Health warning over green tea slimming pills: Supplements have been linked to two deaths and cases of liver damage worldwide including teenager who ended up on dialysis
- Health Canada ordered stronger warnings on green tea extract product labels
- Comes after federal safety review prompted by Madeline Papineau, 17, getting ill
- Joyce Boudreau-Hearn, 55, also from Canada, died after taking the supplements
- Scores of cases of adverse affects have been reported in the media worldwide
- These include Australia man given two weeks to live who needed liver transplant
- Experts say taking them on an empty stomach creates a toxic effect on the liver
A health watchdog has ordered a more explicit warning on labels of green tea extract products over concerns about the risk of liver injury.
The move by Health Canada follows a federal safety review, which was prompted after teenager Madeline Papineau took the pills as a weight loss aid and was left needing dialysis.
At least two deaths linked to the pills have been reported including 55-year-old Joyce Boudreau-Hearn, also from Canada, who lost her life in her attempts to shed the pounds.
Scores of cases of adverse affects have been reported in medical journals and newspapers worldwide in recent years, including a man in Australia who was given two weeks to live and required a liver transplant.
And in England, a 16-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with hepatitis after taking green tea slimming pills.
Last year, Norway's food safety authority issued a similar warning about the supplements.
The problem appears to lie when taking the pill son an empty stomach with experts now saying it may cause the active ingredients to have a more powerful and toxic effect on the liver
Madeline Papineau took the green tea pills as a weight loss aid and quickly developed liver damage and needed dialysis
The 17-year-old, from Cornwall, Ontario, woke up vomiting violently on the seventh day of taking the slimming aid
Health Canada has ordered a more explicit warning on labels of green tea extract products over concerns about the risk of liver injury (stock photo)
Green tea capsules are a popular supplement marketed for their anti-cancer fighting properties, anti-oxidant benefits and as a slimming aid. They are sold in various forms including capsules, tablets, powders and liquids.
But experts now say taking the pills on an empty stomach especially may cause the active ingredients to have a more powerful and toxic effect on the liver.
Health Canada says the risk of liver injury has been legally required to be included on labels of products containing green tea extract since 2008.
But now it has announced it is asking manufacturers to include stronger wording in their warning.
Health Canada is also asking companies making products aimed at children and adolescents either remove the green tea extract or revise the label to specify that it is only intended for adults over 18.
Green tea's active ingredient is a type of antioxidant called catechins. In particular, epigallocatchin gallate (EGCG) – the most abundant catechin appears to be the culprit.
Extracts contain these at much higher levels than are found in the brewed version of the popular drink.
The agency also warned that parents and caregivers should check to make sure that their child is not taking a green tea extract product.
It advised people to stop using the product and seek medical help if they develop yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice), dark urine, sweating, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, unusual tiredness, or loss of appetite, as they may be symptoms of liver problems.
Mounting evidence
According to CBC's Marketplace, there are more than 60 cases worldwide of liver failure associated with green tea supplements documented in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Papers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology have linked dozens of cases of liver damage to green tea EGCG.
CBC say at least two deaths have been partially linked to taking the capsules.
Last March, the Norwegian food safety authority issued a similar warning about the supplements.
Mattilsynet acted after it received several reports of adverse events, the majority of which were liver damage. It pointed to higher levels of EGCG as a concern.
Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council, said taking the pills on an empty stomach may be dangerous.
He told Nutra Ingredients: 'The presumption is that people are taking these EGCG-containing supplements on an empty stomach.
'Concentrated catechins that hit the liver in a fasting state might have an effect that is different than when the liver is metabolising food.;
Rare but a link exists
Health Canada's latest warning concludes that 'the available evidence confirms a link between green tea extract and rare liver-related adverse reactions'.
The statement on its website said: 'Green tea in any form, including as beverages, foods and an extract in natural health products, is considered generally safe for the majority of consumers.
'What remains unclear from the evidence is why some people may be more susceptible than others to liver injury.
I'n most cases, the liver-related side effects are reversible upon stopping use of the product and with medical attention.'
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