Sometimes, people living with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) — a chronic autoimmune liver disease — may want to try vitamins, supplements, and changes to their diet to manage their symptoms. Some people may wonder if tea can treat PBC or manage any of the symptoms that often go along with it.

If this is a question you’ve had, it’s important to understand how tea might be able to help and what it can’t do. Remember that you should always talk to your hepatology team before you try anything new to help your PBC. A healthcare provider will be able to help make sure you get the support you need. Discover whether tea can be beneficial for liver health and symptoms of PBC.

What Is Tea?

Tea is a drink that comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which produces white, green, oolong, and black teas. Herbal teas are made from other plants, which are usually noted in the name of the tea, such as chamomile or peppermint. Most of the time, tea is steeped in hot water, then consumed by drinking. Occasionally, some kinds of tea may be packaged and sold as capsules or used in skincare products. Tea contains many different chemicals. Some of these are believed to have a wide variety of health benefits. Different types of tea may offer different benefits for your body.

Tea and Liver Health

So far, there hasn’t been research done specifically on the beneficial effects of tea for primary biliary cholangitis. However, some types of tea may improve your liver health, which could be beneficial for liver conditions.

Milk Thistle Tea for Liver Health

Milk thistle is a plant that has been used throughout history to help the liver. Now, it’s often marketed as a supplement for liver disorders and other medical ailments. Limited research has been conducted so far, but more human studies need to be done to determine whether milk thistle may help liver function.

There were two studies that focused on milk thistle and liver conditions. The results didn’t indicate that milk thistle was helpful for people with the liver conditions they did study — hepatitis C and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (a form of fatty liver disease).

Green Tea for Liver Health

If you take leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant and steam, fry, and dry them, you get green tea. Although green tea hasn’t been studied for PBC specifically, there’s limited evidence that green tea may have some effects that could benefit someone with PBC in different ways.

Lower Liver Enzyme Levels

Some studies found that green tea may lower liver enzyme levels in people who have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a type of chronic liver disease. This means green tea might provide some liver health benefits. The study also suggested that green tea may work better when it’s used alongside specific diet plans and exercise options.

Improve Fatigue

Green tea may also help relieve fatigue, which can be a symptom of PBC. One study in mice showed that chemicals called polyphenols, commonly found in green tea, reduced fatigue. Researchers need to do more work to replicate this study in people, now that they’ve done animal studies. They also need to figure out how much green tea a person would need to consume to get these anti-fatigue effects.

Lower Cholesterol Levels

Many people living with primary biliary cholangitis also have high cholesterol. Green tea has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. It’s important to note that many of the studies on green tea and cholesterol have been done using green tea supplements, not by having people drink the beverage. There’s a chance this has changed the results, or that people can’t drink enough green tea to get those same results.

Disadvantages of Green Tea

Green tea can interact with certain medications, including atorvastatin, which is prescribed to treat high cholesterol. Other medications green tea may interact with include raloxifene (Evista), a medication used to treat osteoporosis, and nadolol, a type of beta-blocker. Make sure you understand how green tea might interact with your medications. Your healthcare provider can help you understand these interactions.

Occasionally, green tea extracts have been associated with hurting the liver, rather than making it better. Researchers don’t know what exactly caused these side effects or injuries. One cause might be genetic. Between 5 percent and 15 percent of people have a genetic difference that makes them more likely to have these injuries. You also might be more likely to experience a liver injury if you take green tea supplements, rather than drinking it as a beverage.

However, you don’t want to risk doing damage to your liver when you’re already living with PBC. Talk to a healthcare professional before you consume green tea to make sure it’s safe for you to use.

Black Tea for Liver Health

Black tea is produced similarly to green tea, except you ferment the leaves at the end of the process. It also may prevent some forms of liver damage, though it hasn’t been studied specifically in relationship to PBC. Black tea was not as effective in treating liver problems caused by alcohol.

Herbal Tea

Some other types of herbal teas may help with PBC or symptoms associated with it. In one study, a small number of people were given a specific herbal tea blend for four weeks. Those people were less fatigued and had better sleep than people who didn’t get that tea blend. The downside of this study is that it only pertains to that specific blend of tea with Astragali radix, Angelicae gigantis radix, and Zizyphi fructus.

Chamomile tea, which has been around for centuries, may help with itching, another common symptom of PBC. Chamomile may help stop itching by calming the body’s immune response, keeping the skin moist and healthy, and changing how nerves send itch signals. You would have to apply it directly on your skin, rather than drinking it, to get these effects.

Safely Using Tea for Liver Health

Tea is generally safe to drink. Most people can have a cup or two a day of whatever kind of tea they prefer without doing damage or harming their bodies. However, some teas, specifically those made from the Camellia sinensis plant, contain caffeine. It’s important to be mindful of your caffeine tolerance, especially if you experience sleep issues or anxiety. Caffeine can also interact with certain medications, so be sure to talk to your healthcare provider to make sure it’s safe for you.

As noted above, tea can have some interactions with medication. While it doesn’t appear to have known interactions with medications taken for PBC, you should talk to your doctor. You may be on medications for other conditions that would interact poorly with tea.

It’s also important not to drink too many servings of tea, especially if you’re consuming green tea. The liver damage noted above can be serious, particularly for someone already dealing with PBC. Your hepatologist can help you figure out how much tea consumption might be too much for you and your liver.

In fact, you should talk to your doctor before you start consuming tea or anything else, including other herbal remedies, for PBC. They’ll be able to tell you if these are safe for you and let you know if there are any precautions you need to take. They may refer you to a registered dietitian or nutritionist who can help you introduce tea in a way that is healthy and safe.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On myPBCteam, the social network for people with primary biliary cholangitis and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their tips with others who understand life with primary biliary cholangitis.

Have you tried using tea to help with PBC? What other treatments have helped you feel better? Share your experiences in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.