Now I’m a tea fanatic so I was understandably upset by finding out that myfavorite brew is loaded with surprisingly high quantities of pesticides and otherdubious chemicals.
The types of suspect ingredients found in common tea brands can be brokendown into four main categories:
PESTICIDES.
Most teas are not washed before being dried – and therefore non-organic teasalmost certainly contain pesticide residues.
Some tea brands have recently been found to contain pesticides that are knowncarcinogens – in quantities above the US and EU limits! This is completelyoutrageous.
Epicholorohydrin is also used as an insect fumigant and considered a potentialcarcinogen – and although levels present in paper products such as tea bagsand coffee filters are low, they are still present.
The effects of leaching from teabag material to the tea are of course avoidableif you use loose leaf tea.
If you are concerned about this but still want your favorite brand, you couldalso try this “Hack“: Empty the contents of the teabag(s) into a teapot and brewtea the traditional way with a tea strainer!
“NATURAL FLAVORS“.
The term “Natural Flavors” essentially means flavorings “Which have their originin nature“.
In other words, it could be made from any animal or plant source and processedin many ways.
Not only do you have no true idea what the source actually was, nor how muchprocessing was done to it – but some of the items that are used as naturalflavors are completely disgusting in their own right.
Yes, anything that says “Natural flavors” on the label could contain castoreum,and you would never know
ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS.
Now if in the back of your mind you are asking yourself “Why does tea needflavoring added at all?” then congratulate yourself because that is a VERY goodquestion.
The answer is that the poor plants/herbs used in its manufacture have beenmercilessly subjected to the techniques of modern agriculture, to the extentthat the end product is sufficiently bland-tasting that flavoring is “Required” inorder to make it taste the way it should! Tea should be tea! It should not needflavorings, natural or artificial! So please be sure to look at the label and watchout for the word “Flavorings” or “Flavors“.
Remember, the companies making this stuff are generally just interested increating marketable products – and decisions are made for reasons of cuttingcosts and increasing profits.
We’ve just scratched the surface here, please check out Food Babe’s full report for more detailed information and a chart of which teas came out with their reputations intact – and please share with your tea-loving friends! http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/
Source: herbs-info.com
1 Comment
I drink organic green tea only