To escape the pharmaceutical industry’s drugs, people are looking for alternatives to treat various types of illnesses, from the simplest ones like headaches to more complex health problems like diabetes or cancer.

The “natural” lifestyle is clearly installed in the daily lives of people, who incessantly seek to enjoy nature for the benefit of their organism’s health.

However, if not planned correctly, this unrestrained search for alternative and natural treatments can hamper more than help health.

In the case of teas, for example, people have a false impression that just because plants come from nature, the drink will only benefit the body.

The point is that many herbs are given pesticide additives and these substances that are harmful to health can end up directly in tea cups.

What does international research say?

Thinking about how herbs are grown and packaged to serve as products, researchers at Glaucus Research decided to study these processes even when the tea ends up on the shelf of your kitchen cupboard.

For this, the evaluated scientists eight brands of tea bag, they are: Tazo, Celestial, Lipton, Tea forte, Bigelow, Twinings, Teavana and Trader Joe’s.

After the results came out, the researchers confirmed that 91% of the brands contained more pesticide residues than allowed by the Federal Drugs Agency (FDA). In addition, studies have shown other worrisome data.

For example, in the case of a specific Celestial tea, substances such as 0.26 ppmd and propachlor , known to be carcinogens , were found . In another line of the same brand, another carcinogenic toxin was found, the so-called  propargite.

Another concern of Glaucus Research is about the packaging and maybe it is this process that ends up allowing this high level of pesticides in the tea leaves.

According to the agency, many companies do not wash the herbs before packaging, they simply harvest and package them for sale. That is, after receiving “baths” of pesticides, the leaves are harvested and felt to the consumer in this way.

Alternatives to avoid pesticides

Despite the problems investigated by Glaucus Research, tea cannot be considered an enemy of health. For this reason, it is still recommended to bet on this drink in the treatment of health problems. However, it is necessary to follow some recommendations, for example:

  • Always look for organic products, they are the guarantee of pesticide-free herbs;
  • Try to create your own garden, so that you can know the origin of each element consumed;
  • Another tip is to opt for a community garden, which you can share with neighbors.