New York physicians have reported the first known case of liver poisoning from Chinese rice tea.
Gastroenterologists today are warning consumers they need to be aware of the high risk for liver failure when consuming large amounts of many herbal remedies.
The story from Science Specialist Ed Yeates.
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Recent studies show some teas may actually be good for us.
But a 40-year-old woman was hospitalized in New York with jaundice and other signs of liver poisoning. She was drinking a product called rice tea.
At the University of Utah Medical Center, gastroenterologist Keith Tolman says the tea itself may not be so bad - but unexpected added ingredients which sometimes end up in the product.
Keith Tolman, M.D. / U oF U Dept of Gastroenterology - "THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS TEAS CAUSING SEVERE TOXICITY TO THE LIVER. AND THE USUAL PROBLEM IS CONTAMINATION OF THE PRODUCT."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "AT THEIR SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS IN LAS VEGAS, THE G-I DOCTORS ALSO REPORTED ON A CHICAGO WOMAN WHO WAS HOSPITALIZED AND HAD A LIVER TRANSPLANT BECAUSE SHE WAS TAKING LARGE DOSES OF MULTIPLE HERBAL REMEDIES."
Another man was hosptialized after drinking tea and consuming tablets which may have been inadvertently laced with arsenic and lead. Another 45-year-old woman experienced liver failure after taking nearly 30 different herbal remedies for several months.
"IT'S USUALLY INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS AND OTHER CHEMICALS SOME OF WHICH ARE IN OUR ENVIRONMENT THAT GET INTO THESE PRODUCTS ACCIDENTALLY JUST BECAUSE THE PROCESSING OF THESE PRODUCTS IS NOT REGULATED AND WELL CONTROLLED."
"THE PHYSICIANS ADMIT HERBS MORE ROUTINELY CAUSE MILD FORMS OF LIVER PROBLEMS WHICH CAN EASILY BE TREATED AND REVERSED. BUT THESE RECENT CASES OF SEVERE FAILURE - SOME REQUIRING LIVER TRANSPLANTS - HAVE RAISED SOME NEW CONCERNS. ED YEATES, EYEWITNESS NEWS, SLC.
