I didn’t know much about green tea (the latest trend in herbal remedies), but thought I’d seen something about helping with weight loss, so I got a box of Lipton green tea bags. The first morning I drank about half a cup and I got very nauseous. The second morning, I was mildly nauseous. I don’t usually have breakfast, just juice & coffee, so thought maybe the green tea on an empty stomach was not a good idea, but I don’t have time for breakfast. Day 5 of drinking it in the morning and still feel mildly nauseous. Now I’m having some strange,er, how should I say, bowel reactions (strong feeling of having to have a b.m., but just a little watery stuff with some small bits of matter when I try to go). Have you had any nausea or bowel disturbance from drinking green tea? Any benefits you’ve experienced?
Although I too have some Lipton green tea in my cupboard, I also have some much more tastier brands available from Asian grocery stores. If you’ve enjoyed the tea served at Japanese restaurants, you might be in for a disappointment if you rely on Lipton. Good green teas also come in brands that have a roasted flavor, or are mixed with rice tea. The rice teas have a taste that might remind you of Kellog’s breakfast cereal, especially if you put sugar in them. The stuff’s really an aquired taste, and I’d hazard to guess that anything you ingest because “it’s good for you,” rather than because you relish it may cause nausea.
Your deep sea diving suit is ready, me brave lad.
Try the Celestial Seasonings green tea. Very tasty.
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From OnHealth:
I prefer Jasmin tea. A little goes a long way, it’s fairly cheap, no side effects and it makes me feel pure. Talk about a panacea…
Green tea has as much caffeine as black tea, often more. If you don’t normally drink coffee or tea, that may be it. Otherwise I don’t know of any negative effects of green tea.
As Slithy said, you might try some better Japanese green tea from asian markets. Also, you should not use boiling water for green tea; it destroys the flavor. Doesn’t matter much for cheap tea, but if you get quality green tea, let the boiling water sit in a bowl or cup for a minute and then pour into the teapot.
Hmmm…interesting, but I’m mystified about the nausea and bowel thing; I was thinking that maybe the body needs some adjustment time, but if no one else has experienced these symptoms…I just don’t know. Haven’t changed my diet otherwise. Maybe I need to drink more of it – I’ve just been having a cup in the morning at work, but this is after I’ve had 2 cups of coffee at home. Maybe the coffee/tea mix is the problem (on an empty stomach). I’ll try a better brand of the tea, and maybe drink it later in the day. Thanks all.
Sycorax,
Just thinking about it for a moment, if despite it’s being “the latest trend in herbal remedies” and being reported to have some possible health benefts in a not-wholly-scientific study, when you drink it you feel nauseous and have bowel reactions, why bother with the damn stuff?
Bill - I see what you mean, but thought the tea might actually be helping my bowel. I’ve always had a problem with constipation and I thought the bowel “disturbance” might mean it was “loosening things up” if you get my drift, and last night I had good results. Also, I was never big on hot tea, but I do love iced tea, so thought I’d drink the green tea iced (and later in the day). I didn’t want to overreact and blame the tea for these goofy symptoms and thought I’d give it a chance. If things haven’t settled down in a week or so, I’m going to forget about it. Thanks.
In my experience, best not to drink tea on an empty stomach. The tannins in tea are quite acidic. It may be a little better if you put milk in it; this neutralizes the acids.
Imbibo, ergo sum.
‘Green tea has as much caffeine as black tea’
It sure does. I don’t know just how much but that stuff keeps me up for hours so I don’t drink it anymore.
A guy at work had a bottle of green tea which had been produced in the United States but, no doubt to make it look more exotic, had two large chinese characters printed on the side. I always wondered what these characters were, and finally got a chance to ask a woman from Taiwan. She looked at me funny, then told me “they say ‘Green Tea’”.
Try green tea ice cream. Its like pot.
Sycorax, if you’re drinking iced green tea in the morning, then your problem might just be your stomach getting irritated from the low temperature. Drinking cold beverages in the morning can cause your intestines to squirm, and as you put it, loosen things up. You get the same results by having cold milk in the morning…
No, I dont’ drink iced drinks in the morning.
(Even cold water in the morning makes me sick). I have been having the green tea iced in the evening with no nausea or other symptoms. I’ll see how it goes. Thanks everyone.