Tea bags contain micro-plastics. So I was wondering, is it harmful for kidney patients?
Plastic in itself does not occure naturally. On the other hand nature itself made our body tough and able to adapt to pollution and dirt. I doubt that the quantity of plastic in tea bags will have significant effect on the kidneys. BPA plastic drinking cups, aluminium fork and spoons and teflon coated pans are much more harmful, as the chemicals leech into the food. If you really care about safety, use natural materials like glass cups, steel cutlery, cast iron pans etc. For exampl the iron leeches into the food and enrich it with iron which is good for the blood. Avoid all kinds of plastics that touch drinking water or food.
For example most soda cans are coated with a plastic inner layer to avoid corrosion.
Also avoid most shampoos and soaps made by giant corporations. They are enriched with very harmful chemicals and dry the skin and makes it flaky.
But the tea bags, I wouldn’t worry too much, as long you don’t use plastic tea bags.
There isn’t a known human harm from microplastics exposure currently. It’s hypothesized to make some existing chronic diseases worse, particularly respiratory, but there just isn’t enough data yet to quantify harm. Part of the problem is that it’s impossible to form a control group because they are everywhere.
Certainly be aware of them and stay on top of developments but eliminating dietary sources like that from tea bags is like trying to drain a swimming pool with a teaspoon. Your tap water is likely full of them and the air you breathe is also full of them, tires on roads are believed to account for more than any other source by a very significant margin.