I consider it a normal amount.

It's the bergamot flavoring that caused the symptoms, not the tea. I don't think tea itself has any harmful effects.

Well, it does contain caffeine, of course. As I recall, ingesting more than 1 gram of caffeine may cause toxicity symptoms, but one would have to drink more than 3-5 liters of tea at one go to get that much, so don't worry about it. Besides, dedicated tea-drinkers have probably acquired a higher tolerance.

Thanks to Pen and Rick for the references, by the way.

Jarmo

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Does anyone know if drinking decafe or organic tea would be any better for you as I also drink gallons of tea?