If you also drink four to five cups of tea a day, then believe me, you are not the only one doing this. Tea has been the most favorite drink in many countries of the world including India. Whether drinking tea is beneficial or harmful for you, this has been a topic of discussion for a long time. Scientists have different opinions about this, most research findings show that if you drink tea without milk and sugar instead of traditional Indian tea, then certainly many types of benefits can be obtained from it. However, if you drink tea with tea bags, then be careful, in studies, health experts have described it as harmful for health.

Health experts say that in the process of making tea from tea bags, millions of microplastics enter our body knowingly or unknowingly, which can cause many serious damages in the long term, even the risk of cancer.

Especially every sip of tea made from plastic tea bags can contain billions of micro and nanoplastics. In many earlier studies, health experts have been raising concerns about the serious health side effects caused by microplastics.

Tee bags release billions of nano plastic particles
The report of this study has been published in the journal Chemosphere. Based on the report of the study, researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) have said that when we put a tea bag (containing plastic) in hot water, it releases billions of plastic nano particles which get absorbed in the cells of our body.

The researchers said, plastic pollution is an emerging problem as a serious concern globally. Many studies have shown that this releases chemicals called endocrine disruptors, which are believed to disrupt human hormones and increase the risk of some cancers.

Effects of microplastics on human health

A team of microbiologists at UAB studied the microplastics released from three different tea bags and the side effects it has on human cells.

Ricardo Marcos Doder, one of the authors of the study, explained that when we talk about microplastics, it does not only mean plastic that disintegrates and breaks down into small pieces, but also pieces of plastic that can easily be measured in micrometers.

Many billions of plastic particles are reaching the body
This study specifically looked at nanoplastics, which measured between 1 and 1000 nanometers. Professor Doder said, the data shows that the smaller the size of the plastic particles, the greater the absorption of plastic in the cells. It can also be understood in this way that the smaller the size of the plastic particles, the greater the risk to our health.

The team of microbiologists found that a large amount of plastic particles get mixed in hot water while making tea from tea bags easily available in the market. Three types of plastic bags (polypropylene, nylon-6 and cellulose) were used for the study.

About 1.2 billion (120 crore) micro plastic particles are released in every drop or milliliter of tea from polypropylene tea bags. 13.5 crore micro and ultra micro plastic particles are released per drop from cellulose bags and 81.8 lakh micro and ultra micro plastic particles are released per drop from nylon-6.

What do scientists say?
The findings of a study conducted on human body after drinking such tea have found that within 24 hours, a specific type of digestive cell that produces mucus in the intestines had absorbed a large amount of micro and nano plastic. Over time, these particles start reaching the bloodstream and other parts of the body. In the long term, these micro particles can cause serious and life-threatening problems like hormonal disorders and cancer.

Experts said that the use of tea bags should be avoided. If you drink tea in tea bags, make sure that there is no plastic in the bag. Microplastics and its side effects are becoming a serious concern for global health.