Rooibus and White Teas

[Tallblonde]

A few months ago, I posted about the anti-viral properties of white tea and suggested that it might be a good low-cost, nothing-to-lose-by trying-it addition to our arsenal.  This is a an excerpt from an article:

"Past studies have shown that green tea stimulates the immune system to fight disease," says Milton Schiffenbauer, Ph.D., a microbiologist and professor in the Department of Biology at Pace University

[Proactive]

"Patients with chronic
hepatitis C sometimes have difficulty excreting iron from the body. This can result in an
overload of iron in the liver, blood, and other organs. Excess iron can be very damaging to the liver. Studies suggest that high iron levels reduce the response rate of patients with hepatitis C to interferon. Thus, patients with chronic hepatitis C whose serum iron level is elevated, or who have cirrhosis, should avoid taking iron supplementation. In addition, one should restrict the amounts of iron rich foods in their diet, such as red meats, liver, and cereals fortified with iron, and should avoid cooking with iron coated utensils"

Everything in moderation, including tea, IMO

[Proactive]

"Rooibos increases the absorption of iron in the body"
I was under the impression that iron was a concern for us heppers?

[lyall]

hi my names lyall n im from the u.k ive been diagnosed with hep c 6 months.im really in to rooibos red tea and milk thistle n ecanasia[not to gether!]im also looking in to homeapathic treatment,anyone have insight to this?

[Tallblonde]

Thanks again to everyone who extended a nice greeting to me.  I continue to have a great fondness for all (or at least most) of you and want to remain a part of this community.


Sher -- best wishes to you and Billy.

Showboat -- looking forward to meeting you in November!

Sandi -- I'm so sorry to hear that you're a non-responder. If you ever want to talk off the board about pregnancy, adoption, etc. please feel free to e-mail me at: ***@****  I have some ideas that might help you.

[LvdByGod]

How are you Susan? i hope your doing well these days...

I don't know if you heard but I am turning out to be a non responder...so now adoption is becoming something that would require a miracle

[Califia]

I've found a great low price at http://www.smartbomb.com.    When you're taking SAM-e, also be sure to take adequate folate, B6 and B12 so it gets utilized properly and there's no increase in homocysteine levels.   Huh?  Okay, this  explanation (from Immunesupport.com)  is the best I could come up with at the speed of light:

Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid involved in several important methyl and sulfur transfer reactions, and is actually beneficial in small amounts. When homocysteine levels begin to rise in the body, excessive accumulation of homocysteine in the body fluid compartments is normally prevented by degradation through two enzymatic reactions called transsulfuration and remethylation. These two processes have to be functioning for homocysteine to be kept in control and for SAM-e to function in the body. Importantly, these same enzyme reactions cannot occur without proper levels of folate, vitamin B 6 (pyridoxal 5- phosphate), and vitamin B12 (cobalamin). If you take SAM-e to promote better health (lighter mood, comfortable joints and a detoxed liver), you also need adequate levels of B vitamins and folic acid to help the SAM-e do its job.

When the body has proper levels of folic acid, Vitamins B6 and B12, the enzymatic break-down of homocysteine occurs either through remethylation, which converts it into methionine, the SAM-e building block; or through transsulfuration, which turns it into glutathione, a powerful [liver] antioxidant.

[honey1616]

Is anyone taking Sam-e while doing tx?  Or would it be better to take tx and then try it?

[Califia]

Me!  (How predictable.)   I just carried it over into tx.  Robert Gish, M.D. actually recommends that his patients take 600 mg daily while on combo.  And it's also okay to take it with SSRI's, if anyone is doing that while treating.    Damned expensive, but comparison shop,  wait for sales, buy in bulk...you know the drill.

[Showboat]

I truly believe you are on to something with the tea.
I just bought a book on tea/healing, and it is fascinating.
The studies done on effects of green tea, dandelion tea, rooibus tea...cleasing the toxics out of the liver, working with liver enzymes, and perhaps keeping liver cancer at bay are peaking my interests higher....my philosphy is.."hey, it couldn't hurt"...and it is much better than drinking too much coffee.... :>)
PS November sounds great for lunch!!!!! (the other thread was closed)

[cao]

Thank you both for your answers.  I'll call my insurance company today and find out how/if the Neupogen will be covered.  I know that they required my Peg & Copeg come from their mail-order subsidiary, so I'm guessing that the Neupogen would come from the same source.  If so, I'm assuming that another long, bureaucratic process will be involved.  I have no intention of missing a shot/lowering my dosage, so I'll get on the ball:)  Thanks!

[Tony-z]

I am 11 weeks into my 3rd TX.
I am using Pegasys this time. We have been keeping a close eye on my ANC. When I started treatment my ANC dropped to 475 in 2 weeks, my Dr droped my dose of pegasys for from 180MCG to 165MCG till it started going up. I then bounced up to an ANC of around 700 and went back to 180MCG. I have been on a full dose of pegasys for around since. My ANC has hovered around 600-850 till around 3 weeks ago, at that point my ANC started to go up, not much but some, my last test was 2 weeks ago and my ANC was up to 1230.
I am going in next week to get a CBC, Liver Panel, THS and my 12 week PCR RNA .
On the other hand my RBC, hemoglobin and Hemocrit have been slowly declining over the last 6 weeks and and are now in the low range. I am looking forward to next weeks test results to see if this trend of the RBC is continuing and also see if my ANC has stabilized or improved.


<B><I>TEA</I></B>
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I started drinking Green, White, Rooibos and Honey Bush teas several years ago because of information I found on the Teas Hepatoprotective Effects. One good place to get the tea is from Tazo Teas. I like to go to the Local tea shops, that way I know I am getting freash tea and a wide assortment of white and Green tea's.

<a href="http://www.tazo.com/tazo.html">Tazo tea web page.</a>

<a href="http://www.ethnobotanysource.com/rooibostea.htm">About African tea's. Also buy them.</a>

<a href="http://www.royboss.net/rooibos-teas-health-benefits.shtml">Healt Benifites of African tea's.</a>

I cut out coffee and needed a warm drink to replace it and I have learned to really enjoy a good tea, and the Rooibos and Honey Bush teas from Africa have very unique taste.

            Wishing a happy weekend to all,

                      TonyZ

[Amerabrit]

I have been drinking green tea because of your earlier posts and will look for the white!  
I am so happy for you that you seem able to control the spread of this virus without tx.  Who knows?  Maybe you can eradicate it from your body entirely; now, wouldn't that be fantastic?  Where's there's will, there's hope.  Keep doing what you're doing:)

[Xenigma]

Hi Susan,
Since your posting about green/white tea I have been drinking a cup each day.  I couldn't find any at my Walmart, but I did find a nice Green and White blend by a company called "STASH" at Albertsons. (grocery store)
I'm not a tea drinker but it's not bad.  I'm getting to even like it a bit. I will be checking out Rooibos tea also.
Thank you
Enigma

[sher_]

Hey Good to see you! Billy has started Tx last week, didn't know if you knew.

[silvermoon]

There are numerous sources for comparison on prices, just put 'white tea' in the search engine..

[jonihs]

Hi Susan,  I also want to welcome you back and ask how you are doing. I must have been away when you posted the first time about the teas, so I thank you for the latest info. I was aware of the green tea benifits and drink it, but now will definitely get the other 2. Once again, thank you.   Joni

[scoutdill]

i thought you had taken a hike you phony

[snook_man]

Good to see you back!! I bought white tea, just because of you months ago.. The celestial seasons is very high in caffiene. There are other brands, one from GNC, with less, and some with no caffiene.. I personally do not like the taste of the peach celestial season brand. Again, glad to see you back..Rev hasn't been the same without you!!

[TnHepGuy_]

In general, the point where docs intervene with Neupogen is when the ANC reaches 750 (also .75) and/or WBC is around 1.5. There are docs who will jump in sooner and others who will let ANC go to 500 and WBC to 1.0. (then there are the docs who will never even consider prescribing it and will only lower dosage and/or end tx altogether).

Also, generally ANC and WBC drop during the course of tx as a result of the interferon. As to whether you will ever reach the level where Neupogen is prescribed - that is very much individual. Some patients will level off early on and never need Neupogen. Some will level off further into tx and also never need it. Some will drop early on and require intervention. And some will drop later on before needing to be put on Neupogen. That's why it's good to do close monitoring - especially early on in tx.

A prudent thing to do well in advance of the time you may actually be asked to start Neupogen (should that every occur) is to call your pharmacy and ask about cost, availability and lead time in getting it - (it is generally not an off-the-shelf item). And call your insurance company to find out about coverage and cost. All of this is important to square away ahead of time because if push were to come to shove and you found out at the last minute that you needed the Neupogen based upon your most recent lab work and you weren't able to get it in time before your next interferon shot, your doc might well cut your dosage or skip a shot - each of which can decrease your EVR/SVR chances, especially when dosage reduction occurs early on in tx.


TnHepGuy

[new-sojourn]

I find Cel Sea 'Mada Red' has too many 'extras'.  Numi has excellant pure roob's or red tea.  I like to have both, the green/white in the day and a roob or red @ nite.

I do like Cel Sea's AM Toxin tea--it contains maga milk thistle and starts the day right.

SAM-e is so good.  I'm on a break from  several things I usually take-I think a month or 2 is good to let the body even out.  And in the summer its possible to 'eat' alot of the things needed for good health.

I think the reason I'm in pretty good health is b/c of the teas and SAM-e and milk thistle.  And I take as much as I can afford.  Costco.com has good prices on both.  mail order

[Tallblonde]

I drink  2-3 cups of white tea during the day (it has caffeine in it), and 2-3 cups of the Rooibus (red tea) during the afternoon/evening (it's caffeine-free).

You may recall that my most recent PCR showed a 94 percent decrease in VL (and I'm not even on treatment).  I can't credit the tea or the Sam-e, but who knows...maybe they have helped.

TnHepGuy...thanks for the link.  I'll check it out.  Hope you're doing okay these days.

Susan

[cao]

Hi, I'm more of a lurker than anything, but I had a quick question I knew that you all could answer.  I'm a 2a/2b (never can remember which) and just did shot 4/24 tonight.  So far, so good (I know I'm lucky and VERY thankful thus far...).  

I just got my latest labs back and my ANC is down to 1.7.  Should I expect it to continue to drop?  When typically do doctors intervene with Neupogen (mine has already indicated that he'll intervene, but I can't remember if he told me when)?  Also, do these numbers continue to fall typically or is there a point at which they usually level off?  

Thanks in advance:)

[TnHepGuy_]

Hello, Susan. Welcome back. Hope all has been well with you and family.


A place online with good price and selection I've found is <a href="http://www.iherb.com/">iherb.com</a>.


TnHepGuy

[tina-b]

Thanks for the info. Walgreens puts most of the herbs and such on sale pretty regular. I will be getting it for myself if nothing else. How does the white tea taste? It is something you drink or is it in pill form?