Excess Tea Consumption Linked to Osteosclerosis

NHE · Volunteer Moderator Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 760

Tea-Boned
Arthritis Today, 2008; 22(1):55.

Do you drink tea to excess? If so, you could be harming - not helping - your bones. Tea, touted as a great source of antioxidants has been shown to reduce inflammation. And the news gets better: A recent study showed that drinkers of black and green (but not herbal) tea have higher bone density than non-tea drinkers. But drink too much, and the tea party may be over.

Tea - hot or cold, decaf or regular - contains fluoride, and a new report from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., shows that compulsively drinking tea could lead to toxic serum fluoride levels and a painful bone condition. People in the study drank far more than most people do - from 10 to 40 cups per day. But other studies show the effect on bones may start with as few as four cups per day.

Whereas normal amounts of fluoride may increase bone density, too much can cause pain in the hips and legs, stress fractures, nausea and weight loss, as well as osteosclerosis - a condition in which bones become too dense.

So drink tea - It’s good for you - but do so in moderation. And if you experience unexplained pain in your back or lower extremities, take a look at your tea consumption, and then talk to your doctor.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Vol. 86, No. 4 and Mayo Clinic Proceedings; Vol. 82, No. 6.

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Here's a link to the full paper from the Mayo Clinic as well as the abstract.

Fluoride-Related Bone Disease Associated With Habitual Tea Consumption
Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82:719-724

Acquired osteosclerosis is a rare disorder of bone formation but an important consideration in adults with sclerotic bones or elevated bone density results. In such patients, malignancy, hepatitis C, and fluorosis should all be considered when making a diagnosis. We describe 4 patients evaluated at our Metabolic Bone Disease Clinic from May 1, 1997, to July 1, 2006, whose bone disorders resulted from chronic fluoride exposure due to excessive tea intake. Three of these patients had toxic serum fluoride levels (>15 μmol/L). Although the clinical presentation of the patients varied, all 4 had an unexpectedly elevated spine bone mineral density that was proportionately higher than the bone mineral density at the hip. Other clinical features included gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and weight loss; lower extremity pain sometimes associated with stress fractures of the lower extremities; renal insufficiency; and elevated alkaline phosphatase levels. Readily available, tea often contains high levels of fluoride. Obsessive-compulsive drinking behaviors and renal insufficiency may predispose to excessive fluoride consumption and accumulation. The current cases show that fluoride-related bone disease is an important clinical consideration in patients with dense bones or gastrointestinal symptoms and a history of excessive tea consumption. Furthermore, fluoride excess should be considered in all patients with a history of excessive tea consumption, especially due to its insidious nature and nonspecific clinical presentation.

NHE

g123 · Family Member Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Posts: 31

Since the fluoride is a contaminant not part of the tea plant itself, is there a place where tea is grown that has less fluoride in the soil?

pegs · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:42 am Post subject: Is the flouride from the water or

Hello
Do you know if tea actually has flouride or is it from our water?

jimmylegs · Family Elder Joined: Mar 12, 2006 Posts: 1999

you have to drink at least three cups per day green tea to show beneficial effects. i'd be pretty safe from drinking 10-40 cups per day, unless i wanted to live and work in the bathroom :S

NHE · Volunteer Moderator Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 760

pegs · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:50 am Post subject:

Thank you NHE!
I did a search and your response was more clear than what I researched....I was really shocked to find out about all our plants and food sources that contain flouride....but with the reading I did ..I was under the impression for some reason that the herbal teas were not included..( and if I were thinking clearly..I guess I should have gathered that if our vegies are affected...why would herbal teas not???)..so ....well I even emailed my daughter this report going back to 1994 by our government stating the high incidence of (basicly flouride posioning) sorry I forget the proper term and all the young children losing teeth to this.....and yet they are still putting flouride in our drinking water....and yes my concern is reactionary because my husband drinks 1 gallon of tea a day....it may be why he is declining so rapidly since he stopped outside construction work..... again...thank you for your help!