Detox teas are much more harmful for you than my Instagram fitness gurus want you to believe according to Dr. Louise Newson.
On netdoctorco.uk Dr. Newson said that detox teas, while endorsed by many celebrities, are only temporary fixes and carry many potentially unhealthy outcomes.
While detox teas vary, most of them contain Senna which is a laxative. Dr Newson encouraged people to avoid any tea with the laxative in it as is the main reason detox teas can be so harmful.
Senna stimulates your colon to contract which forces out waste and water, and it may make you look slimmer, but it does not cause fat loss. By the time your food has reached the colon, calories have already been absorbed, however vitamins and minerals won’t be absorbed as a result of the Senna. So, not only do you keep body fat, but you can lose the vitamins and minerals in your diet.
Similarly, these teas can interrupt the medicine you take. For example, it can prevent your body from properly absorbing contraceptive pills creating a higher risk of pregnancy. It can also prevent or limit your body’s ability to absorb thyroid medication or even antidepressants. So, before starting a detox tea diet, you should consult your GP.
These teas with Senna have also shown to carry long term health risks. Many people who have used laxatives when they weren’t necessary have seen digestive problems down the line, as their body has become dependant on the laxative and their digestive system becomes lazy.
Many of these teas also claim to speed up metabolism as well, and this is true. But it also means that after the tea diet is complete, your metabolism will crash and will actually slow down.
With so many health risks, it’s strange that they have gained so much popularity on Instagram for their apparent health benefits. The reason for this is that the teas are very cheap to produce, leaving these companies with a lot of money to spend on marketing. They can afford to pay Instagram celebrities to advertise their products therefore increasing sales, leaving more money to spend on more expensive celebrities.
The scary part of all this is that, “It’s highly unlikely they’re using it themselves,” Dr. Newson said.
All in all, there may be some teas that are not loaded with health risks, but the truth is that none of these teas can give their customer a long-lasting dream body. The only way to lose weight healthily and keep the weight off is by exceeding more energy than you are intaking.
So, practically that means cleaning up your diet and exercising more. While you may not lose 20 lbs in a month, this traditional approach decreases body fat, grows muscle, increases metabolism, and leaves you with long term, healthy results.