Do Detox Teas Really Work?

Detoxing teas contain regular tea ingredients along with potentially toxic or allergy-triggering substances.
Detoxing teas contain regular tea ingredients along with potentially toxic or allergy-triggering substances.

The body has a natural detoxification system that eliminates toxins and harmful compounds. Hence, detoxing tea is ineffective and unnecessary for weight loss and detoxification. There hasn’t been any evidence regarding detox teas that these would flush toxins out of the body.

As for weight loss, it is a better idea to give up highly processed and sugary foods; however, eliminating solid foods would deprive the person of getting essential fatty acids and other nutrients. Detoxing tea contains diuretics that results in loss of water and electrolytes through the urine. Thus, due to water loss, the body temporarily loses weight, which returns after resuming a regular diet.

Detoxing teas contain regular tea ingredients along with potentially toxic or allergy-triggering substances.

What is a detox?

Detoxification or detox is a process to eliminate toxins from the body. There are many ways to detox your body. Detoxing or cleansing the body has debatable benefits, including:

Toxins are harmful chemicals or poison, which may be dangerous to our body. Toxins may come from:

  • Food
  • Water
  • Chemicals used to grow or prepare food
  • Air that we breathe

Once the toxins enter the body, the body’s detoxification system processes these toxins through organs like the liver and kidneys and eliminates them in the form of sweat, urine, and feces.

There is no scientific evidence to prove detox diet theories, but people who support detox claim that these toxins don’t always leave our bodies properly during the elimination of waste. Instead, they remain in the system and causes problems like:

How does a detox work?

Detox work by eliminating solid food or specific food groups to eliminate toxins from the body. In this way, the digestive system gets a break, allowing it to heal and better absorb nutrients in the future.

Solid foods replace drinks like lemon water, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, green tea, or freshly squeezed fruits and vegetable juices to promote weight loss or for eliminating toxins.

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Do detox teas have side effects?

Detox teas may have the following side effects:

What are other methods to boost the body’s natural detox ability?

The optimal ways to boost the body’s natural detoxification ability include:

  • Eat at least 25-35 grams of fiber every day to promote regular bowel movements
  • Drink at least 64 to 80 ounces of fluid every day
  • Have five to nine handful of fruits and vegetables in your routine diet
  • Exercise regularly to remove toxins via sweat as well as urine
References
Cleveland Clinic. What Can Tea Really Do for Your Health? 3 Myths, Debunked. January 12, 2017. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/detoxifying-teas-how-do-you-tell-whats-hype-and-whats-healthy/

TeensHealth. Are Detox Diets Safe? https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/detox-diets.html