Green Tea Forum

Ichigo · Posted: Oct 14, 2007 6:12 am Post subject: Tea...Harmful?

I remember seeing on the news that tea and coffee can do some serious damadge to your nerves. is this true?

Ed · Posted: Oct 14, 2007 9:09 am Post subject:

I have never heard of that and doing an extensive search on the subject turned up nothing. There is a chemical that I think is used as a local anesthetic that is called "TEA-C12" which is short for triethyldodecylammoniumbromide. This chemical is supposedly linked to nerve damage. Maybe that's what you heard about on the news. But this anesthetic has nothing to do with tea leaves.

Or maybe you heard something about caffeine and its effects on the nervous system. It's true that caffeine is a real drug and is a central nervous system stimulant. It is generally regarded as safe in moderation, though. Some of us are just more sensitive to it than others.

Tea has a lot of proven health benefits. I wouldn't worry too much about some oddball news report about tea. This stuff looks pretty darn healthy from where I stand...

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

The is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world. Only 2nd to water. That being the case, I think if there was a health risk with tea, we'd all know about it. Tea is also thousands of years old as far as I know, and has always been considered a very healthful beverage.

Ichigo · Posted: Oct 15, 2007 5:35 am Post subject:

Photiou · Posted: Oct 15, 2007 6:31 am Post subject:

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

There have been some teas which have tested way above maximum allowed levels of lead... This does not mean every green tea on the market harvested in China has this problem. But, significantly enough, there are some that do... The tea plants get the lead from sucking it up out of the soil.

amanojakumo · White Belt Joined: 05 Oct 2007 Posts: 24

wehayley · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 195

Studies show that consuming caffeine in large amounts can be harmful. Of course everyone is uniquely individual, but by far and away, most people would have to consume vast amounts of tea to hit the point at which the research points to it becoming "dangerous."

In fact, tea in "reasonable" amounts has been shown to have a soothing effect on the nervous system...

britt · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 179

britt · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 179

syntheticpanda · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 198

Honestly, I agree with you that China has problems, but your anti-China, pro-Taiwan rhetoric is getting tiring. I find it incredibly hard to believe that Taiwanese teas are unaffected by air pollution from mainland China (yes, I realize this isn't the Taiwanese's fault, but the point is their tea isn't necessarily 100% free of contaminants, as you suggest), and while the Chinese are known for having unsafe practices, it is ridiculous to think that none of the same sort of activity ever happens in Taiwan simply because they have a different form of government-- people are still people.

Again, don't get me wrong, I will side with the Taiwanese over the Chinese any day, but at least *try* to look at it from a less hardline anti-China point of view.

spacesamurai · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 204

I agree. I too am not saying that China does not have problems, but I don't like bashing a particular country or culture. China has some unhealthy, unsavory practices, but that's not all of China.

I too would side with Taiwan (or Tibet) over Communist China, but the situation isn't black and white.

Kevangogh · Forum God Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 916 Location: Japan

I used to regularly ship out of Kaohsiung, Taiwan when I was in the merchant marine. Let me tell you, the air there is *extremely* polluted! The worst I have ever experienced - your eyes are burning when you leave. I'm sure they grow the tea in less polluted areas but Taiwan is pretty caustic as well.

britt · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 179

Pollution is one thing, the intentional poisoning of food products is quite another. Do a web search on tainted food and China, India, and Mexico will dominate. These are the three countries whose food products the FDA has the most trouble with, and everything in my post was non-fiction. The chicken cages hung over the shrimp pond came from a US Congressman, and he said this is common practice.

Taiwan and Japan are known for strict controls on food products. Of course they have incidents, but at a much lower rate than even the US from what I've found.

Whether anyone likes it or not, communism does not advocate integrity, free thinking, or high quality. China was a great nation prior to Mao, but is now just a giant junkyard. Defending this type of regime doesn't do good for anyone. If they kill so many of their own, do you think they care about your health and safety or the quality of the tea they sell you?

The more you support China, the quicker the free world will disappear. Soon the only choice you'll have will be Chinese matcha and cheap Chinese whisks made in lead bowls. Ask anyone in the business in Japan about what everyone's support of China is doing to Japanese craftsmen. Read Kevin's post on carrying Chinese made whisks.

Make your choice but live with the long-term results.

wehayley · 2nd Degree Black Belt Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 195

Britt, your use of the word "intentional" is interesting. I don't know if you live the US or elsewhere, but if we want to be critical, let's start at home. No one is forcing consumers outside of China to purchase Chinese goods. Consumers elect to do so to save a buck, while meanwhile complaining about the loss of American industry. Go figure.

Beyond that, in the US we have fish farms, dairy cows, and other farm animals that eventually wind up on our dinner tables, and all receive an amazing array of hormones and antibiotics that are known to be at levels unsafe for humans.

From flouride in toothpaste, to mercury in vaccines, and aspartame in all sorts of foods and beverages, we are "intentionally" poisoning ourselves. Infants are fed unsafe, sugary formulae and adults, who should know better, continue to stuff themselves with transfats, saturated fats, hydrogenated fats, and just plain old fat, along with all sort of other unhealthy substances. Big oil continues to send kids off to fight for their bottom line. Tobacco continues to kill. And just as the British pumped opium into China to take control of the tea trade, we're now pumping in all sorts of stuff, the biggest of which includes tobacco (so maybe the Chinese are just leveling the field).

Big farming, big industry, and big pharmaceuticals continue to influence big elections, the house and senate are bought and sold every day, and all at the cost of public safety.

We continue to gulp down all the stuff the government knows is unsafe. Not just drugs (the US makes up about 5 percent of the world's population while consuming more than 50 percent of all the prescription drugs, and I'm sure the over-the-counter numbers are at least as bad), but refined sugar, soy, white flour, processed eats, wheat and other gluten-laden grains, genetically modified corn, toxin-laden peanuts, and a host of other poisons longer than both my arms (I have very long arms).

Topping all that, most of our pharmaceuticals and many of our medical procedures have not be shown to have any real value. They do not increase life expectancy and simultaneously, they diminish the quality of our existence. The effects can be immediate or more long term, but the bottom line is about the same.

We continue to use more energy and more of the planet's resources than any other country (though China is rapidly gaining, and now uses about half of the world's concrete and a third of all the steel). And if you don't live in the US, you likely live in a westernized culture that does pretty much the same.

Now, before a lot of you jump down my throat, I live in the US and I'm happy to be here, but that doesn't necessitate turning a blind eye to the facts...