Tea lovers beware!

 People around the world don't start 

their day until they have a cup of 

tea.

 

But after reading this article, you 

will think twice before picking up a 

cup of tea.

During the scientists' experiments, 

the team found that most of these 

microplastics enter the mucus-

producing intestinal cells, while 

some can also enter the cell 

nucleus, which is the part of the 

cell 

that contains genetic material.

Worryingly, the long-term effects of 

these microplastics on human 

health are still unclear.

 

A researcher said that the potential 

health implications of 

environmental micro/nanoplastics 

(MNPLs) are increasingly worrying, 

and in addition to environmental 

exposure, other sources such as 

food packaging, including herbs/tea 

bags, may also be important.

Previous research had shown that 

food packaging is a major source of 

microplastics entering the human 

body.

 

However, there has been little 

research into the amount of plastic 

we ingest through tea bags.

In the new study, published in 

Chemosphere, the team 

investigated microplastics released 

from three popular types of tea 

bags that can be easily purchased 

online or from local supermarkets.

 First type was a nylon tea bag 

that the researchers ordered from 

Amazon.

 

Next, polypropylene tea bags were 

ordered from AliExpress, while 

finally a third type was purchased 

from a supermarket but with an 

unknown filter polymer.

 

The team found that the largest 

amount of nano-sized particles was 

added to the water from all three 

types.

Of these, polypropylene tea bags 

released about 1.2 billion particles 

per milliliter, with an average size 

of 136.7 nanometers.