Superpowered Tea

Dangers of Buying Detox Teas (+ How to Make Your Own)

When you think of detox teas do you automatically think of those packaged ones you can buy in the store or online? You know the ones that claim to curb your appetite, flush out toxins and helps you lose weight.

Research shows the dangers that come along with buying package detox teas. Making your own teas can help you in more ways than one.

• Detox teas will save you money
• Improve your health
• Have a stronger detox effect on your body.

Detox teas are all the craze today. There are numerous brands on the market and a number of celebrities claim to have lost weight quickly by consuming multiple cups of detox tea per day, and they are outwardly supporting “teatox.”

When it comes to detoxing we have learned, that a liquid diet is actually able to sustain our bodies for quite some time, however the quality of what we put in our bodies matters.

“Most of these teas that celebrities are claiming to help with detox have little to no detoxifying effect at all.” (1)

Drinking detox teas can certainly be helpful in the detox process, and much easier than some other methods used, however do we really even know what is inside of these packages teas that claim to help our bodies detox?

Can teas really be the Answer to Detoxifying your body?

When it comes down to detoxifying the body, Manuel Villacorta, R.D, author of the book, Whole Body Reboot claims that tea is just not enough to do the job. He believes that it’s just not possible for just one food or herb to cure the body, it has to be a combination of things.

Detoxification does not have to be in the form of fasting, or just drinking tea.

• Detoxing can mean feeding and supporting your body with nourishing, naturally detoxifying foods.
• Consuming a safe detox tea at the same time can help give yourself a detox boost.

The key to detox is to support your body daily with detoxifying foods and living an active lifestyle.

Why packaged teas aren’t really helping with Detox & how they are Harming our body:

The packaged teas that are on the market claiming to support healthy detox may not actually be aiding in detoxification at all.

“There is no hard evidence backing the claims made by tea companies that their detox teas can actually help to purify human cells.” (1)

Teas that are high in antioxidants such as black tea, and green tea have the ability to boost and cleanse our bodies as well as reduce free radicals in our bodies. Manuel Villacorta, R.D warns that intake of too many antioxidants such as in the form of these detox teas can cause harm to the body.

• Too many antioxidants can cause chronic inflammation
• Too much antioxidants can also even mutate our DNA strains which can lead to cancer and other chronic diseases. (1)

This just goes to show that even too much of a good thing can be harmful to our bodies.

tea bag

Some detox teas can contain ingredients that are going to cause more harm than good, and should be avoided. When looking at the ingredients of a detox tea, you are going to want to watch out for a common ingredient added, called senna.

Senna is an herbal laxative and should not be consumed long term.

Doctors will not even prescribe laxatives to patients for long periods of time, due to the devastating effect they can have on the intestines after long term use. Part of detox can mean cleaning out the intestines, but long term use can cause other gastrointestinal distress and dehydration.

When you are thinking about detoxing, think about slow and steady and a detox that is going to be gentle on the body. Another thing to keep in mind is that a detox tea only has the ability to help cleanse your system if you are also supporting your body with nourishing foods.

Cleaning up your diet and removing foods that are taxing your body is also key to helping improve overall detoxification.

Dangerous effects of “teatoxing”:

Some of the dangerous effecting “teatoxing” with packaged teas can have on your body include:

• Stomach cramping
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Allergic reactions

With the laxative being present in many detox teas you have to worry about health issues as well including:

• Loss of electrolytes
• Loss of protein which can result in muscle loss, and weakness.
• Reduce your body’s ability to properly absorb the nutrients you want it to. (2)

All of these consequences that can come from drinking a packaged detox tea can be extremely dangerous. One of the scariest things that can come from a tea detox, is electrolyte imbalance, and especially from these tea detox programs that are 28 days long. (2)

An electrolyte imbalance in your blood can lead to:

• Heart problems
• Muscle weakness
• Cause your bowels to stop working. (2)

It is also important to note that detox teas are considered supplements and are therefore not regulated by the FDA.

Another thing to note about “teatoxing” is that all of those images you may see of the weight loss that can come from a detox from tea is not actually fat loss, it is water weight and will be gained back as soon as a normal diet is reintroduced.

The Healthy way to Detox:

When it comes down to detox and weight loss, the most important thing to keep in mind is that starting with a healthy foundation is going to get you to your weight loss goals and help your body detoxify over any purchased detox tea.

It is crucial to include:

• Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet
• Stay hydrated
• Exercise

All of these healthy habits will help you to maintain overall health and promote daily detoxification.
If you are looking for a little detox boost, than you can make a healthy detox tea at home that does not contain the harmful ingredients that many of these store bought teas do.

How to make your own detox tea:

To make your own detox tea, you are going to want to include naturally detoxifying ingredients. Some of the most detoxifying and anti-inflammatory ingredients include:

• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Lemon
• Cucumber
• Dandelion root
• Cayenne pepper

Try boiling up a hot cup of a ginger turmeric detox tea to help fight inflammation. Simply add lemon, a little knob of fresh ginger, a small 1 or 2 inch piece of turmeric, 2 small pinches of cayenne pepper, and honey to a pot of boiling water. Let this steep for 10 minutes, strain, and enjoy.

You can even make a tonic for the warmer weather. Try a healing turmeric tonic to improve brain health, and improve detoxification.

Making your own homemade detox tea will provide you with a tea high in detoxifying ingredients as well as a tea free of laxatives and harmful ingredients.

Be creative with your detox tea ingredients, and don’t forget, detox comes with a diet high in nutrition and an active lifestyle.