Thankyou to Jenny McGruther for this post.
Hi there,
So, let me prepare you: This one’s a doozy.
I don’t drink coffee, but I do drink tea – green teas, black teas, and loads of herbal infusions. I drink them all day long, especially in winter, along with plenty of water (with a squirt of electrolytes for good measure!).
There’s tea bags of course, but you can taste the paper.
And then there are premium teas packed in little bags that are soft as silk – only they’re not silk at all. They’re plastic. And a recent study found that a single plastic tea bag releases 11.6 billion microplastic particles. PLUS, 3.1 billion nanoparticles for good measure.
That’s 14.7 BILLION plastic particles for each cup of tea.
In animals, these tiny particles can damage organs and gut health, but more studies are needed to analyze how they affect human health.
If you’re a tea drinker, like me, there are a few things you can do:
- Make fresh herbal tisanes by pouring hot water over fresh herbs like mint, tarragon, sage or citrus peel. There’s no teabags to worry about, and they have a gorgeous, light flavor.
- Buy loose-leaf tea. You can brew them at home using a kettle of water and a tea ball or strainer. There’s no paper or plastic teabags to worry about, and you’ll often get a better quality tea than what you’d find in the bags anyway.
- Buy tea crystals. If you’re traveling or at work and brewing loose-leaf isn’t possible, try tea crystals. All you have to do is warm water, and then stir in the powdered tea. The ones at Pique Tea are triple-screened for toxins like pesticides and heavy metals, so you’re getting a really clean product.
Hope these tips help! Have a great weekend.
Peace + Wellness,
Jenny McGruther, FNTP
Nourished Kitchen
