Lipton Iced Tea - who knew??

[jillian357]

Hi Everyone!

Hope all is going well for everyone!

This is weird....Friday afternoon I purchased a bottled Lipton Unsweetened Iced tea. The label said it contained brewed tea and citric acid. Safe, right?
I woke up Saturday early morning (around 2 am) with the most horrific cramps followed by explosive diarrhea. Hmmm. I thought maybe the sushi I had for dinner on Friday could have been the culprit.
Anyway, on Saturday afternoon I bought another tea, exact kind. Within an hour of drinking it I was doubled over with the intense cramping once again. My stomach was rolling so bad I felt like a hurricane was brewing. The pain lasted for a good four hours....no diarrhea this time, but I took 2 Imodium's once the pain started.

Has anyone had a reaction to tea? I can drink tea brewed at home just fine.

I'm baffled! I know it can't be anything I ate (other than the sushi. But this was just tuna rolls, no soy sauce or crab meat-I've eaten it before with no problems). Other than that I had only had plain white rice and some GF cereal.

Thanks for any insight you may have!

Scratching my head,
Jill

P.S. Marathon training is going great! 82 days to go!

[tex]

Hi Jill,

Yes, citric acid had exactly the same effect on me, while I was recovering. I had to avoid any and all drinks that contained it. I don't believe that it necessarily contains an intolerance for most of us, (unless you are intolerant of corn - it's made from corn, in this country), but there's something about the chemistry involved that I couldn't handle. Natural citric acid, (from fruit), had the same effect on me, which made most fruit juices off limits, also. Like you, I drank a lot of fresh brewed tea, with no problems at all.

It's good to hear from you - I just wish it were for for a "happier" reason.

It's great to hear that the training is going so well.

Love,
Tex

[MaggieRedwings]

Morning Jill,

I cannot drink tea in any form as it gives me horrible cramps. Always could before CC but no longer. Hope you are feeling better and good luck with the marathon.

Love, Maggie

[jillian357]

Ah, thanks Tex! That helps to solve the mystery a little bit!

I've not had any fruit juices at all since my diagnosis, but I will be sure to avoid them in the future too.
Thankfully I do just fine with corn, but boy did that tea throw me into a tailspin.
Thanks for explaining what happened!

Take care everyone!

Love,
Jill

[capenancy]

Interesting posts........my D symptoms really started when I went to a nutritionist in December who (among other things) advised me to drink 2 - 4 cups green tea each day. After being sick for months and now having removed gluten and cassein from my diet - and taking entocort - things are slowly getting better. However, I have had a few flare ups recently and the only thing that I could tie it to was Iced Tea. At first I thought it was the aspartame, then the citric acid in the premade iced tea, but....now after not having it for a few weeks and starting this week again with home-made, nothing added but tea.....the connection was made. Here I was thinking I was making a good choice by switching from Diet Coke to home-brewed, organic, green tea....but my intestines think otherwise....

I am so thankful to the creators and contributors of this board - otherwise I would not know that others with MC have a similar reaction. No more tea for me.... (What's next for me to give up )

[mbeezie]

Tea can also contain sulfites, which if sensitive, can cause explosive diarrhea.

Mary Beth