GREEN TEA AND IRON - A BAD COMBINATION

Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits.

If you drink green tea after an iron-rich meal, the main compound in the tea will bind to the iron. When that occurs, the green tea loses its potential as an antioxidant. In order to get the benefits of green tea, it may be best to not consume it with iron-rich foods. Iron-rich foods include red meat and beet, for example. The same results also apply to iron supplements.

Researchers found that EGCG, the main compound in green tea, potently inhibits myeloperoxidase, a pro-inflammatory enzyme released by white blood cells during inflammation. Inactivation of myeloperoxidase by EGCG may be beneficial in mitigating IBD flare-ups. But when EGCG and iron are consumed simultaneously, iron-bound EGCG loses its ability to inhibit myeloperoxidase.

Thanks to: sciencedaily.com