DIEt tea’s

Detox and Diet Teas

For those on detox and diet tea's please take note of the following.

Diarrhoea: senna is an herbal laxative supplement used to treat constipation. It’s usually safe for most people when used in moderation and prescribed by a TICM doctor. Continuous use or taking senna and other laxatives in large quantities is not recommended. Senna and other laxatives are often found in detox teas. They can cause severe diarrhoea. Diarrhoea can become dangerous if prolonged, as you may end up becoming extremely dehydrated. Using laxatives over the long run can also disrupt your normal digestion. This can lead you to become reliant on laxatives in order to have normal bowel movements.

Abdominal pain: detox teas commonly cause abdominal pain and discomfort. Cramps, bloating, gas, and nausea are also common while consuming detox teas. The high levels of caffeine and laxative ingredients usually cause these symptoms, as they put stress on the digestive system.

Depletes electrolytes: going to the bathroom more often means your body will contain less fluids and could become dehydrated. Dehydration can reduce the levels of electrolytes in your blood. Electrolytes are important for your muscles to function. An electrolyte imbalance can trigger muscle spasms and an abnormal heart rhythm, both very serious issues.

False weight loss and reliance: your body will eventually lose its own natural ability to flush itself and rely on the laxative properties in slimming teas for bowel movements instead. Before you know it, you’ll be trying to figure out how to go to the bathroom without them. Meanwhile, you may think you are losing weight but you are not. You are just getting rid of the liquid, not fat, in your body with added bowel movements and urination. It’s what we call fake weight loss.

Malnourishment: laxatives in weight loss teas cause your stool to absorb more water in order to stimulate bowel movements. This in turn causes less water to be absorbed from the bowel because that water is going to your stool instead. That means your body will become extremely dehydrated and short of important body fluids. Dehydration prevents the body from absorbing essential nutrients. You’ll feel hungrier and eat more in the long run. That’s a win for weight gain, not weight loss.

No scientific proof that all those herbal slimming teas out there work. General searches for scientific proof about tea and weight loss often produce results of the beneficial effects of pure teas such as black, oolong, and puerh instead. Pure teas can and do help the body increase metabolism or decrease appetite. This is without added ingredients and the safest option.

Out of balance: according to a fundamental principle of TICM, every herbal prescription needs to contain multiple herbs in order to create balance. The effects of one herb should offset or increase the effect of another herb, so the ingredients can work together to benefit the body overall. Basic Western herbology is no different in this sense. Countless tea companies out there today are combining herbs without the knowledge of how all the herbs work together. It’s common for sellers to single out individual benefits of herbs and then mix them together without understanding how those complex compounds interact with each other. As a result, both sellers and buyers end up misusing herbal medicine without knowing.