A woman aged 47 years the United States suffers from a bone disease after drinking a pot of tea every day for 17 years. The habit of drinking tea is known to bring many benefits ranging from warm up to prevent heart disease.
However, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said 47-year-old woman home state of Michigan, United States, suffer from bone disease from drinking a pot of tea every day for 17 years.
This woman complained of pain in the lower spine, arms, legs. "From the results of X-ray looks a very solid part of the spinal cord and the classification of the ligaments in her arm," said the researcher who is also a specialist endocrinologist, bone and mineral metabolism, Sudhaker D Rao, at the Henry Ford Hospital.
The researchers suspect the women were attacked by the bone disease skeletal fluorosis caused by fluoride consumption - minerals contained in tea and mineral water excessively. From the results of blood tests shows that fluoride levels in patients' blood contained four times higher than the normal limit.
Skeletal fluorosis is endemic in an area with fluoride levels of naturally high. The region includes India and China, but this case is rarely found in Europe and the U.S..
Fluoride is commonly used to prevent tooth decay, but still within safe levels, and not to cause fluorosis.
Rao said the female patients in the early treatment of cancer is suspected. However, Rao has seen cases in the country, India. So that it can easily detect what the patient suffered.
If fluoride into the body in excessive amounts, the kidneys will eliminate these substances from the body. However, if too much is consumed continuously in a long period of time, the fluoride will form crystal deposits in the bones.
Skeletal fluorosis cases other than a handful of cases occur in the United States due to the patient to drink a gallon of mineral water every day. Rao suggested for patients who suffer from bone pain to stop drinking tea consumption have increased symptoms when detected. When patients are not eating drinking fluoride deposit will be reduced.
"Fluoride deposit will gradually disappear with the formation of new bone, a process that often occurs in the body," says Rao.