Rooibos Tea Can Cause Liver Failure

My wife, Sabrina, went into acute liver failure last month, which her physicians attribute to consumption of a Rooibos tea, produced by Whole Foods. The liver specialists overseeing her case are documenting her situation for an academic publication. Most people are unaware Rooibos is a tea that may damage your liver. Researchers have reported it's not the tea but a contaminant that can get into it called pyrrolizidine alkaloids. And Rooibos can interact with a variety of medications, potentially diminishing their efficacy, including a number of commonly prescribed drugs like statins. This popular herbal tea is not benign. There are a lot of interesting case studies I review in my video today, such as people who were unaware their liver was being damaged, found out, and later healed their liver when they stopped drinking it. This video documents Sabrina's recent difficult experience, which put her in the hospital for a week. She's still recovering, hopefully will recover fully.

LINKS TO ARTICLES IN VIDEO:

First Rooibos Case Study:

Finnish Rooibos Case Study:

French Rooibos Case Study:

Hepatotoxicity due to red bush tea consumption - a case report:

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid contamination of food in Africa: A review of current trends and implications

Scientific evidence of soil transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids originating from weed species to rooibos tea

Senecio angustifolius as the major source of pyrrolizidine alkaloid contamination of rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis)

Rooibos Ltd:

The toxic contaminants of Aspalathus linearis (that Rooibos tea) plant material as well as herb-drug interactions may constitute the health risk factors in daily rooibos tea consumers

Drug-herbal interaction between tacrolimus and rooibos tea in a recipient of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

“Risks and side effects of Rooibos Tea

WebMD on Rooibos:

Pros And Cons Of Rooibos Tea (Read Before You Drink!)

12 Teas You Might Want to Avoid

Five surprising herbs that can damage your liver

Kil Pop Mekaar Organic Rooibos Agent:

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[Xassefras]

Thank you for talking about this. I used to have a few cups of rooibos tea every day and I have had a low platelet count for about a year now. My doctor has no idea what’s causing it, but she has me tested every few months, just to keep an eye on it.

When I saw your other video a few weeks ago, with a slide about rooibos tea causing low platelet count, I immediately stopped drinking the stuff. In a week or two I’ll have my next blood test. Hoping for the best. :)

[nettierose]

Rooibos tea is sold in just about every store in the tea department, along with black tea, green tea and various herbal teas. This is not a Whole Foods exclusive product.

[chocolatefaerie]

There's 50 million of us drinking 3 to 4 cups a day, never heard anyone with this problem

[colleensainsbury]

Let's get real. Millions of South Africans drink rooibos daily. With no side effects. BUT, they do NOT add buchu, they do NOT drink it with artificial flavourings, they do NOT steep it for 15 minutes, the do NOT use 2 teabags. Moderation is the key.

[Lieutenant-Dan]

I think it's probably a case of that particular batch of rooibos being contaminated or your wife has a certain sensitivity which can happen with any tea. Millions of people drink rooibos on the regular and have no issues. If it was a case of rooibos being toxic in general, there would be a worldwide epidemic of liver issues, especially in South Africa. That being said, I'm so sorry this happened to your wife and hope she is ok 🙏

[curlew-]

I grew up in South Africa where the rooibos tea co ex from. It is drunk regularly by everyone. I have never in my life heard of anyone having their liver damaged, it has been drunk probably for centuries!

[George]

As a South African, I really love Rooibos and basically live on it. This makes me so sad about the weed that's contaminating everything. I'll have to stop drinking this tea and find something else until they find a way of safely growing it without risks of contamination, thanks for the info!

[Emlane]

How frightening, thanks for spreading awareness!

[glendaarbuckle]

My mum is 92 years old and still drinks her Rooibos tea. It’s the only tea she drinks. It is an extremely popular and healthy tea in Africa. Your wife probably had a reaction from something else.

[LynaGalliara]

And there I was, thinking that that time when my main drink had been roobois tea had been better than when my main drink became beer. Seriously though, thank you for alerting us about this. Recently I’ve been thinking about switching to drinking more tea, as I have genuinely become too much of a beer drinker, so it's good to know that I should steer clear of roobois, when that had been an old favourite of mine. Wishing your wife a speedy recovery. I respect your ability to go through the information and sort fact from fiction. Years ago I watched your series on nuts and DHA and was so impressed and grateful for your efforts to inform us. Thank you Jeff.

[matthewbattie]

Rooibos tea is very healthy and is actually a detoxicate. The cultrate is Pyrrolizidine alkaloids found almost exclusively in two areas in Africa. Pyrrolizidine alkaloid contaminates many foods in these areas. It's not fair to blame rooibos.

[maple]

I was a HUGE black tea drinker for years. A couple of years ago I went gluten free, which got rid of many problems I was having. One issue that slowed down was nosebleeds. Several months later I did a bit of an elimination diet and cut out my black tea. It lessened the nosebleeds more and my sinuses weren't so stuffy. Not long ago, I had a cup of rooibos flavoured tea after not having some for awhile, and I noticed that my nose got stuffed up and was bleeding a bit. Once I haven't had it for a couple of days, I feel better. This video just confirms that it isn't such an innocent tea, which is too bad because it's SO good.

[RJT]

Thank you for posting this informative video, Jeff. I always look forward to your terrific content. A channel like yours should have 10 million subscribers!

[Invitational]

1:54 “the experts were baffled.”

It’s a pandemic of the baffled “experts”

[grilledcheeseandsoup]

Oh my goodness. How frightening for your family. Thank you for sounding the alarm 🚨!!

[Equinox.]

I love (loved) rooibos tea, drinking it on and off over the years. I was going to start drinking it again as an alternative to caffeinated beverages when I saw your video about your wife's liver failure. So scary. I also preferred it strong - two tea bags with soya milk - so I'm surprised I did not suffer the same fate. I hope your wife has fully recovered now. As an aside, a few years ago a local coffee chain started selling rooibos espresso-style drinks - briefly. I remember drinking one and not feeling great after it. The chain stopped selling it. I don't know if it was simply a poor seller, or if they came to know something the public didn't! Thank you so much for drawing attention to this issue.

[zoomby]

South Africans have always drunk Rooibos, we grew up drinking this tea, never ever have anyone in South Africa got ill. Maybe bad batch???? 😮

[susanfabrican]

Stunning! Thank you for reporting on this danger. I’ve a box of Numi rooibos chai in my cupboard, been a while since I had a cup! ⚠️

[carolineyunker]

THANK YOU for this valuable info. I drank Rooibos tea years ago. I wasn't really a tea drinker so I stopped. The FDA needs to let the public know.

[mrich]

Rooibos is Afrikaans for “red Bush” grown in South Africa. It’s sold everywhere under different brand names and the entire country drinks it regularly.