What you need to know about detox tea

Tea lovers aren’t just sipping cups of plain old Earl Grey these days. For many, the allure of detox teas — those teas that purport to help you lose weight — is compelling. But there’s more you need to know before you try one.

“Detox teas have some of the best marketing tactics in the wellness world,” says Sarah Jacobs, a holistic nutritional counselor, health coach and creator of This is Not a Detox, a website focused on a “not-tox” approach to cleansing the body. “Many tea brands created cult followings after girls in bikinis started posting pictures that their secret is as simple as a hot beverage before bed.”

Truth is, many of these teas contain nothing more than a laxative, a diuretic and caffeine, Jacobs adds.

Many teas include senna leaf, a natural laxative used to move waste through your digestive tract very quickly.

“Ingesting senna leaf can lead to dehydration, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort,” Jacobs says. “And diuretics remove water from the body, which may help the number on the scale go down, but it has nothing to do with losing fat.”


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