Every drink matters! According to a new research, tea bags may expose tea consumers to billions of nano-plastics every time they sip their tea.
There is a lot more you should know about tea bags, even if you are already aware of the health advantages of tea. Millions of people worldwide adore tea, but it has come under fire because of a hidden hazard in tea bags that may be seriously endangering consumers’ health and fueling the world’s plastic pollution problem.
What scientists discovered
According to a recent study, commercially available teabags emit millions and billions of plastic particles, which are subsequently absorbed by the cells in our bodies. According to a study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and published in the journal Chemosphere, massive numbers of nano-sized particles and nanofilamentous structures are emitted when these tea bags are used to make an infusion.
After testing tea bags composed of three different plastics—cellulose, nylon-6, and polypropylene—the researchers discovered that when the tea was brewed, large amounts of plastic particles were discharged into the hot water. ‘Commercially available’ tea brands were used in the study, although no names .
Additional details regarding the study
The researchers discovered that for every milliliter of tea, tea bags made of polypropylene emitted almost 1.2 billion plastic particles. 135 million particles were released per drop in those containing cellulose, while 8.18 million particles were released per drop in those containing nylon-6.
In order to monitor how the particles would interact with the body after being consumed, the scientists then dyed them and exposed them to different intestinal cells.
From digesting cell to nucleus
After a day, significant levels of micro and nano-plastics had been absorbed by a particular kind of intestinal mucus-producing digesting cell. In some of these cells, the plastics had even made their way into the nucleus, which houses genetic material.
According to this, gastric mucus may be crucial in allowing micro and nanoplastics to enter the body before they are carried by the bloodstream and other bodily parts.
