Tzu Chi supports effort to reduce
fluorine poisoning in Tibet
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Medical researcher fights
fluoride poisoning in Tibet
The perils of brick tea
"Tea" is usually associated with
health. However, this notion is absolutely not true for the
people who live in the elevation highlands of the western
Chinese frontier. The Tibetan people live primary in Tibet
and the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Suchuan, Yunnan and
Gangshou. Most of the 5 million people are either nomads or
farmers, whose main beverage is "brick tea", also
known as butter tea. Suucha, a tea drunk daily and a culturally
important source of nutrition for many Tibetans, is made with
brick tea, Gyak butter and rock salt. A daily ritual, the
brick tea first is ground, boiled in water and strained. This
strained infusion is then churned with Gyak's milk, butter,
and salt. Afterwards, it is transferred to a kettle and kept
warm over a fire.
"Drinking tea causes poisoning?"
This was the skeptical reaction that arose within Jin Cao,
who has dedicated himself in studying the impact of tea on
human health. According to evidence from research undertaken
by Professor Jin Cao at the Xiang-Ya Medical Institute of
Changsha University, Tibetan people who are accustomed to
drinking brick tea are prevalently afflicted with dental and
later, in their adult years, with skeletal fluorosis. Both
diseases result from chronic fluoride poisoning.
An earlier report by Mr. Xuexin Bai from
the Regional Disease Prevention and Treatment Center of Sichuan
revealed that the Tibetan population residing in the Kandze
prefecture of Sichuan carried such symptoms of fluoride poisoning,
and speculated the cause of the poisoning to be from brick
tea. To investigate the connection of fluorine on the human
body after long-time drinking of brick tea, Cao, journeyed
across the Kandze and Ngaba Tibetan prefectures in the Sichuan
Province of China to undertake the investigation.
After five years of research, Cao discovered
that the fluorine concentration of brick tea exceeded that
of ordinary green tea and black tea by 200-300 times. This
is because brick tea is made from old stems and leaves of
the tea tree, but ordinary green tea and black tea are made
from tender leaves and buds. Although it has been shown that
the fluorine concentration of brick tea has no relationship
with its method of preparation, the percentage of poisoning
among the Tibetans is proportional to the amount of tea consumed.
Cao categorized the pastoral prefecture of Nagchu to be a
severely concentrated region of "Brick Tea Style Fluoride
Poisoning".
Following this initial discovery, with
support from Tzu Chi Foundation, Cao will continue the research
process with a three-year program on fluorine poisoning prevention
and control among the Tibetan population. The research program
will focus on the children and herdsmen populations living
in the Nagchu County of the high plateau.
Victims of a traditional drink
The Nagchu prefecture Elementary School
is located at an elevation of 4500 meters on the high Tibetan
Plateau. A school for orphans, it holds the distinction of
being the world's highest reaching school in elevation. Of
the two hundred students, ninety percent have developed dental
fluorosis. A careful inspection of their seemingly white teeth
revealed scars of indentation, as well as yellow spots, streaks,
and patches. These symptoms of dental fluorosis showed that
their bodies have already accumulated enough fluoride to cause
illness in later years.
According to Cao, enough accumulation of
fluorine in the body over the years will result in skeletal
fluorosis, which typically strikes during adulthood. Initial
symptoms of early skeletal fluorosis include aches, stiffness,
and numbness of joints. As this disease progresses, it could
lead to deformities of the joints, causing so much harm that
the patient loses mobility. It its advanced stages, the disease
could cause deterioration of the nervous system and the urinary
system, including kidney functions. As Cao put it, "Skeletal
fluorosis will cause the Tibetan people to lose their ability
to work and live."
Social responsibilities of a medical
scholar
Cao continued with empathy, "the traditions
left behind by our ancestors are hard to change." Brick
tea is such a permeating aspect of Tibetan society and there
seems to be no substitute for it. Lowering the content of
fluoride in the brick tea is the only plausible solution for
resolving the poisoning epidemic. Cao has developed a technique
for reducing the amount of fluoride in brick tea, and during
his three-year research program he intends to train the research
staff from the local population on prevention and control
of fluorine poisoning from brick tea.
Understanding
of the dire situation affecting the health of the Tibetan
people and the parallel efforts of Cao, Tzu Chi will donate
fluoride analysis instruments to his research teams as well
as low-fluoride brick tea for the population of Nagchu. Approximately
500 individuals, which include the school children of Nagchu
prefecture, as well as the more than twenty shepherd families
in the area, are estimated to partake in Cao's preventative
medicine project.
Cao anticipates without doubt that the
upcoming three-year study on prevention and control of fluoride
poisoning for the Tibetan population will be a drawn out and
unpredictable experience. However, he emphasizes that his
effort is propelled by the social responsibility he feels
as a medical scholar. He states, "a medical study that
would bring health to the future of a multitude of people
is more important than biological technology that prolongs
human longevity now." To ensure that future generations
of Tibet enjoy healthy tea is the driving force behind Cao's
devotion to the research.
Adapted from the article by Yi-Hua
Lin, entitled "Tibet and Tea - A Melody heard from Outside
the Chord of Chinese Tea Culture", originally published
in the September 2002 issue of Canon Magazine.
Related link: http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1996/104-12/cao.html
