
Earl Grey tea intoxication [pdf] - dbcooper
http://www.docente.unicas.it/useruploads/000811/files/earl_grey_tea_intoxication.pdf
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dbcooper
TL;DR: Don't drink 4L of the stuff per day.

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ChuckMcM
That is an inaccurate summary, the patient was fine on 4L of black tea per
day, it was the Bergamont essence in Earl Grey that caused his issues.

I also learned about a new thing, phototoxic chemicals.

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dbbolton
Excessive black tea consumption can also cause fluorosis. It's quite difficult
to say just how much tea one would have to drink to cause any symptoms though.

Bottom line, moderation is usually a good idea.

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Kluny
What's fluorosis?

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jrockway
The result of consuming too much fluoride. I believe it usually manifests as
white marks on your teeth, but only as they grow in, so I'm not sure adults
should care about fluorosis or not.

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dbbolton
Unfortunately fluorosis can be a bit more serious than just some marks on your
teeth.

In severe cases of skeletal fluorosis, patients can experience pain/damage to
the bones and joints.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_fluorosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_fluorosis)

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sesteel
This is amazing. I drink about half a pitcher of tea a day. I picked up the
habit as a replacement for soda about 15 years ago. I usually drop an Earl
Grey tea bag in with about 4 regular black tea bags. I am going to have to try
to drop the Earl Grey habit and see, but I do get strange muscle cramps in my
legs and ribcage. I've been attributing them to injuries I obtained while
playing sports when I was younger.

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silencio
I've been making "tea water" for a while now as a supplement to plain water,
as I rarely drink any soda or juices. 1-2 teabags in a 2L pitcher goes in the
fridge, cold brew for at least a couple hours. Same thing for fruit/herb
infusions.

It gives me a hint of the flavor of tea, and it is very diluted compared to
regular iced/hot tea preparations. I don't have any qualms about drinking a
lot of it. 1 teabag for black/stronger teas, 2 for the lighter greens/weirder
teas (like Korean/Asian roasted barley or corn tea).

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sesteel
Interesting. I'll have to give that a try.

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udalov
Not sure why they conclude that "bergamot essence may induce muscle cramps"
etc based on a single case. What if the man had an allergic response of some
kind and 99.99% of the population would be fine drinking so much earl grey
tea?

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dbbolton
Because the proposed mechanism has nothing to do with histamine or immune
response. Such a K+ channel blocker should hypothetically have the same effect
in the vast majority of the general population.

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rbanffy
So, if I really like Earl Grey, what would be the antidote to the K+ channel
blocker?

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dbbolton
Hypothetically if a person did experience myalgia as a direct result of
drinking Earl Grey tea and their proposed mechanism is accurate, the treatment
would probably involve K+ channel opener with a lower K_d (higher affinity)
than the culprit bergapten, perhaps Diazoxide.

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Alex3917
Most essential oils are poisonous except in very limited quantities. The
effects might be different, but this isn't specially surprising.

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NAFV_P
I enjoyed reading this article, with a nicely brewed cup of Earl Grey.

The alternative _Lady Grey_ tea [0] has lower concentrations of oil of
bergamot.

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Grey_(tea)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Grey_\(tea\))

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gcb4
i will have the 8L lady grey, please.

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raywritescode
I normally drink black coffee. After reading the article I now want some tea,
Earl Grey, hot.

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gilgoomesh
I think it says something perverse about our desires but I too would like some
Earl Grey tea.

