Hemochromatosis Support Group

Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease characterized by improper processing by the body of dietary iron which causes iron to accumulate in a number of body tissues, eventually causing organ dysfunction. It is the main iron overload disorder. Hemochromatosis is notorious for having symptoms that are often initially misattributed to other diseases.

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Green Tea

deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi everyone,

My fiance found out he has hemochomatosis about 2 months ago. I read that green tea can help break down iron so I've been buying those giant jugs of Arizona green tea.

Does anyone know if this has tannins? Or is it just all artificial flavoring?

We aren't really tea drinkers so this seemed like the easiest solution for him to have with meals. I just want to make sure it's actually helping him.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
-D
Michael2813
Michael2813
My first comment is that any supplement or food that you consume to block iron absorption or actually chelate iron should NEVER replace having routine phlebotamies.

With that said i use pure black currant juice daily as it has been somewhat shown that it chelates iron. I also take a green tea capsule rather than supporting Arizona green tea and the high fructose corn syrup industry if it is sweetened.
deleted_user
deleted_user
After diagnosis of HH in 1983, my doc said to not worry about what you eat, unless it comes in a package, box, etc. In other words, added iron. I agree with Michael2813, phlebotomies are the easiest, fastest, and only sure method of getting large amounts of iron removed. I gave once a week for two years, and 6-8 yearly for maintenance for the past 30 years. Having said that, there are studies showing green tea may help, but not in quantities that can cause secondary problems: http://www.springerlink.com/content/j6808g63382p0656/
mike1126
mike1126
tea is suppose to block the absorption of iron. calcium pills also block absorption of iron. i got in the habit of reading every item that i bought to determine its iron content. they tell you to avoid vitamin c with meals, its suppose to increase the absorption of iron.
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