“Some people brew their tea for a matter of seconds, and they are not going to get a lot of remediation. But brewing tea for longer periods or even overnight — like iced tea — will recover most of the metal or maybe even close to all of the metal in the water,” Shindel explained.

A new study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University could have more consumers increasing their tea habit. The researchers discovered that

Since steeping time won the top spot in determining how much of the metal was removed from the water, regardless of what type of tea you’re brewing, allow it to steep longer. If you don’t like your tea that strong, make a larger pot with more water and allow it to sit longer. You can always reheat it if it cools down too much.

Among other things, tea has already been shown to reduce depression, reduce the risk of diabetes, and possibly even extend its drinkers' lifespans. New research now indicates that tea also removes toxic heavy metals from the water in which it's being brewed.