Those looking to lose weight often look for quick solutions, and detox teas have become one of the latest diet trends. Some such teas claim dramatic results, but there have also been negative side effects associated with popular diet teas.
Despite controversy, the “teatox”—a weight-loss fad endorsed by celebrities and heavily promoted on social media sites like Instagram—isn’t without health benefits. According to Shape, drinking certain types of tea can help lower blood pressure, lessen your risk of heart disease and stroke and increase mood, mental performance and metabolism. Further, the flavonoids and catechins of black and green teas are rich in antioxidants, and according to U.S. News and World Report, tea can also help those with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels.
However, in the hopes of finding a simple, quick and effective way for consumers to drop a few pounds, tea companies have taken their products a step further by adding herbs that might actually do your body more harm than good.
Take Australia-based SkinnyMe Tea for example. It captured national attention in 2013 when a 17-year-old girl was hospitalized after taking the company’s Colon-Cleanse Tea and experiencing extreme, tear-inducing cramps that sent her body into mild shock.
Along those same lines, another detox tea company, Bootea, brought consumers an unexpected health surprise—pregnancy. Although the company’s site had an FAQ section that advised women taking birth control to use additional protection while completing the program because the tea can prevent birth control from being absorbed into the blood stream and render it ineffective, the company’s product did not feature such a warning on its label, leading to what have been dubbed “Bootea babies.”
In both of these cases, senna, an herbal laxative, was the ingredient responsible for reported health issues. Though senna can be used in moderation for those who suffer from constipation, long-term use can result in stomach pain, diarrhea and a decreased amount of nutrient absorption (as was the case for those taking contraceptive pills).
It’s recommended consumers avoid other detox tea ingredients like Japanese star anise, high counts of caffeine, guarana, carrageenan, high fructose corn syrup, garcinia cambogia and yerba mate and instead look for teas that contain lemongrass, ginger, dandelion and milk thistle—natural ingredients known to help detoxify by supporting liver function.
