Research has shown that the health benefits of drinking tea everyday are unparalleled, especially that of green tea, due to the compound epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. Many drink tea for its detoxifying effects, or simply to encourage themselves to be drinking more water throughout the day. With long-standing tradition of tea-drinking in the east, which moved to England, and now finally the USA, tea-drinking is one popular habit!
Unfortunately, you might not just be having “green” or “black” tea, but “pesticide tea” as many are calling it as the CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, has just blown the tea industry wide open revealing that 10 of the most popular brands of tea in the US and Canada contain dangerous levels of pesticides. Furthermore, that doesn’t even mention the dangerous plastics that make up the tea bags which are also considered quite detrimental to our health!
The culprits
- Twinings – Earl Grey (#3rd most toxic of the teas tested by the CBC for acetamiprid which causes nausea and severe vomiting, alongside 10 other toxic substances of course)
- Tetley – green tea (#2 most toxic tea, for not only acetemiprid, but chlorfenapry which can actually be fatal when built up in the system over time and have poisonous effects)
- Lipton – yellow label black tea
- Signal – orange pekoe
- Uncle Lee’s Legends of China – jasmine green tea
- King Cole – orange pekoe
- No Name – black tea
- Uncle Lee’s Legends of China – green tea (rated #1 toxic tea on the market for exceeding acceptable levels of acetamiprid and chlorfenapyr. With the added bonus of bifrenthrin which has been scientifically studied and proven to increase your risk of cancer)
- Lipton – pure green tea
The tenth tea tested (Red Rose) actually checked out!
Of the ten teas tested by the CBC one of them actually checked out in having zero pesticides, their orange pekoe tea shows us that it is possible to produce bagged tea on a mass scale where the leaves don’t have to be covered in pesticides!
Tea bags can also make things more difficult for you as a consumer!
Many tea bags have been treated with epichlorohydrin, a plastic that helps to keep the tea bags from breaking. Unfortunately, the heat of a hot cup of tea can dissolve that epichlorohydrin into your tea, resulting in, you guessed it, and increased risk of cancer over time.
Try to look for tea bags that are made from hemp materials, or you could invest in a tea diffuser and get bagless tea, and avoid the problem altogether!
There is hope out there for the world of tea!
If you consume anything on a regular basis, it is good practice to look up the manufacturers and ensure that you aren’t putting anything hazardous into your body simply because they want to cut corners or speed up their processes to increase in revenue.
Creating a society that no longer blindly accepts labels of “natural” or “pure” but actually follows up with companies keeping them honest is the beginning to a healthy consumer market! Already many companies such as Yogi, Trader Joes, and Tazo who have come under public scrutiny for adding GMO’s and “natural flavors” have been making some changes in recent years!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
