Local physician concerned about health risk of Tapee Tea - is it a miracle cure?

MILLERSBURG − A local physician is concerned about the potential health risks presented by a product being marketed as a miracle pain reliever.

Tapee Tea is an imported product from Southeast Asia. Despite its claims of being "all natural," it was tested and found to be laced with steroids. It is not surprising, therefore, that people feel so much better when drinking it, according to family physician Maurice Stutzman, MD.

Stutzman notes steroids should only be administered by licensed providers using a prescription. With continued use, steroids have dangerous side effects which include, but are not limited to: high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, osteoporosis, stomach ulcers, adrenal insufficiency, neck deformities, thin skin, kidney failure and psychosis.

“Tapee Tea is an herbal tea being sold in Holmes County amongst the Amish and Mennonite community,” Stutzman said. “It is marketed as an ‘all natural’ herbal drink. Consumers of this tea report that within a day, an almost miraculous resolution of joint and back pain, aches and stiffness occurs.

“However, after using it a bit, they don’t like an accompanying weight gain,” he continued. “I did some research on the listed herbal components and none of them could account for this rapid complete response to joint pain.”

A skeptic about 'all natural' product

Dr. Stutzman was skeptical of this tea due to a history in Holmes County when a prior Amish rage about an ‘all natural’ relaxing herbal concoction called “Black Pearls” was found to be laced with diazepam.

“I would expect to see this response and side effect when someone is taking a drug like prednisone on a long-term basis,” Stutzman said. “Upon doing some research I found that a company in Thailand was found to be lacing its tea with steroid medications.

FDA discovers steroids in herbal drink: The Phi brand faces legal action | Thaiger (thethaiger.com)

In June, Stutzman purchased Tapee Tea at Troyer’s Market in Berlin. When he compared the tea purchased with the label from the brand laced with the steroids, he found the exact same wrapping and the exact same number on the right lower corner of the package.

“It appears that the company that was caught lacing a tea in Thailand with a steroid is now selling the exact same product in Holmes County through a local distributer,” Stutzman said. “Not only that, there are multiple websites promoting its ‘all natural’ pain relieving effects.  See: https://www.tapeetea.com/. That website also shows a picture of exactly the same product packaging with the same number.

Tapee Tea is also being sold on Amazon, eBay, Walmart and other places, all with the same packaging and number of the package described.

Troyer’s Market has since removed their Tapee Tea display.

Illegal to sell steroids

Stutzman adds that if this tea is laced with steroids, as his investigation suggests, then whoever is selling it is doing so illegally, because it contains a prescription medication.

“It is not even a tea, rather a drink mix which requires adding water to the powder,” he said. “A tea bag would inhibit the dissolution of undocumented medications and thus their effect.

“In the United States, selling prescription medication without a legitimate prescription or a valid license is illegal,” Stutzman continued. “­This is because prescription medications are classified as controlled substances, which means they have a high risk of misuse and dependency. If Tapee Tea does contain steroids, and I believe that it does, the distribution, selling and consumption of this tea is in violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 4729.51.”

Wanted to share pain relief

Louie Iannello of Coshocton is an importer of Tapee Tea from Thailand who sells to stores in the area. He began using it to relieve arthritis pain and wanted to share the benefits he reaped from the product.

He suggested directing any inquiries to Coconut Island Company.

“As far as I know, there are no steroids in it,” he said. “It’s all natural herbs. That’s the first thing people think, because it helps with arthritis. I just think it’s incredible. I have arthritis and this really helps.”

Ianniello notes there are numerous testimonies about the product.

“I don’t have to sell this,” Ianniello said. “I tried it because I have a lot of aches, and it worked for me. I thought I should share this. If it comes back with anything bad in it, I’ll refuse to sell it. It’s no big deal. That’s all I know about it.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Local physician concerned about health risk of Tapee Tea