A woman has gone viral on TikTok after revealing she was hospitalised because she started drinking matcha. In a video that’s had more than 6.2 million views, she said her “matcha obsession era” was over after she found out it caused her iron levels to plummet to dangerous levels.
Lynn Shazeen, 28, first started drinking the popular green tea six months ago, but started noticing some strange symptoms three months later, including tiredness, feeling cold and heart palpitations.
When the symptoms got worse, she went to the hospital and was put on an IV because her iron levels were dangerously low. They had almost halved what they were supposed to be, and it was all down to her matcha habit. Studies have shown that matcha stops the body from absorbing iron, which can cause you to become anaemic.
“It [the matcha] was the only change I had made to my diet and daily routine. Myself and my doctor worked through every possibility but it became clear that the matcha was the cause,” she told The Mirror.
@lynnshazeen Lesson learnt
#matcha #matchatok #anemic #lowiron #matchalover
“I had been dealing with some inflammation so my doctor had suggested that I adjust my diet. Matcha, and green tea in general, is known for its anti-inflammatory properties so I decided to start drinking one once a week or so.
“I noticed I kept feeling a lot colder and more tired than usual but I had no idea what it was until I got the tests done. As soon as I saw that my iron levels had dropped from 23 to 13, I knew immediately that it was the matcha that had caused it.”
On TikTok, Lynn explained that she had to have an iron transfusion because the matcha had lowered her iron levels so much. She urged everyone to look out for the warning signs of an iron deficiency, including tiredness, lack of energy, shortness of breath, pale skin and heart palpitations.
@lynnshazeen Replying to @Domi There’s ways to go about It babes
#matcha #matchatok #anemic #lowiron #matchalover
“Matcha contains tannins that bond to non-heme iron, which is the form of iron found in plants, and can in turn block your body’s ability to absorb the mineral,” nutritional therapist Farzanah Nasser told Vogue. “Matcha also contains catechins, which are powerful antioxidants and can interfere with your iron intake.”
Lynn is a health professional herself, so said she “stayed calm,” but the whole situation was still very “worrying”. She’s now stopped drinking matcha altogether and only drinks normal tea. The 28-year-old also has to take iron pills and vitamin C tablets.
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Featured image by: @lynnshazeen/TikTok
