A few years ago, the CBC did a study on the tea bags that are home to our favorite types of tea. The results were astounding and not in a good way. They found that eight of the ten brands they tested contained pesticides in them. A few brands had an alarming amount of them in their products. A second study was recently conducted to see if any changes had been made since the original findings. They found that not much has changed, although there are a lot of things in progress. Some of the worst toxins are currently being banned around the world so these companies will soon be forced to stop using them. Where does your favorite brand rank? You might be surprised.A few years ago, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency once said that they found high levels of pesticides in some of the most popular brands of tea. A second investigation to see if things have changed.
The results show that over half of the brands tested had residue from pesticides that were higher than the legal limit. So just who is monitoring things?
You will want to stay away from added flavors and any GMO ingredients. They all have toxins you don’t want in your body.
The green tea, Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, is the worst of all. It was found to have more than twenty types of pesticides.
This brand doesn’t have a name on it’s packaging. There might be a reason for that. It was found to have more than ten different pesticides in it.
King Cole has less total pesticides than the brand with no name. However, it does contain a wider variety of pesticides. That might be worse.
The Vice-President of Uncle Lee’s tea, James O’Young fought back and said, “If you drink tea, regular tea, I don’t care what brand it is, the fact of life, this agricultural product does have pesticides.” It’s obvious that he doesn’t know his business very well.
This is one of the more popular brands on the market. Before you buy it make sure you read the box to see what’s inside.
Many of the tested teas contained endosulfan and monocrotophos. Those are hazardous to you and are in the process of being banned in many countries, if they haven’t already been.
Uncle Lee’s has endosulfan in it. If you don’t know what that is you should know what it can cause. Tremors and effects on your nervous system have been attributed to it. In some cases it has even resulted in death.
It contains monocrotophos, something that is in the process of being banned everywhere. Why? It can cause irregular heartbeat, involuntary defecation and in extreme cases it can induce coma.
Endosulfan and monocrotophos are dangerous to be handled by the workers in the tea factories. They are also bad for the environment. Keep an eye out for them in your ingredients section.
It seems the tea market only cares about one thing; money. But if their products kill of their customer base it seems like a bad long term business plan.
Red Rose Orange Pekoe tested completely free of pesticides. So that shows you that O’Young’s statement was totally false.
If you stick with organic teas you should be ok. Look for non-GMO certified brands.
Brewing your own tea is always a good option. Using loose tea will avoid the bad stuff that comes with the tea bags.
Loose tea is always a better option because of the lack of the bags. It’s definitely more healthy.
If you don’t see any banned substances you are making a good choice. Read it carefully though because you never know what might be in the bags.
The tea bags may not be as healthy as you think they are. You’ll want to pay attention to the ingredients.
If you get it in tea bag form you should double check to make sure it’s safe. There are only a few brands that are totally safe.
It turns out that it might not be so true after all. Make sure you know what your favorite tea uses in its ingredients.
Numi is good because it’s loose. They have a great reputation and that makes it a great choice.
Numi prides itself on being safe, healthy, and giving back to their community. That always sounds like a good product to use.
This is another good organic brand. The excellent reputation tells you that they believe in healthy tea.
When you brew your own tea you’ll find that the taste is more pure and enjoyable. The fact that it won’t kill you helps as well.
White tea is made from young tea leaves. It’s usually made without all of the stuff that is harmful to you. However, you will still want to start reading the ingredients of every type of tea you buy from now on.
