Weight control multivitamin and liver damage

Hi everyone,

Back in May, I started taking a multivitamin which contained green tea extract to help boost metabolism. A couple of weeks ago I had some routine bloodwork done and my liver enzymes were through the roof. I've seen some articles online stating that green tea, in excessive amounts, can lead to liver damage. I have stopped taking the multivitamin and I'll be going back for more tests in a couple of weeks to see if the levels drop.

So, those of you who may be taking a supplement with EGCG, or any type of tea extract, you might want to take this into consideration.

Fri. Aug 24, 5:29pm

Besides stopping the supplement, what did the doctor say you needed to do to lower your liver enzymes?

Friday, August 24, 2007, 7:03 PM

This is just another example of why anything in excess is harmful. Too many supplements and artificial things, that our bodies are not used to, leads to liver damage.

Friday, August 24, 2007, 7:12 PM

Thats really interesting, thanks for sharing this. I agree with 7:12, anything in excess can be potentially harmful, even when we think they're safe and healthy!

Friday, August 24, 2007, 8:08 PM

What is considered an excessive amount of EGCG and how long you should be taking it?

My very educated guess is that the multivitamin is not your problem. Products that use the "ingredient of the moment" often contain very little of the ingredient to help help you in the first place and so can't do such damage in just two weeks. What is happening to your liver probably comes from your previous years of bad eating/drinking.

Saturday, August 25, 2007, 2:40 PM

OP here- I have to get my blood checked regularly for an unrelated problem, and my liver enyzmes did not go up until I started taking this vitamin. Also, I rarely drink, so that's not the issue. If you Google "green tea and liver damage" you can find articles about it. The amount of EGCG in the vitamin is 27 mg.

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 12:34 AM

2:40-the op never said her enzymes went up in two weeks time. She started taking the supplement in may.

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 2:14 AM

Thanks for posting this subject. I started taking the multivitamin for weight control containing this same product a few months ago as well. I have to go this week for blood work and I'm curious to see what effect this may have had on me. This will be the first blood work that I've have since taking it. I'll keep you posted.

Again, thank you for bringing this to our attention!

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 7:06 AM

To The OP

I googled it as you said and those articles never mention how much is too much or what is considered a low dose. Plus I found that some of those articles are based on one small study done 1-2 years ago. Too small, said one article, to prove a causal effect.

Also, to be effective, the amount of egcg in a supplement should be at least 90mg-240mg. I've seen recommendations for even more than 240. The 27mg you are taking is nothing. Check the other ingredients in your vitamin.

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 8:24 AM

Hmm...

I take GNC Natural Brand Green Tea Extract supplements daily. I usually take two in the morning. Sometimes I will take one more in the early afternoon. I just checked out the label and it says that one capsule contains 315 mg of "Green Tea Leaves Extract (14% Polyphenols = 44mg)". What are polyphenols? And how much actual EGCG is in what I am taking?

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 12:55 PM

To 12:55

I think the only way to find out what's in your vitamin is through lab tests. Since the average person can't do this at home, there is a website called consumerlab.com that runs extensive testing on a lot of different brands to see if they live up to their claims. You have to subscribe to see the full results of these tests. However, the site does give you some of the results for free. Below is a link to their Green Tea tests. They only show a few that past the tests. If you want to see more, you will have to subscribe. I cheat and buy the ones that they show for free.

Polyphenols are a type of antioxidants. You can find more info on the web.

To the OP: The website I'm talking about here, found LEAD in one of the brands they tested.

Link

Sunday, August 26, 2007, 3:09 PM

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