Green Tea Extract and Liver Damage

There is no doubt the green tea is good for our health.  It is one of the healthiest beverage for humanity for hundreds of years already in the traditional way it is taken — that is, brewing the tea leaves.  According to National Center for Biotechnology Information: “Green tea’s most touted benefits are its antioxidant and weight-loss or thermogenic properties.”

In recent years, herbal supplements have been marketed as cures for so many ailments.  One of those supplements is green tea extract, which according to those who market them say “may help to decrease total body weight and maintain a healthy waistline”, “may target problematic areas specifically belly fat”.   These claims are unsubstantiated claims and they may even harm your liver.  

In one study by NCIB about these green tea extracts, they stated that “there has been increasing concern regarding the potential hepatotoxicity with the use of green tea extract.”   Hepatotoxicity means chemical-driven liver damage.   NCIB further warned that “emerging reports linking liver injury, and in some cases liver failure, with the use of green tea extract should not be ignored.”

It is unfortunate that some media outfits have been used to drum up these claims.  If you search for “green tea extract” the top local articles are coming out of the mainstream media who simply promote unsubstantiated claims without disclosing the side effects of such claims.  

Most of these food supplements are synthetically manufactured and heavily marketed by people who take advantage of our various ailments.  They come up with wild claims of magical cure and many people simply want to believe these snake oil merchants.

Did you ever see an advertisement on TV about vegetables?  Nah!  People will not earn money from that.  

A truly beneficial food does not need marketing, media exposure, celebrity endorsement to be useful.  It will naturally become known to us by word of mouth.

Avoid these herbal supplements that promote their “green tea extract” magic pills because they do not work and they may even harm your liver.   

It is better to drink green tea the traditional way — which is to brew the leaves.

Sources: NCIB, 

Healthline: The Proven Benefits of Green Tea