Our expert dietitian Sarah Noone on why time is up for ‘tea-toxes’

Chances are you have recently spotted ads for ‘Skinny Detox Teas’ that promise a ‘shortcut to weight loss’, a ‘tea-tox’ or ‘detox transformation’, featuring celebrities and influencers, all over your social media feeds.

The skinny detox tea trend has been around for ages but unfortunately the power of social media has further fueled their promotion. Skinny Detox Teas promise to help you ‘lose weight’, ‘detox’ or both. But do they work?

Weight-loss

There is no magic bullet to help you maintain or lose weight. ‘Tea-toxes’ do not encourage a healthy lifestyle and tend to target young people who may not even need to lose weight.

The best-case scenario is that you are spending your money on something that has no effect. Most of these drinks contain herbs that have very little evidence of promoting weight loss. The worst-case scenario is that you end up spending a lot of time in the bathroom. Some of these teas contain ingredients which have a laxative effect – which will cause the number on the scales to go down, but only through dehydration and fluid loss, this is completely different to fat loss. Long-term laxative abuse is dangerous and can leave you with ongoing gastrointestinal issues and nutritional deficiencies.

Tea-tox

What about the detox claims? There is no scientific evidence that ‘tea-toxes’ help detoxify the body. In fact, the whole idea of detox is a super fad. There is no evidence that toxins even build up in our bodies. Except for a few people, a number of organs in our bodies such as the liver, kidney, lungs and gut are constantly ‘detoxing’ i.e. filtering out waste products and toxins and if they weren’t doing their job properly, we would feel very ill.

There is also no evidence that detox teas, diets, pills, drinks, potions, lotions, patches etc. can speed up the body’s natural filtering process or act as a magic wand to get rid of toxins. Although some people may say they feel better when they try these teas, it is probably because they have been overindulging prior to starting a ‘health kick’, so, a few days of lighter meals and increased physical activity which often accompany the ‘teatox’, will of course make them feel better.

The bottom line is to forget the fads and instead try some of our proven hacks to better health:

• Load up on fruit and vegetables – Try keeping chopped fruit and veg on hand as a snack, throw some frozen vegetables into your stews and curries, add some salad to your lunchtime sandwich or a handful of dried or fresh fruit to your breakfast cereal.
• Drink more water – Why not keep a bottle of water by your desk to remind you to drink.
• Move more – Think about how you can start incorporating more physical activity into your daily routine. Remember it has to work for you. So, whether it’s getting off the bus a few stops early or parking further away from the office, it all counts.
• Make your environment supportive of the changes you want to make – Remember we tend to go for the easiest option. Having lots of chocolate, crisps or cakes in the house makes them difficult to resist when we sit down in the evenings.