Why can't my sister drink green tea?

Green tea helps to bolster the immune system. In people with Lupus the immune system attacks even the good cells. The treatment for Lupus includes suppressing the immune system. If you take an immuno suppressant and then take something to bolster the immune system you're asking for trouble.

There is no reason that I know that she should stay away from Soy. I would definately ask her doctor the reason for this. I'm sure you'd get a better answer from a doctor rather than in yahoo answers.

Virtually all autoimmune diseases -– conditions where the immune system begins to attack self-tissue –- have either a Th1 or a Th2 dominance.

Put another way, autoimmune conditions generally have either a T cell upregulation and B cell suppression (Th1 dominant) or the opposite (Th2 dominant).

It’s imperative that people with autoimmune disorders maintain Th1/Th2 balance.

When the immune system is dysregulated and starts attacking body tissues, the more out of balance the immune system is, the more voraciously it will attack those tissues.

For example, in someone with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks cartilage, the more out of balance the Th1/Th2 system is, the more cartilage destruction will take place.

According to research, a number of natural compounds have a tendency to push either side of the Th1/Th2 balance.

Green tea is one such substance. The active components of green tea have a tendency to push the Th2 system to be more dominant by inhibiting the Th1 side of the immune system

Therefore someone with a Th2-dominant autoimmune condition (see table below) would be wise to stay away from green tea or products containing concentrated green tea (such as a green tea supplement), because it can upregulate an already dominant system and lead to more tissue destruction.

Conversely in someone with a Th1-dominant autoimmune condition, green tea would be beneficial because it inhibits the Th1 side of the immune system.

Another common example most people know of is the herb echinacea.

When people get sick with a cold or flu, echinacea helps boost the T cells (Th1 response) involved with the initial attack of a foreign invader.

However, in a Th1-dominant autoimmune condition, echinacea will likely make the condition worse and is therefore be something to be avoided.

Common Th1 dominance disorders

Organ-specific autoimmune diseases (Possible benefit from green tea)

Multiple sclerosis

IBD/Crohn’s disease

Type 1 diabetes

Hashimoto’s disease, Graves disease (thyroiditis)

Psoriasis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Heliobacter pylori induced peptic ulcer

Th1 stimulating compounds

Echinacea

astragalus

licorice root

beta-sitosterol

ashwaganda

panax ginseng

mushrooms (Maitake, Reishi, Shiitake)

chlorella

grape seed extract

Common Th2 dominance disorders

Systemic autoimmune diseases (Possible harm from green tea)

Allergies

Asthma

Chronic sinusitis

Many cancers

Hepatitis B and C (mixed Th1 and Th2)

Ulcerative colitis

Viral infections

Systemic lupus erythematosus

Helminth infections

Th2 stimulating compounds

Green tea

resveratrol

pycnogenol

curcumin

genistein

quercetin