Overview
- TikTok user Laura Mae shared hospital-bed footage saying her daily matcha was the likely cause of iron deficiency requiring IV fluids.
- Her videos, which have topped 10 million views, describe symptoms including hair loss, brittle nails, and fatigue.
- She says symptoms improved after she stopped drinking matcha and notes she has Crohn's disease, which can complicate absorption.
- Verywell Health explains that tea tannins can bind iron in the gut and that matcha’s higher concentration may heighten the effect.
- Matcha.com advises avoiding matcha or green tea during or within about an hour of iron-rich meals or iron supplements, with no clinical proof presented that matcha alone caused the hospitalization.