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A father in northern Texas said his desire to get healthy again in his 50s had left him with a liver transplant, reports the BBC.
Jim McCants says he was at the graduation of his son right next to Dallas when his wife watched him.
She said, "Do you feel good?" Jim remembered. "I said:" I feel good, why? "" Your face is yellow, your eyes are yellow, you look terrible. "When I have looked in the mirror, it was shocking. "
He was quickly admitted to hospital with an alleged liver injury. The doctors quickly ruled out alcohol because Jim said he rarely drinks and that he was not taking any prescription medications at that time.
A liver doctor however asked him if he was taking supplements.
Jim tells the BBC As part of his "health boost at mid-life", he started taking green tea supplements because he had heard about his possible benefits to the heart. He took them for about two or three months before starting to feel sick.
He underwent several blood tests and, about three weeks after his ill appearance, the doctors told him the bad news.
"She said you needed a liver transplant, it must happen quickly, you have days – you do not have a week."
A day later, a suitable liver was located and he underwent a life-saving surgical procedure.
So what about green tea supplements?
The BBC reports that scientists do not know why they could harm some people at higher doses. Green tea is considered a food by the United States and Europe. Even in its concentrated capsule form, it is not considered a drug and no specific safety test has been required, reports the BBC.
If you drink a modest amount, you are probably very safe. Health experts believe that the risk comes from the most concentrated extracts.
The concern is focused on epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a potentially toxic ingredient.
Dr. Herbert Bonkovsky, director of liver treatment services at the faculty of medicine at Wake Forest University, explains that people who take these green tea extracts often try to lose weight, so that they can not maybe not eat.
"Studies in animals have shown that fasting animals absorb a much higher percentage of catechins than fatty animals.Other factors, drugs, chemicals, alcohol consumption, can also to exist, explains the doctor.
In a long report on the subject, the US Institutes of Health have this to say about green tea:
"Green tea is a popular and commonly consumed drink and its extract is found in many herbal and dietary supplements (HDS). The green tea extract and, more rarely, the ingestion of large amounts of green tea have been implicated in clinically apparent acute liver injury, including acute liver failure and requiring either urgent liver transplantation , a death."
More information on the BBC website, press here
© 2018 KHOU
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