am I going to die?!?
So here’s the thing… My daily drink of choice is iced tea. I drink it all day long, almost non-stop.
I’m not terribly particular, but I tend to stick with a mix of black & green—unsweetened—sometimes with a touch of lemon. I also like a nice glass of oolong from time to time, & I start most days with a cup of hot ginseng tea. And I go through at least a (2-quart, I believe) pitcher every other day. :img2
But that’s okay, because tea is good for you, right? Everything you read these days praises the many health benefits of tea. :img20 Right?!
Now I see this article from The Washington Post:
Why Drinking Too Much Iced Tea Caused This Man’s Kidneys to Fail
No, no, no-no-no-no-no. NO!
I will not hear this. It’s bullshit—it has to be! :img28 —& I won’t have it.
And yet…it makes me a little nervous. :img6
Am I drinking too much tea? Is it affecting my kidneys? Am I going to die?!
My doctor takes blood every year before my annual exam, & I’m pretty sure he tests for kidney function, but is that going to show problems before it’s too late? Should I give up tea & switch to something else? (Please don’t say water. I like water, but I don’t love it the way I love my tea. :img2 )
Tea is what keeps me going. It makes life worth living, & I’m not sure I’m willing to change.
I’m not alone in that, am I? There have to be a few of you who are equally addicted to tea.
So please tell me I don’t have to give it up…
And that my iced tea obsession isn’t going to kill me. :img16
Comments
12 Comments • Comments Feed
Anne says:
As soon as I saw the t-shirt I was reminded of the news story.
He drank a gallon every day though. A 2 qt. pitcher every other day only means 1 qt. of iced tea a day or 4 cups. That doesn’t seem to be excessive in the course of a whole day and is 1/4 of what he was drinking. Strength of the iced tea plays into it too. He may have liked it really strong.
On April 7, 2015 at 7:46 am
Heidi says:
Good points, Anne! *breathes sigh of relief* I don’t make my tea very strong at all. In fact MMD hates my tea because it’s so weak; if it’s not as thick & dark as coffee, she wants nothing to do with it. :img16
I *know* I drink more than 4 cups of tea a day…mug cups, but my mugs are pretty good sized. Of course, I also use ice & sip at it all day, still not going thru the entire 2qt jug/day, so…maybe I’m safe? :img10
On April 7, 2015 at 11:54 am
Brooke C says:
Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re drinking as much iced tea as he was (although admittedly, I’m really bad at conversions… do you drink 16 glasses a day?). It’s bad to drink anything excessively and even 16 glasses of water a day can be bad for you (it can lead to water intoxication!)
Plus, he only drank black tea whereas as you also drink green, oolong and ginseng tea. Apparently green tea is very low in oxalate, so you’re kind of offsetting the high levels of oxalate in black tea.
If you want to be extra sure, you could always tell your doctor that you drink a lot of iced tea and make sure that he tests your kidney function when he does your blood test. But it sounds to me like he was a unique case :img7
On April 7, 2015 at 11:08 am
Heidi says:
Yay—another voice of calm & reason! :img23
I was thinking of mentioning it to the dr. next time I see him. I didn’t know green tea is low in oxalates, so that is a plus! I definitely balance it out…mostly because I don’t love the taste of green tea, but I know it’s better for me; so I make green tea, but mix the black in to make it tastier. :img2
I’m bad at conversions, too! (Actually had to look it up. :img26 ) If sure *feels* like I refill my cup 16+ times/day, but if I’m not emptying my 2qt pitcher, then I guess I can’t be. Whew. :img3
On April 7, 2015 at 11:57 am
Kathleen O says:
I drink pots of tea everyday.. I have been drinking tea for many many years and I do not have anything wrong with my kidneys. I drink Ice tea that I sweeten with Splenda and a bit of lemon. I drink Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast Tea, English Breakfast tea, Tetley tea and I am still here. I never drink my pot of tea with anything. no sugar, no milk… And I will continue to drink tea, because the withdrawal would kill me faster than the kidney problems would. :img2
On April 7, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Heidi says:
LOL That’s how I feel, Kathleen! I think if I stopped drinking tea, I’d get the DTs. :img28
I *love* lemon-flavored tea, btw. I don’t usually add my own, except at restaurants & such, but I buy the lemony black stuff. :img2
On April 7, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Mary Kirkland says:
He was drinking 1 glasses of the stuff a day. He might have made it really strong and who knows how long he was drinking that much tea. I’m guessing you’re fine unless you drink a gallon of strong tea everyday for weeks. How would one ever get any sleep drinking that much liquid each day? He had to be up every hour to use the bathroom. I drink a lot of tea, about 9 cups a day but I alternate between green, Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Herbal.
On April 7, 2015 at 1:33 pm
Heidi says:
But that’s my life! I’m up 1000xs a day to use the bathroom & caffeine doesn’t seem to effect me much at all. I can drink caffeine-laden everything all day & sleep like a rock or have no caffeine all day & still have insomnia. :img16
The part of the article that mentions tiredness worries me a little because I have bouts of being tired even in the middle of the day…but I also have bouts of being full of energy. :img10 *sigh*
On April 7, 2015 at 4:40 pm
Holly says:
A friend I worked with was told that drinking Clover Farms Icy Tea caused her kidney stones. It is made from powder and that can crystalize in the kidneys. Her doctor told her if it’s fresh brewed tea is is not as bad as those made from powders.
On April 7, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Heidi says:
Oh, well, that’s good news! :img17 I definitely go fresh-brewed 99.9% of the time.
Happy dance, happy dance! :img18
On April 7, 2015 at 10:44 pm
Dorthy says:
Ok. I’m going to break this to you as gently as possible. So grab your mug of iced tea and a snuggly pillow/blanket/stuffed animal. Are you ready?
You are going to die.
HOWEVER!
We are all going to die and I’m sure that iced tea is not going to kill you.
So see there is an upside. Yes now would be a good time to take a deep breath and a drink. NO!No!no! Not at the same time! Sheesh. I just said iced tea wouldn’t be what lulled you. Don’t make me a liar.
The article was interesting, and really makes me wonder about my iced tea consumption. It has waned over the last few years, and yes if you give up too much too quickly you will go through withdrawals. And no, it isn’t pretty.
All that being said, I think you are fine on your tea consumption, especially since you mix it up.
So here, have another mug on me 🙂
On April 7, 2015 at 10:47 pm
Heidi says:
No! But I intend to live forever…that’s why I drink so much tea! :img2 LOL
Seriously, if I don’t trip over a cat & die falling down the steps, I probably will choke to death on a too-big gulp of tea or something. :img8
On April 7, 2015 at 11:27 pm