Tea has many benefits, from improving cardiovascular and intestinal health to lessening effects from chronic degenerative diseases, which include obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Tea is also the world's second most commonly consumed beverage, behind water, making its safety important.
Most tea bags are made of plastic or include a plastic seal. PET, nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, and PLA are all possibilities. If a tea company says its tea bags are made from starch, it's likely PLA. Plastic tea bags can release microplastics and toxic plastic additives like phthalates into the tea, a process expedited by the heat from the water. Microwaving tea can also cause more microplastics to be released. You can read more about plastic's health impacts here. It's important to use tea bags without plastic.
Tea is often grown with pesticides, which have been found to cause health problems in many ways, including harming the reproductive system, disrupting hormones, and increasing cancer risks. Pesticides are of particular concern with tea because tea leaves are harvested shortly after pesticides are applied and manufactured without thorough washing. This causes a concentration of pesticides, which can then be consumed in tea. Many teas even include banned pesticides. Choosing organic tea reduces pesticide exposure. Other potential contaminants include heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and PFAS. The harmful metals lead, manganese, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, barium, and aluminum have been found in tea. You can read about their impacts in my previous article. PAHs have also been detected in tea. These may be introduced in the air as the tea is grown or during the drying process. PFAS, chemicals linked to a variety of adverse health effects, have been found both in tea bags and the tea leaves within them.
Chlorine is used to bleach tea bags. When tea is steeped, the chlorine in the bags goes into the drink. Higher water temperatures and longer steeping times increase chlorine levels. In animal studies, chlorine has been shown to decrease brain weight, body weight, and the number of brain cells, alter behavior, lower levels of hormones, increase the risk of cancer, and potentially impact reproduction and the blood. Epichlorohydrin is also sometimes used to coat tea bags. This chemical is linked to cancer, cell harm (including blood cells), respiratory irritation, DNA damage, and altered organ weights.
There are many safer alternatives to toxic tea. One is certified organic loose leaf tea. It can be steeped in a certified organic reusable tea bag like this one or in a stainless steel, glass, or ceramic infuser. Because PFAS have been found in tea bags, this is a better option to avoid exposure to the chemical. Certified organic instant tea, like One Organic's, is another good choice. Additionally, One Organic tests their tea for heavy metals to ensure they have lower levels.
There are also safer versions of disposable tea bags - these options do not contain plastic, pesticides, chlorine, or epichlorohydrin (mostly). However, while none of these tea brands tested positive for PFAS, they also haven't been tested at all, so it's possible that they contain them. Traditional Medicinals has certified organic teas in paper bags that are cleaned without chlorine. Most of their bags are sealed with a knot, but the ones that use an aluminum staple should be avoided. Choice Organics is another brand of certified organic tea in non-chlorine bleached paper bags. Choice Organics also tests for heavy metals, ensuring lower levels in their products. The organic, plastic-free line steep by Bigelow is certified organic and uses paper bags that are not bleached with chlorine. Finally, Hampstead Tea's products are organic and use unbleached paper and organic cotton tea bags. Additionally, their wrappers are nearly plastic-free. However, Hampstead Tea has not yet confirmed that they do not use epichlorohydrin. Any of these options would help reduce toxin exposure from tea!
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