Scientists have recently put out a warning regarding potential health risks associated with tea bags.
These bags might expose people to billions of nano- and microplastics with every sip, which may lead to adverse health effects
According to Newsweek microbiologists at the Independent University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB) in Spain published a study observing the plastic that was released by different commercially available tea bags and how they affected human cells.
“Plastics are extensively used in modern society due to their many key properties and advantages including versatility, durability, cost-effectiveness, lightweight nature, hygiene, and safety, among others,” the study reads. “Concretely, plastic has revolutionized the food packaging sector by extending the shelf life of fresh food, enabling essential health applications, and contributing to lighter and safer shipping.
“However, despite these advantages, the widespread use of plastic has raised concerns about environmental pollution, resource depletion, and health risks associated with certain plastic additives and their degradation into micro- and nanoplastics.”
One of the study’s authors, Ricardo Marcos Dauder, informed the publication that these plastics — which can be measured between 1 and 1,000 micrometers, meaning they’re incredibly small — did indeed have an impact on the cells that were analyzed.
Medical Express explains that these nano- and microplastics were absorbed by the intestinal cells that produce mucus, with some analysis indicating that the material had even entered the nucleus of these cells where genetic material is located.
“All the data shows that the smaller the size, the higher the uptake [of plastic] into the cells,” Dauder said. “The smaller the size, the higher the risk.”
As for what the long-term health implications might be, the UAB researchers concluded that more studies need to be done.
However, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Library of Medicine does say that the longterm health effects of micro- and nanoplastic exposure may include changes to one’s metabolism as well as cancer.
Credit: This report was originally published in Health in Pennsylvania (PA)
