More pleasant surprises for tea lovers!

The potential health benefits of tea have been widely reported, but scientists have just discovered another unexpected benefit of this much-loved beverage.

Researchers from Northwestern University (USA) tested different types of tea – green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, chamomile tea, and red tea – under normal brewing conditions with water containing levels of lead and other metals including chromium, copper, zinc, and cadmium.

A cup of tea can remove 15% of lead from drinking water.

Photo: AI

Exposure to lead can lead to chronic health problems, with high doses causing brain and kidney damage in the most severe cases.

After brewing tea at 85 degrees Celsius, they assessed the amount of metal absorbed at different time intervals.

The results suggest that tea may act as a filter, removing potentially harmful heavy metals like lead from water.

Specifically, one cup of regular tea can remove 15% of lead from drinking water, according to Euronews.

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The study's lead author, Benjamin Shindel, a specialist at Northwestern University, said: "Tea leaves have a high active surface area, which is a useful property for adsorbent materials and helps the tea leaves quickly release flavor chemicals into the water."

The process of transforming tea leaves enhances their ability to bind to certain substances, with black tea being more effective than other types of tea.

Grinding tea leaves also appears to amplify this effect by expanding the overall surface area capable of capturing metal.

Black tea is more effective than other types of tea.

Illustration: AI

Brewing time and tea bag type are also factors.

According to the results, a longer brewing time for tea resulted in a greater reduction in lead levels.

Researcher Shindel stated that steeping tea for longer periods or using teas with a larger surface area is effective in removing more heavy metals.

Brewing tea for a longer period, or even overnight, will recover most or almost all of the metals from the water.

Researchers also observed that tea bags were a contributing factor to this process.

Cellulose bags, made from wood pulp, are the most effective type of bag for retaining metal ions.

While cotton and nylon bags do little to remove heavy metals from water, expert Shindel said.

Nylon tea bags have always been a problem because they release microplastic particles, but most tea bags used today are made from natural materials, such as cellulose. These bags may release microscopic cellulose particles, but it's a fiber that our bodies can process.

If people drink an extra cup of tea a day, over time we may see a decrease in diseases related to heavy metal exposure, expert Shindeli said, according to Euronews.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-them-tin-vui-bat-ngo-cho-nguoi-thich-uong-tra-185250317164310515.htm