jaclyn said

Green Tea Causing Headaches

Recently I have started drinking more green tea then usual and I find that it has been causing headaches. Does anyone else have this reaction or know why it occurs?

11 Replies
sansnipple said

a hypersensitivity to the increased caffeine, most likely, it’s quite common actually, a lot of people can’t tollerate caffeine at all.

Increased as opposed to what? Black teas and green teas made from the same leaf have only a small difference in caffeine, but in that variation the black teas tend to be higher.

Or you just meant because they’re drinking more tea in general than before and I’m waaaaay off.

sansnipple said

I just meant because they’re drinking more tea in general.

Though, actually now you mention it, green tea does tend to be slightly higher in caffeine overall, you’re right that made from the same exact leaf the caffeine is identical, but they’re not made from the same exact leafs/cultivars/picking standards, green tea (or at least quality green tea) tends to be made of higher grade younger leaves and a larger proportion of buds than black, which contain more caffeine, though that’s just on average, caffeine levels vary too wildly from tea to tea for these generalizations to be very useful.

Kittenna said

sansipple – love what you said. I hate when people draw up those charts saying that a certain type of tea has so much more caffeine, etc. when in reality, there are so many uncontrollable factors that it’s practically impossible to tell. Perhaps on identical leaves processed as each different type of tea, you’d be able to note that, say, whites/greens contain more caffeine per gram than blacks, but that is pretty much never the case, and even then, people aren’t using a standardized amount of tea, or infusion length, which causes more variation.

This is a good article on the differences, if a little lengthy. Skip to part II, the rest is about decaffeination. http://chadao.blogspot.com/2008/02/caffeine-and-tea-myth-and-reality.html

Basically, everything changes caffeine level. So, uh, guess.

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jaclyn said

It is probably from drinking more tea in general. Will have to cut back on the caffeine! Thanks!

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Serenity said

I wonder if you have sensitivity to tannins, let me ask, do you drink black teas with milk? Milk tends to bind to the tannin and lessen its impact. When I started drinking green teas first thing in the morning, I kept getting nauseated. I realized when I drink black teas in the morning, I do add milk, and do not have any nausea. So, I’m sticking with black teas and milk in the morning.
Regardless, I commiserate because I am prone to getting horrible headaches, and I’ve had to restrict how many cups of tea per day I drink. And of course, I love, love, LOVE tea!

jaclyn said

Thank you! That must be it! I drink black tea with milk no problem in the mornings and even throughout the day. I would have never thought of that link.

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When I have a headache, for me tea can be the cure! Lately, tea has been giving me joint discomfort. But only if I have too much tea.

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Starting 2014, I decided to cut down on my caffeine consumption. I felt it was interfering with my sleep. I normally drank three cups of standard brewed coffee: 7:00am, 8:30-9:00am, 1:00-2:00pm. I have kept the first cup and replaced the other two with green or black tea.

With the above discussion of caffeine content, I want to provide the following information from the Mayo Clinic website (http://www.mayoclinic.org/caffeine/art-20049372):
Generic brewed Coffee
8 oz. (240 mL)
95-200 mg of caffeine

Black tea
8 oz. (240 mL)
14-61 mg of caffeine

Green tea
8 oz. (240 mL)
24-40 mg

With this information, I should be dropping my caffeine consumption considerably. From 300-600mg per day down to 130-300mg per day. I am calling this out, specifically, because of the above comments about increasing caffeine consumption being the cause of headaches.

I have been on the coffee/tea/tea regimen for almost a month. The caffeine withdrawal headaches ended after the first 2 – 3 days.

I have attempted to provide as much information as possible because I am experiencing headaches and nausea when I drink green tea. Given the information, I have difficulty attributing them to increased caffeine. There must be other factors at play. So far, Serenity has offered a different approach which I will try.

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laptopnano said

In stimulants such as caffeine, if you are not used to drinking regularly, you will have headaches and insomnia are visible phenomena of people suffering from. You can make diluted tea if you really need it

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