7 Popular Tea Brands Potentially Toxic To Your Health

Many people turn to tea as a healthier option. In many cases, people are avoiding coffee or sodas and are persuaded by others that tea is a less harmful caffeine infusion. But many of our most popular brands of teas are laden with pesticides and even fluoride. Less expensive teas are often the corrupted versions.

The core issue is that many tea leafs are sprayed with pesticides so that the tea leaf producer doesn’t experience losses. Often, those tea leafs simply aren’t washed before they are placed in tea bags. Once bagged, your options to wash it yourself have greatly dwindled. Pesticides have been linked to carcinogenic toxins.

Additionally, fluoride has been found to be present in these non-organic versions of tea as well. The tea leafs are exposed to the ground and soil, which is often where the fluoride originates from.

A list of compromised tea companies was disclosed by Canadian research team. Those teas were Signal, Tetley, King Cole, Lipton, Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, Twinnings.

Uncle Lee’s Legends of China contained 20 different types of pesticides.

The list of safe teas was as follows, Amazon links included: Organic Traditional Medicinals, Organic Tazo, Two Leaves, Choice Organic Teas, Organic Stash, EDEN Organic, Rishi Tea, Numi Tea, Red Rose.

Some tips on avoiding toxic teas.

White tea is made of younger tea leaves, making their exposure to environmental toxins much less than other teas that have aged more in the soil and air. Buying the tea leaves, rather than prebagged, is always helpful. Obviously, you want to go organic. You want to avoid added flavors (your tea shouldn’t need a flavor added unnaturally). Teas you purchase at restaurants is likely not a good source.

But all’s not bad when it comes to tea, so long as you know the facts and how to approach your tea experience. Teas can be incredibly beneficial to your health. For one, many teas, most notably green tea, contain an amino acid called L-Theanine. L-Theanine helps to take the edge off the caffeine. It is one of the world’s most powerful mood enhancers. You can take it as a supplement directly. Of, just drink green tea and get your fill. This is why green tea has a less edgy, harsh effect than coffee.

Tea is full of antioxidants. Antioxidants fight free radicals from wreaking havoc on the body. Because of this, tea may help in the fight against many degenerative diseases, including cancer. Tea has also been said to boost the immune system. I drink green tea daily. Coffee is simply too harsh and causes me anxiety and insomnia (even when I only drink it in the mornings). It is also an easy way to get fluids into your body. Green teas contain the highest amounts of polyphenols, and the main type, catechin, which is said to be a pretty good nutrient for weight loss.  This also means protecting the cells from damage. And THIS can mean less effects of aging in the human body.

There are also compounds in green tea which improve brain function. The caffeine mixed with the L-Theanine vastly improves people’s focus. L-Theanine increases the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. It also pumps up your alpha waves, making your sleep pretty amazing (and sometimes weird). You can drink green tea, or purchase Sun Theanine (the only pure form of L-Theanine outside of green tea). It really is a game changer. I’d never go back to coffee, though some people say they take L-Theanine simply so they can have a better experience on coffee. I’m so used to green tea, I couldn’t imagine going back to coffee, though.

So all is not lost when it comes to drinking tea, you just need to be wise in your approach. Proceed with caution by knowing the facts about tea and you should be able to experience some powerful health benefits. The good news is that tea is very convenient and easy to make for yourself. You aren’t dependent on stores or cafes for it. You can make it in the safe, toxin-free confines of your own home.