Within the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, my household drank iced tea day-after-day. We made it in giant glass pitchers and stored it within the fridge.
We at all times used the identical model, which we purchased from our native pure meals retailer.
It tasted good by itself, so we by no means added sugar. I had no purpose to imagine it wasn’t wholesome and protected.
Years later, I began studying extra about how tea is grown and processed. I discovered a number of stories displaying that tea will be contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and even mildew.
Lots of the teas most affected come from nations that also use chemical compounds banned within the U.S.
This involved me, so I appeared into the precise tea my household had used for years.
I checked the place it was grown.
I contacted the producer straight and requested in the event that they examined for pesticides, heavy metals, or mycotoxins. Lengthy story quick, the reply I obtained wasn’t passable.
Tea is without doubt one of the most chemically contaminated crops on this planet.
Some tea-producing nations nonetheless use pesticides like DDT, which was banned within the U.S. in 1972 due to its hyperlinks to most cancers, hormone disruption, and neurological harm.
Tea leaves are dried—not washed—earlier than packaging. Which means any pesticide residue left on the leaves results in your cup.
Even natural teas will be contaminated if they’re processed alongside standard teas or not examined often.
There are not any authorized necessities for tea firms to check for these substances or to reveal their sourcing.
If an organization doesn’t take a look at, they’ll’t know whether or not their tea is clear. That was the case with the tea I used to drink. As soon as I noticed that, I ended shopping for it, though it was a staple in our family—a lot in order that household and pals actually dubbed it “Burhenne Tea.”
In case you suppose that is an argument towards tea, it’s not.
Tea—when sourced and examined correctly—is without doubt one of the greatest every day habits you’ll be able to undertake on your oral well being and microbiome (hyperlink to the one I drink).
Immediately, I drink inexperienced tea that has been examined for toxins and grown in areas with strict agricultural requirements. I solely purchase from manufacturers that present third-party testing for pesticides, heavy metals, and mildew.
Not like most drinks, inexperienced tea helps oral well being moderately than harming it.
Listed below are three causes I really like inexperienced tea for selling higher oral well being:
Inexperienced tea helps scale back dangerous oral micro organism
It accommodates catechins, which goal and suppress microbes like Streptococcus mutans and P. gingivalis.
These micro organism contribute to cavities and gum illness.
→ Research: Catechins inhibit oral pathogens
Inexperienced tea helps gum well being
Research present it reduces gum irritation and slows the development of periodontal illness, even when used with standard therapy.
→ Research: Inexperienced tea improves periodontal outcomes
Inexperienced tea improves breath with out harming the microbiome
It neutralizes unstable sulfur compounds, which trigger unhealthy breath, however doesn’t kill helpful micro organism like antiseptic mouthwashes do.
→ Research: Inexperienced tea reduces halitosis
Inexperienced tea additionally accommodates no sugar or acid. Which means you’ll be able to drink it all through the day with out feeding dangerous micro organism or eroding your enamel. Evaluate that to soda, kombucha, or fruit juice!
Now, I solely drink inexperienced tea that’s well-sourced, and examined (hyperlink to the one I drink).
Inexperienced tea is one in every of my favourite issues that I get to advocate as a dentist—as a result of it doesn’t really feel like a burden. It’s pleasant. It has caffeine! You may drink it sizzling or iced. It helps your oral well being with out demanding self-discipline or including one other chore to your day. Not like flossing—which, sure, I do know a lot of you’ve gotten come to like (and I really like that)—inexperienced tea is straightforward to embrace.
In case you’ve been right here some time, you know the way I really feel about mouthwash—it wipes out your oral microbiome and is even proven to trigger hypertension. I don’t advocate any mouthwash, even the “pure” ones as a result of they comprise important oils that are disruptive to the oral microbiome.
However if you happen to just like the ritual of mouthwash, I do have a DIY inexperienced tea mouthwash recipe on my web site. Inexperienced tea is the principle ingredient—as a result of that’s how highly effective it’s on your oral well being.
– Dr. Mark Burhenne
P.S. Have you ever skilled one thing comparable? Have you ever ever trusted one thing for years and later discovered it wasn’t what you thought? Ship me a reply. I’d like to listen to about it.
