The start of a New Year brings with it lots of ‘New Year, New You’ advertisements. Amongst these is the TeaTox industry, which claims to help you lose weight by simply drinking this tea. Offering such a quick fix with the endorsement of popular celebrities like Kylie Jenner and super slim models to promote the product, these companies are getting a lot of money by playing on the insecurities of people looking for a fast, easy way to lose weight.
The majority of these TeaTox companies claim to help you do most, if not all of these things:
- Lose weight
- Burn calories
- Boost your metabolism
- Cleanse and detoxify the body
- Suppress appetite
- Increase energy levels
If you’re thinking these claims are too good to be true, you’re right – they are. These teas basically work by causing cramps and diarrhoea, and as you are going to the bathroom, you are obviously losing that kind of weight. However, prolonged use of these teas (2 or more weeks), can cause issues with bowel functions as well as electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to heart problems, muscle weakness and liver damage, yet they claim to help increase your energy levels. In fact, the laxative herb that is used in these teas has insufficient evidence for aiding weight loss.
The short term affects of this laxative herb can help you move your bowels, but with prolonged usage, your intestines become reliant on it for stimulation and when you stop using it, you become constipated and gain back any weight you have lost with these teas. There is no published research to show whether these ‘teatoxes’ are a safe or effective weight loss method, however, they are considered to be dietary supplements rather than foods, so the companies that make them aren’t obliged to prove any of the claims on the labels.
While the adverts or packaging of the teas do not tell you that you have to eat healthily and exercise whilst doing this program, the FAQ section of their websites admit that their tea should be combined with exercise and healthy eating. This isn’t advertised as people want a ‘quick fix’ to losing weight with minimal effort.
So what are the facts?
- The weight you are losing is water weight from drinking the tea. As you are allowing your body to ‘flush’ out the excess salt and release retained water, this keeps you from looking bloated.
- People who ‘TeaTox’ are probably eating fewer calories because they are drinking more and filling up their stomachs. You can do this without drinking special teas by drinking water. It tastes better, it’s cheaper and isn’t damaging to your health.
- Psychologically, if someone is paying for a weight loss product, they would be more likely to take it seriously. So these people may be making a conscious effort to think about what they are eating and how they are working out because they don’t want to waste their money or time.
- ‘TeaTox’ diets are damaging to your health and are not an effective weight loss method.
Is there a quick fix to losing weight?
Sadly, the answer is no. There isn’t a quick fix to losing weight as there is no shortcut to success!
Unfortunately, the journey to losing weight will take some time and effort. With qualified doctors and prescribed medication, The Slimming Clinic are able to help you lose weight in a safe, effective way.
If you know anyone who wants to lose weight, please don’t encourage them to TeaTox! Instead, refer them to The Slimming Clinic, and you can get a free week of slimming. To find out more about our referral scheme, click here.
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