Important update: Green tea as a dietary supplement is once again being targeted by European safety authorities, which naturally leads to uncertainty among consumers. Green tea is said to put a strain on the liver, so it's better to stay away from this once-hyped superfood. What's the truth behind these allegations? Can taking tigovit green tea capsules cause liver damage? The answer: If taken according to the package instructions, there's no risk. Learn more in this article.
The new information in brief: According to the EFSA, the daily intake of EGCG should not exceed 800 mg. EGCG from green tea extract should not be taken in cases of liver or kidney disease and is unsuitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and adolescents under 18 years of age.
Important: EGCG content is not the same as green tea extract content. The tigovit Green Tea Complex contains 300 mg of green tea extract per capsule, of which only 170 mg is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate, the main representative of green tea catechins). With a recommended dosage of two to three capsules daily, you will consume 600-900 mg of green tea extract, of which 340-510 mg is EGCG per day. The daily intake of tigovit can be increased to a maximum of 3 capsules per day, for example, for a short-term treatment.
Green tea has long been considered a wellness drink , which is loved by many magazines and celebrities. However, any beverage can have the opposite effect if overdosed or the ingredients are poor quality: namely, it can develop side effects and cause harm.
EFSA recommends green tea consumption
Therefore, the European Food Safety Authority ( EFSA ) investigated whether an overdose of green tea supplements could be harmful to the liver. The research findings came during World Liver Day 2018. As expected, the news caused a stir among green tea fans. But don't worry: You don't have to give up green tea completely.
First, the good news. You don't have to let anyone talk you down about your beloved green tea. According to the EFSA, it's all about the dosage. While green teas contain 90 to 300 mg of catechins , dietary supplements contain up to 1000 mg. Researchers have linked the intake of over 800 mg of catechins to liver damage. So, don't worry about taking tigovit Green Tea Complex – each capsule contains 170 mg of EGCG, so at the maximum recommended dose of 3 capsules daily, your 510 mg of EGCG is well below the potentially harmful limit of 800 mg for the liver.
But what exactly are catechins?
- Catechins are compounds that belong to the polyphenols , a subgroup of secondary plant substances.
- They are found in most fruits.
- Many plants synthesize catechins, including grapes, blueberries, legumes, parsley and many more.
- The highest content of catechins is found in green tea!
Catechins are substances naturally present in green tea. The most common is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In its safety assessment, the EFSA investigated possible associations between the intake of EGCG from green tea infusions or food supplements and liver damage.
Facts about the liver & liver damage!
But before we delve into the news surrounding green tea liver damage in detail, let's take a look at the organ in question: the human liver! The liver is the largest organ in the body. It is located below the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity. An adult's liver weighs about 3 pounds and extends approximately from the right 5th rib to the bottom of the rib cage.
What is the purpose of the liver?
The liver's main functions are related to the body's metabolic processes . These include:
- Degradation or transformation of substances
- Generate energy
- To make toxins less harmful to the body
- Remove toxins from the bloodstream
The liver does this by receiving blood containing nutrients from the digestive organs through a vein called the portal vein.
The liver's many cells, called hepatocytes, absorb and filter this blood. They act as small sorting centers that determine:
- Which nutrients should be processed
- What should be saved
- Excretions that occur via the stool
- What should go back to the blood
The liver stores vitamins and minerals such as copper and iron and releases them when the body needs them. It helps break down fats in a person's diet and also stores them or releases them as energy.
It also produces an estimated 800 to 1,000 milliliters of bile per day. This bile is transported through a bile duct into the small intestine. The small intestine uses the bile to further break down fats. The excess bile is stored in the gallbladder.
Other functions of the liver
The liver also breaks down proteins. Ammonia is produced as a byproduct of this process, which can be toxic to the body in large quantities. The organ converts the toxic ammonia into a substance called urea. The liver releases this into the blood, where the kidneys excrete it in the urine. The liver also breaks down alcohol in the blood, as well as many medications you take. As if these functions weren't enough, the liver also plays an important role in the following:
- In creating factors that can fight infections.
- Creation of proteins responsible for blood clotting.
- Breakdown of old and damaged red blood cells.
- Storage of extra blood sugar as glycogen.
When you consider these factors, it is easy to see how important the liver is to a person's health.
EFSA recommendations for liver damage at a glance:
Green tea infusions:
For green tea infusions, EFSA concluded that, in general, there is no evidence of liver damage, even after high consumption. The isolated cases of liver damage are likely due to rare reactions. Therefore, the experts classified catechins from hot-infused green tea, as well as from instant and ready-to-drink green tea beverages with similar catechin content, as generally safe.
Dietary supplement with green tea
For food supplements, EFSA experts found that EGCG doses of 800 mg/day may be associated with early signs of liver damage from green tea. A recent study specifically reports on people who are particularly susceptible to liver damage due to mutations in liver enzymes. However, this also involves high-dose intake above 800 mg/day.
Although there was no evidence of liver damage for green tea-based supplements below 800 mg/day, the experts were unable to determine a safe dose based on the available data.
tigovit green tea capsules & liver damage: What is important to know!
In this section, we will explain how you can safely take the tigovit green tea supplement.
3 factors that are important for the best possible intake of green tea supplements:
Point 1: Quality matters
As with everything we humans consume, the origin and quality of the ingredients are important, even with green tea. Let's face it: Green tea capsules from inferior cultivation, with the use of pesticides and genetic engineering, cannot be beneficial in the long run . If the green tea harvest is purchased from an anonymous middleman, there is no 100% guarantee of the origin, cultivation method, or natural quality of the extracts that go into the dietary supplement.
At tigovit, things are different! We know how the green tea plants for tigovit are cultivated. First, the growing area: It is located near the Yellow Mountains, among the most famous and beautiful mountain regions in China. Due to the excellent climatic and environmental conditions, the green tea plants from this mountain region are said to contain higher-quality polyphenols than those from other growing areas.
Pesticide-free cultivation for green tea in tigovit
For over 20 years, our Chinese partner Mr. Chang has been cultivating green tea on this tea plantation, which is also certified organic according to German standards. This guarantees soil that has had little contact with pollutants for two decades, is rich in nutrients, and where the plants can grow without exhaust fumes or other environmental pollution. This truly pure, high-quality product, repeatedly tested in laboratories, is contained in tigovit capsules, which are exactly what they promise: pure, tested, and made with the best possible ingredients!
Point 2: Production with water is important!
Did you know? There is no globally standardized manufacturing process for herbal extracts. This means that green tea capsules produced in the USA or other non-European countries may be of a different quality than products from the EU. Extracts intended for the DA-CH countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) must be extracted exclusively with water.
In recent years, however, herbal dietary supplements containing green tea have been withdrawn from the US market. The reason? Liver poisoning! Interestingly, these very products were produced using 80% ethanol as the extraction agent and standardized to 25% of the green tea extract EGCG. These processes and levels are not approved in the EU!
Point 3: Do not take more than recommended!
As already mentioned: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found that 800 mg/day of EGCG may be associated with the first signs of liver damage from green tea. One tigovit capsule contains 170 mg of pure EGCG. The recommended daily dosage is a maximum of 3 capsules, which only achieves a dose of 510 mg. With 3 tigovit capsules per day, you're well below 800 mg and thus within the EFSA's recommended range for green tea intake.
Sources:
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/efsajournal/pub/5239
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/de/press/news/180418
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/liver-anatomy-and-functions
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Pic by Simplyvegan.org
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