Too Much of a Good Thing: Tea vs Fluorosis

So yesterday's post was about the positive benefit of coffee & green tea being inversely associated with heart disease & stroke risk.  But as with most things in life, too much of a good thing really isn't good for you.  Case in point: tea!  Well, in a case study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 47yo female who habitually drank a pitcher of tea made from 100-150 bags daily for 17 years developed fluorosis which led to bone pain, loss of teeth, and abnormal xrays.

In other words, while drinking 2-3 cups/d of green tea is associated w/lower risk of heart disease & stroke compared to non-drinkers, drinking the equivalent of 100-150 cups/d doesn't lower your risk commensurately.  

Just because a little might be good for you doesn't mean that a lot will be that much better.  Remember to practice Goldilocks medicine: not too little, not too much, but just right.

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