Consumption of green tea at a dose of 4-6 cups daily for 6 months (480-960 mg of green tea catechins) has resulted in occasional episodes of toxic hepatitis, and the risk appeared to increase with chronic use (120). Caution use of green tea in patients with other forms of hepatitis, liver dysfunction, use of other medications cleared by the liver such as acetaminophen.
No adverse effect of green tea was found in a 12 week RCT but the study was fairly short term and both the study group and the control group had a low incidence of elevated liver function tests (115).
Cocoa and hyperlipidema:
Cocoa and chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine. Caffeine intake up to 300 mg per day is generally safe for healthy adults. Each standard sized milk chocolate bar such as Hershey’s contains about 10 mg of caffeine, and each standard size dark chocolate bar contains about 31 mg of caffeine. Standard caffeine intake is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and AMA but can be dangerous with adverse effects such as high bp, stroke, and arrythmias reported. Cocoa and chocolate also contains theobromine which is known to act as a heart stimulant, vasodilator, and diuretic which may be responsible for some of the therapeutic action of cocoa (138). Theobromine in cocoa may intensify the blood pressure lowering effects of any blood pressure medications.
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