[Marlene]

Hi Greg,

Don't know about other nutrients and tea. Sounds like you're doing quite of bit though. Extremes of any nutrient or herb can cause imbalances so you may want to take a holiday from it from time to time. Don't know what that is with green tea though. There is fluoride in tea so too much of that would not be good. I think the age of the tea when picked determines the level of fluoride. I would expect the extract not to have it. Long time ago, there was an issue with "instant" green tea and high fluoride level causing problems. How did you decide the dosage.

I'm pasting a small article I just got from Life Extension on a new study published on autoimmune and green tea.

FROM LIFE EXTENSION ORGANIZATION:
In an article published online on May 20, 2011 in the journal Immunology Letters, researchers at Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute report a mechanism for green tea in suppressing autoimmune disease: an imbalance of the immune system which results in the body attacking itself. Autoimmune diseases range from childhood allergies to fatal diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although treatment with pharmaceutical agents can help regulate immune function in autoimmune disease, the drugs are frequently associated with toxicity.

Oregon State University Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences associate professor Emily Ho and her associates studied the effect of the green tea polyphenol known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in cell cultures and in mice. They found that EGCG increased the amount of regulatory T cells (which help dampen the immune system), whose function is regulated by processes that involve transcription factors and DNA methylation.

“EGCG may have health benefits through an epigenetic mechanism, meaning we aren’t changing the underlying DNA codes, but just influencing what gets expressed, what cells get turned on,” Dr Ho elaborated. “And we may be able to do this with a simple, whole-food approach.”

“Epigenetic regulation can be potentially exploited in generating suppressive regulatory T cells for therapeutic purposes, and is of significant clinical importance for the suppression of autoimmune diseases,” the authors note.

Dr Ho concluded that EGCG "appears to be a natural, plant-derived compound that can affect the number of regulatory T cells, and in the process improve immune function. When fully understood, this could provide an easy and safe way to help control autoimmune problems