On a cold winter day, brewing a cup of hot tea in a thermos to warm up is a very pleasant feeling. However, a recent message that "brewing tea in a thermos can cause cancer" has caused a lot of worry. Can brewing tea in a thermos really cause cancer? What kind of cup is safer for drinking water in daily life?
Mr. Chen, 40, likes to brew tea in a thermos to keep it warm. Recently, he saw online reports that brewing tea in a thermos can destroy vitamins and increase carcinogens. Mr. Chen is very worried. Having drunk tea brewed in a thermos for nearly a year, is he not a high-risk individual?
Thermos flasks mostly use a sealed method for insulation. When tea leaves are in high temperatures for a long time, it may destroy the vitamins in the tea, causing a large amount of tannic acid and theophylline to seep out, making the taste bitter and astringent, and reducing the nutritional value of the tea. However, whether this produces carcinogens is not yet conclusive.
"Among all types of cups, glass cups are relatively safer," says Xie Ming. "Because the glass-making process does not involve organic chemicals, when you drink from a glass cup, you don't have to worry about chemical substances being ingested."
Disposable plastic cups and paper cups are widely used in daily life due to their convenience, but many people overlook the hazards they bring. Many substandard paper cups or plastic cups are made from recycled waste paper or plastic. Because the disinfection is not strict, they carry many bacteria.
A Mr. Hu from the Food Department of the Jingzhou Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision introduced that in the production process of paper cups, some waterproof chemicals are used. If the water temperature is too high, it may release some unhealthy substances. Plasticizers are often added to plastics. When using plastic cups for hot water or boiling water, toxic chemicals can easily leach into the water.
In addition to plastic cups, plastic bowls, plastic buckets, and other plastic products have been widely used in daily life. Officer Hu explained that most plastic products have a triangle with an arrow at the bottom, and there is a number "1 to 7" inside the triangle. Each number represents a different material. For example, a plastic product with the number "5" inside the triangle represents polypropylene (PP), which is used to make microwaveable meal boxes and can be heated in a microwave oven.
When choosing tableware for babies, it is best not to use plastic products. Glass baby bottles, ceramic bowls, and stainless steel bowls are all better choices.