Good news for tea lovers: That daily brew might be purifying the water, too.
Good news for tea lovers: That daily brew might be purifying the water, too.
In a new study, Northwestern University researchers demonstrated that brewing tea naturally adsorbs heavy metals like lead and cadmium, effectively filtering dangerous contaminants out of drinks. Heavy metal ions stick to, or adsorb to, the surface of the tea leaves, where they stay trapped.
The study was published today (Feb. 24) in the journal ACS Food Science & Technology.
“We’re not suggesting that everyone starts using tea leaves as a water filter,” said Northwestern’s Vinayak P. Dravid, the study’s senior author. “In fact, we often utilize model experiments and tweak diverse parameters to probe and understand the scientific principles and phenomena involved in capture/release cycles of contaminants. For this study, our goal was to measure tea’s ability to adsorb heavy metals. By quantifying this effect, our work highlights the unrecognized potential for tea consumption to passively contribute to reduced heavy metal exposure in populations worldwide.”
Read more at Northwestern University
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