Next week there will be a story about how coffee and tea will kill you.
“Next week there will be a story about how coffee and tea will kill you.”
Yeah, but the cause of death will be different. It’s like all the “Ambulance Chasing Shyster Lawyer” commercials on the tube. This drug you are taking to fix this or stop that, causes you other problems or kills you. I really like it when they essentially list all the problems for which you can sue, including death, and then they say “call us.” Just wonder how they are collecting from the dead people who call for assistance?
“Next week there will be a story about how coffee and tea will kill you.”
The older I get, the more I think, WTF, we all have an expiration date. I always marveled at interviews of persons who reached the age of 100 or greater. When asked what their secret is, the response was often, Jack Daniels and Cigarettes.
Right back at ya! Here is a piece on green tea from Sloan-Kittering:
Herb-Drug Interactions of green tea
• Adenosine: The caffeine content in green tea may inhibit the hemodynamic effects of adenosine (18).
• Anticoagulants / Antiplatelets: Theoretically, consumption of large amounts of green tea (.5-1 gallon/day) may provide enough vitamin K to antagonize the effects of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, though this effect has not been reported in humans (29) (34).
• Atropine: The tannin content in green tea may reduce the absorption of atropine.
• Iron supplements: The tannin content in green tea may reduce the bioavailability of iron. Green tea should be taken either 2 hours before or 4 hours following iron administration.
• Codeine: The tannin content in green tea may reduce the absorption of codeine (18).
• Bortezomib: EGCG and other polyphenols in green tea can inhibit the therapeutic effect of bortezomib (Velcade®) and other boronic acid based proteasome inhibitors (37).
• Tamoxifen: EGCG was shown to increase the oral bioavailability of tamoxifen, increasing the potential for their interactions (38).
• Verapamil: The bioavailability of Verapamil increased significantly in the presence of EGCG, thought to be due to P-glycoprotein inhibition by EGCG (39).
• Irinotecan: A study found EGCG to inhibit transport of irinotecan and its metabolite SN-38 into biliary elimination, resulting in their prolonged half-life which can increase toxicity (40).
• Cytochrome P450 3A4 substrates: Green tea extract inhibits CYP 3A4 enzyme and can affect the intracellular concentration of drugs metabolized by this enzyme (43) (44).
• UGT (Uridine 5’-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase) substrates: Green tea modulates UGT enzymes in vitro and can increase the side effects of drugs metabolized by them (51).
• Acetaminophen: Green tea was shown to increase acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice when administered following acetaminophen (53).
That's exactly what I said to my wife when she told me about this article. For every study that says x is good for you there is another that says x will kill you. I just don't pay attention any more.
Now I do happen to drink a couple of cups of coffee every morning and a couple of cups of green tea in the afternoon (which is why my wife was so excited), but not because of any perceived health benefits. I just like my coffee and my green tea.