DETOX TEA : THE DIRTY TRUTH

Celebrity fans and punchy health promises: why
wouldn’t you try a teatox? The next PAGE
provide a pretty solid argument

Maybe it’s all Jack’s fault. After all, being raised on the idea that a few measly beans are all you need to make your dreams come true sets you up to be somewhat open to ideas based more on BS than science. Which is, perhaps, why so many women are necking so-called detox teas with abandon. Teatoxing, to give it its proper moniker, has taken to Instagram like a rusk to a cup of Earl Grey – largely because of claims that they double up as slimming aids An Insta search for #teatox throws up more than 760 000 results, including shots of toned tums alongside boxes of tea (#weightloss #wellness #ad).

While the ingredients vary from brand to brand, boxes tend to be sold as programmes – lasting anything from seven days to four weeks – with some recommending you drink a daytime and night-time tea for best results. One brand describes its teatox as “a natural cleansing tea that will leave you feeling energised and motivated to reach your goals”, while another front runner claims its 14-day teatox package will “rid your body of harmful toxins and support your weight-loss efforts”. Bold claims. Really bold. And presumably it’s on these promises that the price is based because teatoxing doesn’t come cheap. So what gives?

Tummy trouble

At first glance, the average ingredients list of a teatox looks pretty harmless: oolong tea, ginger, ginseng – all above
board and known to aid a healthy stomach and bowels. Then there’s a little-known ingredient called senna. You probably won’t have heard of it unless you’ve visited your doctor complaining of a problem in the pipes department. It’s a herb containing chemicals called sennosides, which irritate the lining of the bowels, triggering a laxative effect. It’s medically approved for treating constipation and emptying the bowels before surgery.
It’s the prevalence of this in detox teas that has medical experts and nutritional advisers concerned. Aside from the obvious inconvenience of spending more time on the loo (that to-do list won’t tick itself), unprescribed laxatives will almost certainly render your general wellness goals redundant. “Drinking tea containing senna will speed up the transit of the food in your intestine, meaning you’re less likely to absorb the energy,” explains Dr Megan Rossi, a research associate at
King’s College London who specializes in gut health. “Malabsorption of your food means you could end up with nutritional deficiencies because, although you’re eating a balanced diet, most of it is passing straight through your body and coming out into the toilet.” And, unfortunately, becoming far more au fait with your bathroom isn’t set to deliver on all those debloating promises anyway. “Laxative teas may relieve bloating in some, simply because they essentially drain your digestive system of food, but for others they can make bloating worse by drawing more fluid into the gut,” adds Rossi. “And depriving your bod of nutrition by taking laxatives could trigger your body to go into starvation mode, leading to weight gain when you stop drinking the teas.” The effects of unprescribed laxatives aren’t confined to the digestive system – you can also become dehydrated and even develop food issues. Laxative addiction can be a form of bulimia nervosa. Most bulimics vomit or exercise excessively to get rid of kilojoules, but some abuse laxatives to clear out the food. Some eating disorder charities have warned that teatoxes can normalise the use of laxatives as a behavioural choice, as opposed to a medical need, leaving users vulnerable to developing a full-blown eating disorder.

Dropping kilos

So far, so scary. Which begs the question: why aren’t these products better regulated? “Teatoxes fall under the ‘dietary supplement’ category and therefore are not well regulated in the same way that food products and drugs are. This affords consumers very little protection against possibly harmful ingredients or adverse effects as the products have not necessarily been clinically tested for safety or efficacy,” says dietician Jessica Kotlowitz. This is reminiscent of sketchy diet pills. The difference is that they are marketed as a seemingly harmless substance.
“I have not found teatoxes to be a weight-loss trend amongst women in my practice. However, I think that women with distorted body image and/ or disordered eating patterns might be attracted to these products and would probably be particularly vulnerable to the marketing strategies used by these companies. I also think it is important to remember that any woman who is trying to lose weight can get ‘fooled’ by the false advertising claims made by teatox products, even if they have a healthy relationship with food,” says Kotlowitz.

Quick-fix culture

Teatoxes aren’t the only means by which well-intentioned women are parting with their cash in search of a quick fix. UK
researchers at the charity Sense About Science contacted manufacturers of 15 products that claimed to “detoxify”, but when quizzed on the claims, not a single manufacturer would (or is that could?) define what the term meant.
When it comes to getting rid of nasties, the good news is that you have a top-of-the-range, built-in toxin destroyer: your liver. It might not photograph as well as a box of tea but, when it comes to clearing out booze, breaking down fat and stabilising your blood-sugar levels, looks aren’t everything. If you have tried a teatox, don’t panic. “If you’ve fallen foul of any laxative effects or loose stool, give your gut time to recover, keep caffeine intake low and stay hydrated,” says dietician Aisling Pigott. “Some people also use probiotics to restore gut health, but contact your GP if symptoms don’t improve.” And if you are going to buy the pricier stuff? “Make sure you check the labels and read all the ingredients listed. If in doubt, check with your doctor,” she adds. And remember, there’s no such thing as magic beans.