Microplastics present in tea bags may cause cancer: experts

LAHORE: Health experts have warned that microplastics present in tea bags may cause serious health issues, including fertility problems and increased risk of multiple cancers.

If a common man also drinks tea with tea-bags, then he should know that the microplastics present in it can multiple body disorders. A study presented by the University of Barcelona, Spain, alarmed the concerns in this regard. In the study, experiments were conducted on tea-bags made up of commercially available plastic polymers, which revealed that tea bags made of polypropylene released 1.2 billion microplastic particles in a drop of hot water. Likewise, tea-bags made of cellulose released 135 million, while tea bags made of nylon-6 released more than 8 million microplastic particles in a drop of water.

These small microplastics particles combine in hot water and release chemicals that are likely to cause cancer. Similar identical results were also revealed in a study conducted in Canada earlier. Similarly, other concerns were being raised, after a new study found the microscopic toxic particles are released by teabags when they are immersed in hot water. Microplastics are also found in a whole range of everyday use-items, including food containers and saucepans, can leech into food and drink and even the air we breathe. They then penetrate deep into the body, and tests show high levels of microplastics in breast milk among women, human blood and saliva, faeces. Likewise, experts from the University of California San Francisco found that microscopic plastic particles in the air could be to blame for the rising tide of young people suffering colon cancers. Researchers further reviewed data from 3,000 studies and found once inhaled, they can pass into the blood via the lungs.

Experts pointed to several studies suggesting that microplastic exposure could increase the risks of structural changes to the colon and finally to cancer. Furthermore, a Chinese study found that lab-mice chronically exposed to microplastics had 'remarkable colonic impairments', such as damage to the colon walls. Another study published the same year suggested that microplastic exposure caused the colon to produce less mucus, which forms a protective layer around the colon. The Chinese team suggested this may link microplastics to an observed global decrease in fertility rates.

Meanwhile, other research published earlier in 2024, found cancer cells in the gut spread at an accelerated rate after contact with microplastics. Likewise, the scientists from Universitat Autonoma at Barcelona warned that a single teabag could release billions of dangerous microplastics into your body.