The Health Risks in Bleached Tea Bags

Many people that settle down with a cup of tea do not realize the potential health risks they are faced with if they happen to be using a bleached tea bag to steep their tea. In fact, there are many people that are unaware that tea bags are bleached in general. The unfortunate truth is that not only are most tea bags are bleached, when they are bleached they put you at a high risk of many health defects.

How Tea Bags Are Made

In the beginning, tea bags were made from silk bags that were hand woven together. These teabags weren’t intended to be put in water, though it was found to be more convenient to do so. Because of this, more teabags were made with the intention of having them put in the water. Today, the majority of tea bags are made using paper that is produced from vegetable and wood fibers. Most of the time, this paper is bleached for aesthetic reasons. After being filled with tea the sachets are sealed with a type of thermoplastic and coated in epichlorohydrin so that they can withstand being in water without dissolving.

Dangers of Dioxin and Epichlorohydrin

When teabags are bleached and coated in epichlorohydrin, the chemical residues are soaked into the water of the tea which allows them to enter our system. One of the most harmful chemicals, dioxin, is a residue from the bleaching of tea bags. Once dioxin enters our system it is absorbed into our fat cells where it can linger for 7 to 11 years. While dioxin is in our system it can disrupt the hormone and reproductive systems of the body. This ends up leading to many behavior and developmental disorders. Dioxin has been shown to hold an effect on women that are pregnant as well, affecting the development of the fetus which can lead to birth defects. It has also been shown in many studies that any small increment of dioxin that enters the body has a chance to cause cancer.

The other main chemical concern on tea bags, epichlorohydrin, can also cause damage to the system. Normally, epichlorohydrin is used in the making of plastics and resins. However, when exposed to water, this chemical becomes a carcinogen, making one even more susceptible to various cancers.

Why use Unbleached Tea Bags?

Using unbleached tea bags comes without the exposure of the harmful chemicals that bleached tea bags contain. Many companies will be sure to label their use of unbleached tea bags, making it far easier to make the healthier choice when choosing between various brands of tea. When you settle down with a cup of tea, choosing a brand that uses unbleached tea bags will put you at ease so that you can enjoy the health benefits of your brew without the worry of sacrificing your health to dangerous chemicals.