Too much tea drinking bad ... ?

[OP Hum 6,219]

A 47-year-old Michigan woman developed a bone disease rarely seen in the U.S. after she drank a pitcher of tea made from at least 100 tea bags daily, for 17 years, :| researchers report.

The Detroit woman visited the doctor after experiencing pain in her lower back, arms, legs and hips for five years.

X-rays revealed areas of very dense bone on the spinal vertebrae and calcifications of ligaments in her arm, said study researcher Dr. Sudhaker D. Rao, a physician at Henry Ford Hospital who specializes in endocrinology and bone and mineral metabolism.

The researchers suspected the woman had skeletal fluorosis, a bone disease caused by consuming too much fluoride (a mineral found in tea as well as drinking water).

The patient's blood levels of fluoride were four times higher than what would be considered normal, the researchers said.

Skeletal fluorosis is endemic in regions of the world with naturally high levels of fluoride in drinking water, including some parts of India and China, but is rare in Europe and North America. (Low levels of fluoride are added to drinking water in the United States to prevent cavities, but aren't high enough to cause fluorosis.)

Rao said the patient was originally referred to him because her doctors suspected she had cancer, which can also show up on an X-ray as areas of dense bone. But because Rao had seen cases of skeletal fluorosis in his native India, "I was able to recognize it immediately," he said.

Excess fluoride is typically eliminated from the body by the kidneys, Rao said. But if one consumes a lot of it, as this patient did through tea drinking, over time, the fluoride forms crystal deposits on bone, Rao said.

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[Kriz 184]

I know people that drink A LOT of tea, but not that much.. Clearly an addiction!

[Solid Knight 364]

Yeah, if you drink 100 servings a day for seventeen years something bad might happen.

[Charisma 2,371]

Making it with water purified via reverse osmosis could have possibly prevented the problem too, ingesting that much fluoride is awful! (Some kids who live in areas with fluoridated water end up with bone and teeth deformities from ODing on it.)

But the bigger issue, 100 tea bags a day? O_O That's a more expensive addiction than <insert illegal drug here>! How could that taste like anything other than "bitter"...

[Nick H. 6,595]

Too much of anything is bad for you. 100 tea bags a day is just crazy though!

Do they still put fluoride in the water in the UK?

[Kreuger 102]

Too much of anything is bad. Why is this such a hard idea to grasp? People act all surprised by crap like the movie Super Size Me. I mean come on! Everything is fine in moderation.

[The Laughing Man 442]

Anyone who gets tea-bagged 100 times in one day is bound to have some short of heath issues.

ahuehuehue

[NoPanShabuShabu 11]

Since the article says that she drank 1 pitcher of tea made with 100+ tea bags, water flouridation wouldn't have been the cause of the problem. But really, can you imagine what that would be like? And depending on what type of tea it was, how much caffiene was in that brew?

[compl3x 6,163]

A somewhat misleading title. I thought this was going to be an article about a study which linked drinking X amount of cups of tea a day with ill health effects. Example: "drinking more than 3 cups of tea a day puts you at higher risk of X"

I didn't expect it to be a story about a woman who obviously consumed concentrated tea and suffered because of it.

[OP Hum 6,219]

flouride is the problem, not really the tea.

I might use 7 teabags for a gallon of good stuff, and distilled water. :p

[Detection 2,255]

Do they still put fluoride in the water in the UK?

Yep I think so, tastes like a dentists mouth rinse in certain areas

If I pour a glass of water here and don't drink it for 30 mins or so it tastes like petrol

[compl3x 6,163]

Making it with water purified via reverse osmosis could have possibly prevented the problem too, ingesting that much fluoride is awful! (Some kids who live in areas with fluoridated water end up with bone and teeth deformities from ODing on it.)

But the bigger issue, 100 tea bags a day? O_O That's a more expensive addiction than <insert illegal drug here>! How could that taste like anything other than "bitter"...

Teeth deformities? What do you mean? Fluoride is put into the water to prevent tooth decay. Water fluoridation is pretty closely monitored and maintained, at least where I am from. I haven't heard any of ill effects because of it.

*takes sip of fluoridated tap water*

[-Razorfold 1,333]

Teeth deformities? What do you mean? Fluoride is put into the water to prevent tooth decay.

It's debated. A lot of countries in Europe don't fluoridate their water and their tooth decay rates have gone down at almost the same amount as America's (who does fluoridate their water) has.

[articuno1au 1,264]

There were a lot of protests here about fluoridation of water compl3x :o

Being exposed to too much fluoride is worse than not getting enough >.>

[chrisj1968 1,413]

the flouride they put in our water is a toxic chemical used in Aluminum manufacturing and is toxic. we buy alot from China

http://www.fluoridealert.org/articles/absurdity/

[zhangm 1,065]

the flouride they put in our water is a toxic chemical used in Aluminum manufacturing and is toxic. we buy alot from China

http://www.fluoridea...cles/absurdity/

Calcium is toxic. Exposure and uptake can result in kidney stones and kidney failure. Sodium is toxic. Uptake can lead to hypertension and heart failure. These compounds are found in milk and table salt. The reality that you refuse to apply on a consistent basis is that all materials are hazardous when taken up by the body over a certain concentration. Fluoride is innocuous at the levels applied in drinking water.

Oh - and for everyone that isn't getting it from this article, tea leaves are a source of fluoride - _the_ primary source of fluoride for the case described here. You can use distilled water to prep the tea leaves, and the fluoride from the leaves will leach out.

[compl3x 6,163]

It's debated. A lot of countries in Europe don't fluoridate their water and their tooth decay rates have gone down at almost the same amount as America's (who does fluoridate their water) has.

Studies have been done over and over again concerning water fluoridation and the the evidence is overwhelmingly on the side of pro-fluoridation. It is cheap and it is effective. The rates in countries in Europe who don't add fluoride to the water are acceptable is because of fluoridated salt. So fluoride is still in the equation, just in a different way.

the flouride they put in our water is a toxic chemical used in Aluminum manufacturing and is toxic. we buy alot from China

http://www.fluoridea...cles/absurdity/

We aren't eating bags of fluoride. The quantities used for water fluoridation are small.

Chlorine is also added to water in some places to make it fit for human consumption, but you don't want to breathe in chlorine gas.

[Charisma 2,371]

It's really more effective when topically applied, though, not for ingesting. The benefits of it being in the water have to do with it coming into contact with your teeth. Actually consuming it isn't that great for you, but it's generally in small enough quantities to where your body can detox faster than it builds up. 100 tea bags worth of it per day, though, totally different story xD

[compl3x 6,163]

It's really more effective when topically applied, though, not for ingesting. The benefits of it being in the water have to do with it coming into contact with your teeth. Actually consuming it isn't that great for you, but it's generally in small enough quantities to where your body can detox faster than it builds up. 100 tea bags worth of it per day, though, totally different story xD

The problem is people who oppose fluoride usually oppose it in all its forms. As far as they are concerned there is no "safe way" to use it.

It can't harm you in small quantities. People should be far more concerned with how much salt or sugar they consume.

[-Razorfold 1,333]

Studies have been done over and over again concerning water fluoridation and the the evidence is overwhelmingly on the side of pro-fluoridation. It is cheap and it is effective. The rates in countries in Europe who don't add fluoride to the water are acceptable is because of fluoridated salt. So fluoride is still in the equation, just in a different way.

You also have fluoridated toothpaste. I never said it was unsafe, just that it's effectiveness is disputed.

[compl3x 6,163]

You also have fluoridated toothpaste. I never said it was unsafe, just that it's effectiveness is disputed.

I never said you claimed it was unsafe. You claim its effectiveness is disputed. It isn't. At least not by credible scientists and reliable, comprehensive data.

[OP Hum 6,219]

Sodium is toxic. Uptake can lead to hypertension and heart failure. These compounds are found in milk and table salt.

Organic sodium is needed for healthy blood and nerve function.

Sodium is the major positive ion (cation) in fluid outside of cells. The chemical notation for sodium is Na+. When combined with chloride, the resulting substance is table salt. Excess sodium (such as that obtained from dietary sources) is excreted in the urine. Sodium regulates the total amount of water in the body and the transmission of sodium into and out of individual cells also plays a role in critical body functions. Many processes in the body, especially in the brain, nervous system, and muscles, require electrical signals for communication. The movement of sodium is critical in generation of these electrical signals. Too much or too little sodium therefore can cause cells to malfunction, and extremes in the blood sodium levels (too much or too little) can be fatal.

Increased sodium (hypernatremia) in the blood occurs whenever there is excess sodium in relation to water. There are numerous causes of hypernatremia; these may include kidney disease, too little water intake, and loss of water due to diarrhea and/or vomiting.

A decreased concentration of sodium (hyponatremia) occurs whenever there is a relative increase in the amount of body water relative to sodium. This happens with some diseases of the liver and kidney, in patients with congestive heart failure, in burn victims, and in numerous other conditions.

A Normal blood sodium level is 135 - 145 milliEquivalents/liter (mEq/L), or in international units, 135 - 145 millimoles/liter (mmol/L).

[Enron 4,706]

Do they still put fluoride in the water in the UK?

No, just horse meat.

[compl3x 6,163]

Organic sodium is needed for healthy blood and nerve function.

Sodium is the major positive ion (cation) in fluid outside of cells. The chemical notation for sodium is Na+. When combined with chloride, the resulting substance is table salt. Excess sodium (such as that obtained from dietary sources) is excreted in the urine. Sodium regulates the total amount of water in the body and the transmission of sodium into and out of individual cells also plays a role in critical body functions. Many processes in the body, especially in the brain, nervous system, and muscles, require electrical signals for communication. The movement of sodium is critical in generation of these electrical signals. Too much or too little sodium therefore can cause cells to malfunction, and extremes in the blood sodium levels (too much or too little) can be fatal.

Increased sodium (hypernatremia) in the blood occurs whenever there is excess sodium in relation to water. There are numerous causes of hypernatremia; these may include kidney disease, too little water intake, and loss of water due to diarrhea and/or vomiting.

A decreased concentration of sodium (hyponatremia) occurs whenever there is a relative increase in the amount of body water relative to sodium. This happens with some diseases of the liver and kidney, in patients with congestive heart failure, in burn victims, and in numerous other conditions.

A Normal blood sodium level is 135 - 145 milliEquivalents/liter (mEq/L), or in international units, 135 - 145 millimoles/liter (mmol/L).

He meant excessive sodium is toxic. But way to go for copying and pasting all that.

[Growled 3,878]

Some people are just eat up with stupid.