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How Much Tonic Water Is Safe for You?

Sipping tonic water is a pleasant way to cool off and may help repel mosquitoes. But how much tonic water is safe for you to drink?

In the heat of a summer afternoon, a tall cold glass of tonic water can seem very appealing. It may even have health benefits, such as warding off nighttime leg cramps. But if you get carried away and turn one glass into two or three, is that dangerous? (Mind you, we are talking only about the tonic WITHOUT the gin. Three alcoholic drinks have clear dangers.) How much tonic water is safe for you to drink?

Unexpected Advantages of Drinking Tonic Water:

Q. I am normally a mosquito magnet. By this time of year I would usually have dozens of bites and the itching would be intolerable. I would turn into a bloody mess from constant scratching.

This year I have been drinking tonic water two or three times a day and I haven’t had a mosquito bite in weeks. As an added bonus, I haven’t experienced leg cramps while cycling. In hot weather I used to cramp up after two or three hours of hard riding.

Is there a limit on how much tonic you can drink before overdosing on quinine? I have read in your column that too much could be dangerous, but how much is too much? How much tonic water is safe?

Tonic Water as a Source of Quinine:

A. Doctors used to prescribe quinine pills to prevent leg cramps. The standard dose was between 200 and 300 mg of quinine.

The FDA banned quinine for this purpose but continues to allow it in tonic water. A liter normally has 83 mg of quinine. An eight-ounce glass would therefore have roughly 20 mg, about one-tenth the lowest dose doctors prescribed for leg cramps. Even three glasses daily should be OK as long as you are not sensitive to quinine.

Some susceptible people develop a dangerous blood disorder after even small doses of quinine. For them, no amount of tonic water is safe! Symptoms of quinine toxicity include digestive upset, headache, ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, skin rash and arrhythmias.

It makes sense to pay attention to your reactions, as the threshold for problems such as tinnitus may vary from one person to another.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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