Drinking Too Much Iced Tea Caused Arkansas Man’s Kidney Failure

A man from Arkansas had doctors baffled over the cause of his kidney failure. Doctors later found that his kidney problems are a result of his tea drinking habit.

Doctors have done everything to rule out different causes of a 56-year-old Arkansas man’s kidney failure. Eventually, doctors found out that it was due to drinking too much iced tea.

The unidentified man claimed he drank 16 eight-ounce cups of iced tea every day. His kidney function has not been restored and is now on dialysis, according to Dr Alejandra Mena-Gutierrez of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Mena-Gutierrez treated the patient and wrote the case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Black tea is known to contain a chemical known as oxalate, which can cause kidney stones and eventually kidney failure if consumed in excessive amounts. Authors of the published report stated that moderation is important when drinking this beverage.

The man was admitted to a hospital in Arkansas in May 2014, complaining of a weak and achy feeling. Laboratory test results showed the presence of high levels of calcium oxalate crystals in his urine. Calcium oxalate crystals are components of kidney stones.

No family history of kidney disease has been reported. In addition, the report also said that the man never had kidney stones in the past. To address his kidney failure, dialysis was performed.

Eventually, the doctors came to a conclusion that excessive consumption of oxalate present in the iced tea he drank was likely the culprit for the rapidly progressing kidney failure. According to Dr Umbar Ghaffar of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, “It was the only reasonable explanation."

Ghaffar and her colleagues said in their report that drinking 16 cups of iced black tea everyday only meant that the man took 10 times more oxalate compared to the average American.

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