Green tea can cause liver damage: Study

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Green tea is widely known for its health benefits, but a new study is raising concerns over a rare, but serious side effect for some green tea drinkers.

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The study conducted by Israeli and Canadian researchers from Clalit Health Service, Kaplan Medical Center and the University of Toronto found the tea plant contains botanical toxins that could cause a metabolic reaction and result in liver damage in some people.

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According to the study, published in peer-reviewed academic journal GastroHep, there are more than 100 cases of liver inflammation due to green tea extract.

In some cases, drinking green tea led to liver failure, especially in women.

The study, which analyzed data from 59 peer-reviewed articles, says it’s unclear exactly which components of green tea can cause liver damage due to the large number of compounds from different varieties of tea or how much green tea is too much.

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But for some people, drinking green tea in combination with other medicines and herbs can lead to liver injury.

“It is important to note that liver inflammation and liver failure due to green tea drinking is rare,” the study’s lead author Stephen Malnick told to the Jerusalem Post. “In addition, it is also very hard to diagnose because it’s difficult to diagnose a direct connection between drinking green tea and liver failure. At the same time, though, evidence has accumulated from cases around the world about people who got hepatitis after drinking more green tea.”

Malnick, who is a gastroenterology and internal medicine specialist at Kaplan Medical Center, also described to the Jerusalem Post a case involving a 23-year-old patient who drank two to three cups of green tea daily, and whose condition deteriorated within a month that a liver transplant was needed.

“This is just another example that people who consume these products should be aware of the possibility of complications and consult their family doctor if suspicious symptoms appear,” Malnick said.

Symptoms of liver damage include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, sweating, unusual tiredness and/or loss of appetite.