Health
Tea Leaves Can Steep Away Lead, Study Finds
Tea leaves pull heavy metals from water, significantly lowering the amount of lead and other dangerous compounds that people may be unknowingly drinking, a new study found.
Recent research has highlighted potential applications for used tea leaves, from biofuels to gluten-free cookies. But the new study shows a public health benefit from something that countless people are already doing. About five billion cups of tea are consumed each day around the world, according to one estimate.
“You can see the implications,” said Vinayak Dravid, a materials scientist at Northwestern and an author of the study, which was published this week. “How often do we touch billions of people?”
In many countries, the water used to steep tea is contaminated with lead from aging pipes. In the United States, nine million homes get their water through pipes that contain lead, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Lead is especially dangerous to children. Exposure can lead to developmental delays and behavioral issues.
Dr. Dravid and his team tested how different types of tea — black, white, oolong, green, rooibos, herbal, loose leaf and plain old Lipton — behaved in water with varying amounts of lead.
The tea was then allowed to steep for variable periods of time. Afterward, the scientists measured how much lead remained in the water.
Compounds called catechins in tea leaves act like “little Velcro” hooks to which lead molecules latch, said Michelle Francl, a chemist at Bryn Mawr College and the author of a book on the chemistry of tea. Dr. Francl also said that the “ridges and valleys” of the tea leaves provided the necessary surface area for that interaction.
While those properties have been known for some time, Dr. Dravid and his colleagues were the first to look at the lead-detoxifying powers of a single cup of tea. They found that black tea leaves became wrinkled after roasting and were thus best equipped to absorb heavy metals.
“Green tea and black tea had fairly equivalent amounts of metal absorbed,” said another author, Benjamin Shindel, who was a doctoral candidate at Northwestern while working on the study.
White tea, on the other hand, undergoes a much more gentle preparation. Its leaves remain smooth, offering less surface area from which to draw heavy metals from water. Herbal tea enthusiasts may be disappointed to learn that chamomile tea does a poor job of heavy-metal filtering, too, probably because it is made with chamomile flowers, not tea leaves.
Still, these distinctions between different types of tea were not the most relevant factor. “It’s much more important how long you’re brewing the tea for,” Dr. Shindel said.
The researchers found that steeping a cup of black tea for five minutes could remove 15 percent of lead from the water, which is helpful, but there is “no safe level” of lead exposure, according to the E.P.A.
“With lead and other contaminants, any decrease is meaningful to some extent, especially if you have a lack of resources or infrastructure that would already remediate some of these problem materials,” said Caroline Harms, who was an undergraduate student of Dr. Dravid at Northwestern while working on the study.
The longer the steeping time, however, the more bitter the resulting tea. Last year, Dr. Francl caused a minor international scandal by suggesting that adding salt to tea could mitigate its bitterness. But even that controversial chemistry hack has its limits. “It’s not really drinkable after 10 minutes of steeping tea, and no amount of salt is going to help that,” she said.
Some samples in the study had to be steeped for 24 hours, which would render the tea undrinkable.
The study’s authors said they were less motivated to make public health prescriptions for policymakers than to study a hidden benefit of a global habit.
The researchers estimated that a country where people drank large amounts of tea would have about 3 percent less lead ingestion from the water supply than a (hypothetical) identical country that did not drink any tea.
“How wonderful,” said Henrietta Lovell, the founder of the Rare Tea Company. Ms. Lovell, who supplies teas to exclusive restaurants, pointed out that tea had been used in China for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. “The more I learn about tea, the more fabulous and fascinating it becomes,” Ms. Lovell said.
Dr. Francl believes that the new findings could eventually pave the way to a scalable method of making sure people aren’t ingesting heavy metals. “Given that clean water is such a global issue,” she said, “if there was a way to take this proof of concept and tweak it to produce potable water at the end, that would be pretty good.”
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Comedian Amy Schumer, 44, has recently come clean about her struggle with Cushing’s syndrome, leading to a dramatic weight loss.
Schumer’s transformation has sparked conversation online, to which she responded in a now-deleted Instagram post that shut down speculation about cosmetic enhancements.
“I didn’t lose 30lbs — I lost 50,” she emphasized on social media, adding that she does not get Botox or filler.
AMY SCHUMER DROPPED 50 POUNDS TO BATTLE DISEASE THAT ‘CAN KILL YOU’ IF UNTREATED
Schumer doubled down that her weight loss was not about her appearance, but about staying alive.
“Not to look hot, which does feel fun and temporary,” she said. “I did it to survive. I had a disease that makes your face extremely puffy that can kill you, but the internet caught it and that disease has cleared.”
Amy Schumer attends Variety’s 2024 Power of Women: New York event on May 2, 2024, in New York City on the left. On the right, Schumer later poses for a photo posted to Instagram after her weight loss. (Marleen Moise/WireImage; Amy Schumer/Instagram)
“Sorry for whatever feeling it’s giving you that I lost that weight,” she added. “I’ve had plastic surgery over the years and I use [Mounjaro]. Sorry to anyone they let down. I’m pain free. I can [play] tag with my son.”
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The actress also addressed her shifting hormones, saying that she’s “happy to share more if anyone has any questions about how I’m looking or feeling or where I am in my perimenopause process.”
“I didn’t lose 30lbs — I lost 50,” Schumer emphasized on social media, adding that she does not get Botox or filler. (Amy Schumer/Instagram)
What is Cushing’s syndrome?
Schumer previously revealed that she had been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a hormonal disorder that can cause extreme swelling, fatigue and potentially fatal complications.
Dr. Peter Balazs, a hormone and weight loss specialist in New Jersey, provided more details on the condition in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“Cushing’s syndrome is caused by prolonged, high exposure to cortisol, which is your body’s main stress hormone,” he said. “Usually, the excess cortisol is a result of prolonged steroid use. We see this many times with patients who have some autoimmune disorder.”
Balazs said the “key” to Cushing’s syndrome is not just weight gain, but a “specific redistribution” of fat caused by too much cortisol.
Amy Schumer is photographed during a guest interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Feb. 13, 2024 (left), and later seen walking through midtown New York City on Oct. 28, 2025 (right). (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images; Raymond Hall/GC Images/Getty Images)
Fat may be driven to the abdomen, chest, upper back (referred to as a “buffalo hump”) or face, sometimes considered “moon face,” the doctor said.
Cortisol also breaks down protein, which leads to a thinning in the arms and legs. “Weight gain can be tough, involuntary and hard to manage,” Balazs added.
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Cortisol stimulates “hunger centers” in the brain, raises blood sugar and promotes fat storage, especially deep belly fat, according to the doctor.
Cushing’s syndrome can also cause high blood pressure, bone loss and sometimes type 2 diabetes, per Mayo Clinic.
In addition to weight gain in certain areas, other symptoms may include pink or purple stretch marks on the stomach, hips, thighs, breasts and underarms, as well as acne, slow wound healing, and thin, frail skin that bruises easily.
With Cushing’s syndrome, fat may accumulate in the abdomen, chest, face or upper back (referred to as a “buffalo hump”). (iStock)
Women with Cushing’s syndrome often experience thick, dark hair on the face and body, as well as irregular periods. Symptoms among men can include a lower sex drive, reduced fertility and erectile dysfunction.
Mayo Clinic listed other potential symptoms, including extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, trouble with concentration and memory, headache, sleeplessness, skin darkening and stunted growth in children.
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Those with symptoms should contact their doctor immediately, especially if they are taking steroids to treat health issues like asthma, arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease, as these medications can exacerbate the condition.
The Mayo Clinic has reported that the “sooner treatment starts, the better the chances for recovery.”
“I’ve had plastic surgery over the years and I use [Mounjaro],” Schumer stated in a social media post. (George Frey/Bloomberg)
For patients like Schumer, weight loss is typically not the main goal, Balazs noted, but it is a “critical sign” of successful treatment.
“The primary goal is to normalize your high cortisol levels,” he said. “I believe Amy Schumer got treated first for her underlying problem. Once the cortisol is normalized, which is the most important step, there’s a role to use adjunct medications to decrease weight.”
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Among GLP-1s, Mounjaro is an “excellent choice to decrease deep belly fat and increase insulin sensitivity of cells,” Balazs added.
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s rep requesting comment.
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