The Best Detox Teas: How to Know What’s Healthy and Safe

March 19, 2019
The best detox teas include gentle ingredients that support your overall health.

 

Detox teas are a hot topic lately, with tons of celebrities promoting them and posting photo after photo on social media of their flat tummies and drool-worthy figures. Are you confused about what a detox tea actually is, how it’s supposed to help you, and if it even works? If you’re feeling “in the dark” about these seemingly magical teas (many promising fast and almost-effortless results), you aren’t alone.

We’re going to shine light on this topic for you, explaining what a detox tea is… and what it isn’t. The thing is, there’s a huge difference between products when it comes to these teas. Some of them promote a healthy lifestyle and support your body’s natural weight loss processes. But others contain ingredients that may be unsafe for your body with continued use. The secret is knowing which is which…

Before we tell you what qualities the best detox teas should have, let’s start with what some common misconceptions…

What Detox Teas Are NOT

  • An effortless weight loss tool – Some of the best detox teas can certainly assist you with your weight loss efforts. But they aren’t going to single-handedly make you drop a large amount of weight in a short time period. That is, of course, unless you’re abusing them. They can, however, give you an edge over your bad eating habits by helping to curb hunger and allow you to focus on cleaner, healthier eating.

 

  • A meal replacement – Though many of these teas help suppress your appetite, they aren’t intended to replace a meal! If you find it difficult to eat healthy with your busy lifestyle, or you’re trying to find a better way to track calories for weight loss, meal replacement shakes are a great solution. Look into the best meal replacement shake for you, and use the cleansing teas in between meals.

 

  • An exercise replacement – Some detox tea ads are a bit misleading, to say the least. Many suggest that you can lose weight by drinking that tea and not exercising. Though you may see some results by using a detox tea (along with a healthy diet) without exercise, physical activity is absolutely essential to a healthy lifestyle. Instead of over-drinking a detox tea in hopes it will make you slim, include exercise in your schedule and you’ll see even better results.

 

The Best Detox Teas Will Have These Things…

Now that you know what detox teas aren’t, let’s take a look at what superior cleansing teas are. This way, you can easily spot the difference. The best products will offer these detox tea benefits:

  • Support your body’s total health & natural weight loss processes – If some detox teas are all smoke and mirrors, others are totally worth it, promoting your overall wellness and vitality. These teas contain ingredients that naturally support your internal processes and assist your body with your weight loss goals. These detox teas can safely and gently help promote fat reduction and suppress appetite. They can also help increase satiety, boost metabolism, reduce bloating, and give digestive support.

 

  • Contain health-promoting ingredients – The best cleansing teas will contain proven ingredients that provide health-boosting benefits. Some of these ingredients include green tea, oolong tea, yerba mate and ginger. These teas contain powerful antioxidants that can even help boost your metabolism, reduce bloating, support your digestive system and more. They also help to naturally flush your body of impurities that may be draining you of mental and physical energy. (1)

 

What Cleansing Teas to Avoid

While some teas contain health-promoting ingredients that are safe and beneficial for long-term use, others contain harsh ingredients that you”re better off avoiding. For instance, some detox teas “work” due to a harsh laxative ingredient that is basically expelling the things you eat from your body…

What is a laxative? – A drug, medicine or agent that stimulates evacuation of the bowels.

So, detox teas that are marketed to give you fast weight loss results are really just products that will make you continually use the bathroom after drinking! And many of them include a natural laxative ingredient that can potentially have a very serious negative effect on your system. This ingredient is called senna.

 

All About Senna… 

Senna is an herb used in some teas to help relieve constipation or promote weight loss. Though it’s regarded as safe, it may interact with some medications, and there’s also a catch. It’s not recommended to use senna for longer than 2 weeks at a time! Meanwhile, a lot of popular detox teas include this ingredient, and detox tea reviews show that some people are using them for much longer. (2)

Since it’s such a powerful ingredient, you may experience the following uncomfortable detox tea side effects when drinking teas that contain senna:

  • Diarrhea
  • Painful cramping
  • Increased urination/bowel movements
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Dehydration

 

Potential Senna Side Effects

In addition, drinking a lot of senna for a long period of time could potentially cause the following health consequences:

  • Impair the normal function of your colon
  • Make your digestive system “dependent” on the tea
  • Damage the function of your intestinal walls, decreasing the ability of your muscles to contract on their own

 

This Teen Vogue article explains one girl’s story of becoming addicted to the “emptiness” she felt after drinking a detox tea with senna in it. This fueled an eating disorder that left her completely dependent on the ingredient. By the time she finally got help and became healthy again, it had greatly damaged her gastrointestinal system. It also left her with life-long illnesses she now has to manage.

Could this happen to you? If you follow the instructions on detox teas that contain senna, it’s unlikely you’ll experience anything close to the health repercussions that this girl endured. Yet, it’s important to be informed about what could happen. In addition, some of the teas with senna in them don’t tell you the amount per serving. So, if you start experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, you should cut down the dosage or discontinue use.

So now that you know what to look out for in a detox tea, here’s what you should look for instead…

How to Find the Best Detox Teas That Are Healthy & Safe

As mentioned previously, there are absolutely detox teas that support your overall health and wellness goals. Here are the things they should provide…

  • Transparency – The ingredient label for the tea should be easy to find on the company’s website. It should also tell you exactly what ingredients are in the product, along with how much of each.

 

  • Natural, gentle ingredients – Scope out the product label so you can check the ingredients and know what you’re getting into. It may be best to avoid teas that contain senna. In addition, cascara is another herb that can have a strong laxative effect and should only be used for a short time. And dandelion tea will have a mild laxative effect. The best teas will have gently cleansing ingredients such as green tea, peppermint and ginger.

 

  • Ingredients that are safe to use for the long-term – Though many herbal ingredients used in detox teas can aid in weight loss, not all of them are safe for continued use. Teas containing senna or cascara should only be used for short time periods (two weeks or less). (3)

 

  • Natural sweetener – Look for a detox tea that includes Stevia or another natural sugar alternative, so you aren’t tempted to add in regular table sugar or artificial sweeteners.

 

Remember that when it comes to a detox tea, it’s all about balance. They aren’t a magic weight loss solution that you should use in place of a healthy diet or lifestyle. But the right cleansing teas (used alongside these things), can greatly assist your weight loss efforts and support total health!

 

Sources:

  • http://detoxteareviews.com
  • https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320659.php
  • https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/tea-for-constipation
meal replacement shakes
Top 3 Meal Replacement Shakes
2 Shakeology Shake

Shakeology Shake

3 Garden of Life Raw Meal Shake

Garden of Life Raw Meal Shake

Must Reads
What Are Carbs: How Do Carbohydrates Affect Your Health & Weight Loss?
read
7 Unexpected Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight
read
5 of the Most Popular Low-Carb Diet Plans for Weight Loss
read