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Lipton Green Tea (this is the one I had this morning)

9 AM, Monday

Whenever I drink black or green tea on an empty stomach, I start to feel very sick within 30 minutes. I don’t know why!? Usually, I am a coffee person but for a change, I thought of having black/green tea this morning. I saw Lipton green tea, all natural, wow! I went and grabbed for it.

After a few sips, I was already feeling sick. I sipped a few more times and within an hour I was feeling nauseated and like vomiting. At first, I was not sure why I am feeling this way. Is this because I missed breakfast this morning? Or, is this because of this tea? Or, is this caffeine on an empty stomach?

feeling very sick after drinking tea

I thought to myself, I have had coffee many times on an empty stomach and I have never felt this way. My mind was busy chattering: It must not be the caffeine. So what is it? Could it be the tea? I am not allergic to tea or milk and I seem to have quite enjoyed the tea experience (especially Earl Grey) on several occasions, but then why today? What is wrong with me? Or, is this the Lipton tea?

I searched on google and found an old blog post confirming my fears. My search didn’t bring up many answers though but it did reveal that lots and lots of people experience this. So, it’s not the caffeine.

Here, we are talking about real tea, made from tea leaves, and not herbal teas which usually don’t contain tea leaves and are actually a blend of dried herbs, fruits, and flowers.

Many people confirmed what I was feeling and what I knew to be true. For example, people were saying, “I can drink coffee, Coke or an energy drink (on an empty stomach) and be fine. But there’s something about tea that makes me ill.”

“It’s not a specific type of tea either; it can be green tea, black tea, or a blend.”

feeling sick and like vomiting

11 AM

Now, it’s already close to lunchtime. Like many others before me, I thought, let me eat something. If I eat something, maybe I will not feel like vomiting. Maybe this all due to an empty stomach and a stupid bad tea which is not for me.

I ate a little but it did not help much. Actually, I was afraid that I may throw up. So I did not want to eat a lot.

Well, it’s been a couple hours since I drank half a cup of tea (yes, actually only a half cup). I threw the rest half, promising to myself I am not touching this tea ever again. I really liked some tea but now I’m afraid to drink it. I think…did I eat enough? Will I get sick? Is this a good tea?

My research also made me aware that people can feel this way (bad nausea and feeling like throwing up) even during the evening time. So hours and time doesn’t matter as much. The only common thing in all the case studies: empty stomach and green or black tea.

So, I did some more research. By now, I was sure that I am not alone. And, I must do something about it. This happened today and I am going to write about it and share it with everyone. I am sure others are searching like me.

So I did a little looking up on nausea, sneezing, and tea. I found a clue on this blog that made sense to me. I have pollen allergy. All allergies are caused by the excessive production of histamine.

According to the blogs mentioned above: what does nausea, sneezing, and tea have in common? Most sites stated that nausea and sneezing at the same time are caused by agitation of acid-reflux and gastritis and histamine.

What is acid reflux? 

Acid reflux is a condition where stomach acid comes up from the stomach into the esophagus. It is normally caused by alterations in the barrier between the stomach and the esophagus.

So it is not the acid-reflux. That leaves us with “histamine” as the only commonality. It regulates sneezing and acid production and is found heavily in green and black teas.

12:30 PM

Nausea and sick feeling finally subsided. It took 3 and half hours for me to come back to normal. Oh, what a day!

The poor, sick child!

Parting Thoughts

One person commented to put cream or milk in the tea. The cream helps keep you from becoming sick to your stomach.

Do not let the tea bag soak for extended time. Take it out after couple of minutes. This way you consume less caffeine as well.

Drink herbal tea instead of black tea on an empty stomach.

The problem is with the  Lipton tea and not you. Quit the Lipton tea and find something natural and better. Something that suits you. It will take some risk and experimentation. But. it is worth it.

Try taking baking soda in water. It brings back the PH of the stomach to a normal level. It also works for stomach burns.

Eat something (even if you are not feeling like). You’ll feel much better. No tea in the morning. Got it.

Drink yerba mate and other organic loose-leaf forms of tea instead of pre-packaged tea bags typically found in restaurants or hotels.

Stay safe, my friends! I need to rest now. I’ll see you folks tomorrow!

PS: According to Mayo Clinic, Nausea and vomiting may occur separately or together. There can be any number of causes for this but for our purposes here, these are some of the causes that is worthy of further investigation in connection to black tea and histamine.

Gastroparesis (muscles of the stomach wall don’t function properly)
Intestinal obstruction
Morning sickness
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Cyclic vomiting syndrome
Depression
Dizziness
Food poisoning
Generalized anxiety disorder
Intestinal obstruction
Irritable bowel syndrome
Milk allergy (in infants and children)

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Have you every had this kind of nauseated feeling after drinking tea, coffee or energy drinks? If you know of better ways to cure or stop the nausea and feeling of vomiting, please share with us all. If you had a similar episode, please feel free to leave a comment and I would love to read it.