Tea is a delicious, calming, and healthy drink, which is a healthier caffeine source than coffee and energy drinks.

However, recent research has found that conventional tea brands are high in toxic substances like fluoride and pesticides, which makes that unsafe for consumption.

Therefore, do not endanger your health while trying to save a few dollars, and opt for healthy, not cheap tea brands.

Tea in most cases is not washed before distributed into bags, so if it has been previously treated with pesticides, those chemicals will end up in your cup of tea.

Researchers have found that numerous non-organic tea brands contain pesticides which are known carcinogens. Popular tea brands often list them as  “natural flavors”, but there is a list of meanings of this label you didn’t know.

Food Research International published a study which showed that found that the British population has greatly exceeded the recommended dietary intake for fluoride, which caused disastrous health consequences.

The overexposure to fluoride was then found to be linked to the consumption of tea. This overexposure leads to kidney, bone, and teeth issues.

The fluoride is actually found in the soil, and tea plants absorb it while growing. Therefore, older leaves contain it the most and are low in antioxidants. Cheaper quality tea brands often use the older leaves, which explains the high levels of it in our bodies.

The investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of several popular international tea companies, including Tetley, Signal, No Name, King Cole, Lipton, Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, and Twinnings, gave disturbing results.

Namely, researchers found that even half of these tea brands contain toxins above the legal limit. These are the worst offenders:

• Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, contained over 20 types of pesticides, including endosulfan, which leads to nervous system damage.
• No Name, which contained over 10 pesticide types.
• King Cole was found to contain monocrotophos, which is soon-to –be-banned, due to its effects, like irregular heartbeat and coma.

Yet, unfortunately, this does not mean that the other tea brands were completely safe. The only tea brand which contained no pesticides at all was Red Rose.

These findings should not make you forget about tea, as the consumption of tea provides numerous health benefits.

The solution is to switch to white tea, which is made of young leaves, so the fluoride levels are the lowest in it. Also, make sure you buy organic, loose leaf tea, or brew your own at home.

Always read the ingredients list in order to make sure the tea does not contain GMO ingredients or added flavors. When you are out, be careful about ordering tea, as many restaurants serve pesticide-rich cheap tea brands.

Moreover, you need to know the proper time for brewing each tea type:

• Steep oolong teas 4-7 minutes;
• Herbal teas – at least 5 minutes
• Steep black or Pu-reh teas for 3-5 minutes;
• Steep white or green teas for 2-3 minutes.

The following list contains safe brands of bagged tea you can consume:

• Red Rose
• Two Leaves
• Organic Traditional Medicinals
• Choice Organic Teas
• Numi Tea
• EDEN Organic
• Rishi Tea
• Organic Stash
• Organic Tazo

The following video will reveal important facts about different tea brands and their effects on health:

Source: www.davidwolfe.com
Other included sources linked in David Wolfe’s article:
CBC
FluorideAlert.org
Toxipedia.org
FoodBabe.com