25/08/2024
Why we say no to tea bags; plastic and paper!
Polypropylene is frequently used in the manufacturing of plastic tea bags because it is considered the âsafestâ of all plastics. Plastic tea bags are also made with âfood gradeâ polymers such as nylon. Other substances that have been found are fluorine compounds, arsenic, radium salt, aluminium, copper, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium, nitrates and many more.
Plastic (even food grade) when exposed to heat over 40°C begins to break down and release harmful materials.
One cup of tea produced by one plastic tea bag steeped at brewing temperature included roughly 11.6 billion MPs (microplastics) and 3.1 billion NPs (nanoplastics).
People who drink tea frequently are continually dosing themselves with billions of plastic particles, some of which may be tiny enough to enter human cells.
It has been demonstrated that intestinal oxidative and inflammatory imbalance was brought on by exposure to NPs and MPs. MPs include additives, adsorb pollutants, irritants, and the development of bacterial pathogens may occur on their surface, making them extremely dangerous to consume, whether purposely or accidentally. This impairs the bodyâs defensive system and makes it susceptible to diseases. Additionally, they carry intestinal toxins that disrupt intestinal processes and upset the balance of the organisms in the gut, perhaps setting the stage for the emergence of long-term immune system problems. A multi-end-point toxicological investigation on colorectal cancer cell lines revealed higher absorption and intracellular accumulation of MP and NP particles with regard to gastrointestinal cancer.
PFAS also known as âforever chemicalsâ have also been identified in tea bags. From a testing of 108 tea bags, 90% of those contained concentrations of PFAS. PFAS are toxic to the human body and have been found to cause adverse effects to the liver, gastrointestinal tract, thyroid hormones and cause cancer in multiple areas of the body.
Paper tea bags are often treated with epichlorohydrin (a plastic to keep the bags from bursting), a compound also found in pesticides and known to cause cancer in animals. This chemical becomes active when in comes into contact with hot water.
If the tea bags are white, this usually means they may have been also bleached with chlorine.
âŹď¸
All above information gathered from these studies:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10389239/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713523002128?via%3Dihub
â¤ď¸
ya.sena - made with love, for you
