Hyped as healthy and natural, detox tea has been all the buzz surrounding weight loss these days, and with celebrities of every caliber peddling every brand of it across social media, it makes you start to wonder how legit these teas really are.
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When you hear ingredients like Chinese oolong tea, maté leaves, peppermint, ginger, lemongrass and ginseng, it all sounds pretty virtuous so why wouldn’t you want to give it a try? Well, before you jump on that bandwagon let’s break down the risks.
1. Senna
If you aren’t familiar with senna it is a natural plant-based laxative, and it works! But just like the chemical- based laxatives these are meant to be used sparingly on a necessary basis. Daily or frequent use of senna is becoming an increased concern for many doctors and nutritionists who don’t recommend this teatox trend.
Gastroenterology expert and medical doctor at the University College of London, Lauretta Ihonor, even went as far as starting a Change.org petition against specific brands with large amounts of senna in them. The larger concern for Dr. Ihonor isn’t that you’ll be on and off the toilet every day from sipping this tea, but it’s more the long-term impact it has on your bowels. How often do you type a phone number off of memory in your cell phone anymore? Probably not much with technology dumbing everyone down. Well this is the same way your bowels will react to the overuse of laxative assistance. At some point your system will begin to depend on its usage. Sounds like a lot of uncomfortable constipation!
2. Dehydration
According to Dr. Oz and ‘The Doctors’ show contributor Nurse Alice Benjamin, “You can have physical and physiological changes to your colon as a result of ingesting teatox diets. You’re going to lose lots of fluids, you’re going to lose lots of electrolytes, which will cause an imbalance. You can also lose important proteins, which means muscle weakness.” Most of the weight loss that is talked about so much from these teas is not actually body fat loss, but simply just water.
3. Off Balance
According to Dr. Karin Kratina, a nationally recognized nutrition therapist, “stimulants found in detox teas can affect stress hormones, and [these] stress hormones are known to affect the menstrual cycle.” Many women have reviewed these teas in open online forums and have complained that they had pregnancy scares while on a teatox diet. Many complained of having a later or completely missed period.
These teas sound to me like another case of the do nothing and be rewarded weight loss plan. I think it’s safe to say it’s probably better to stick with the hard work pays off mentality, otherwise your short term results may lead to your long term nightmare with this one. Nothing wrong with a bit of tea in moderation, but a healthy all around diet and fitness routine is the better way to achieve the body image goals you aspire for.
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