By Joel D. Joseph
(Mr. Joseph is the CEO of WarAgainstPlastic.com)
I have always believed that tea was very healthy. Unfortunately, during the past ten years, many tea companies have replaced paper tea bags with plastic tea bags.
Microbiologists at the Independent University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB), Spain, studied plastic released by three different tea bags and their effect on human cells. This study was conducted in 2024. Ricardo Marcos Dauder, one of the study authors from UAB, said, "when scientists talk about microplastics, they don't just mean plastic that degrades and produces small pieces of plastic, but pieces of plastic that can be easily measured in micrometers: between 1 and 1000 micrometers, equivalent to one thousandth to one millimeter. This study specifically looked at nanoplastics, measured between 1 and 1000 nanometers-- which is even smaller.
"All the data shows that the smaller the size, the higher the uptake [of plastic] into the cells," said Dauder. "The smaller the size, the higher the risk."
The microbiologists found that commercially available tea bags released huge amounts of plastic particles into hot water when brewed. They experimented with tea bags made from three plastics: polymers called polypropylene, nylon-6 and cellulose.
They found that tea bags containing polypropylene released approximately 1.2 billion particles of plastic per drop-- or 1/20th milliliter-- of tea. Those containing cellulose released 135 million particles per drop and nylon-6 released 8.18 million particles per drop.
After 24 hours, a specific type of digestive cell that produces mucus in the intestines had absorbed considerable amounts of micro and nanoplastics. The plastics had even entered the nucleus of some of these cells, which is where genetic material is kept.
In 2023, the International Journal of Surgery published an article on the significant health risks posed by microplastics in tea bags (March 24, 2023). The article reported:
"Due to the potential health risks and negative impacts on the environment, the use of MPs in tea bags and other products is a major issue. In spite of the material's nonbiodegradability, polypropylene is frequently used in manufacturing tea bags. Given that tea bags are subjected to high temperatures during the brewing process, it is concerning that certain branded teas are offered in tea bags made from allegedly 'food grade' polymers, such as nylon. In tea bags additionally available are fluorine compounds, arsenic, radium salt, aluminum, copper, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium, nitrates, and many more. So you are sipping tea and consuming these dangerous substances in the same bag. Tea bag plastics, which can take hundreds of years to decompose in nature, may fragment into [micro] particles...."
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