Within the Nineties and early 2000s, my household drank iced tea day by day. We made it in massive glass pitchers and saved it within the fridge.

We all the time 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 exhibiting that tea could be contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and even mould.

Lots of the teas most affected come from nations that also use chemical compounds banned within the U.S.

This involved me, so I regarded into the particular tea my household had used for years.

I checked the place it was grown.

I contacted the producer immediately and requested in the event that they examined for pesticides, heavy metals, or mycotoxins. Lengthy story quick, the reply I acquired wasn’t passable. 

Tea is among 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 injury.

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 could be contaminated if they’re processed alongside typical teas or not examined recurrently.

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 finished shopping for it, despite the fact that it was a staple in our family—a lot in order that household and pals actually dubbed it “Burhenne Tea.”

In the event you suppose that is an argument towards tea, it’s not.

Tea—when sourced and examined correctly—is among the greatest each day habits you may undertake to 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 mould.

Not like most drinks, inexperienced tea helps oral well being slightly 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 typical remedy.
→ Research: Inexperienced tea improves periodontal outcomes

Inexperienced tea improves breath with out harming the microbiome

It neutralizes risky sulfur compounds, which trigger dangerous breath, however doesn’t kill useful micro organism like antiseptic mouthwashes do.
→ Research: Inexperienced tea reduces halitosis

Inexperienced tea additionally accommodates no sugar or acid. Which means you may drink it all through the day with out feeding dangerous micro organism or eroding your enamel. Examine 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 considered one of my favourite issues that I get to suggest as a dentist—as a result of it doesn’t really feel like a burden. It’s pleasurable. 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 lots of you will have come to like (and I really like that)—inexperienced tea is straightforward to embrace.

In the event 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 suggest any mouthwash, even the “pure” ones as a result of they include important oils that are disruptive to the oral microbiome.

However in the event you just like the ritual of mouthwash, I do have a DIY inexperienced tea mouthwash recipe on my web site. Inexperienced tea is the primary ingredient—as a result of that’s how highly effective it’s to 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 came upon it wasn’t what you thought? Ship me a reply. I’d like to listen to about it.