German scientists have compared the risks, arising from tea consumption due to pyrrolizidine alkaloids contained in it, with the positive influence of tea on health and concluded that tea is much more healthy than harmful.
The thing is that pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), which can trigger the development of liver cancer, are found in many foods, including tea and herbal infusions. The highest concentration of PA (among different teas and herbs) was found in rooibos, the lowest — in chamomile tea. But while almost all food items we eat from time to time, tea is very often consumed regularly on a daily basis. And for Europeans, for example, tea and herbal infusions are the main “suppliers” of PA into the body. Therefore, a legitimate question arises — should we avoid tea consumption to escape possible PA contamination.
Having studied the data of other scientific publications, German specialists have established that the use of tea reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. And the exclusion of tea from the diet leads to its replacement with more caloric beverages and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And at the same time they did not find any data confirming the deaths associated with the use of products containing PA.
This is a queer study with a good end and a wonderful table demonstrating how many people (marked dark green) have survived thanks to their habit of regular tea consumption.
