Herbal slimming teas sound pretty good.
Drink some tea, lose some weight. However, there's a reason they are often referred to as "toilet teas" because the "weight" you lose is simply from excessive diarrhea and diuretic-induced urination. Short term weight loss at most. More insidious, though, are how these teas, if used improperly, can permanently damage your organs and can even kill you.
Let me say that again... if used improperly these teas can permanently damage your organs and can even kill you.
Now, I'm not a doctor but I do know that diet teas basically rely on either stimulant laxatives and diuretics (herbal or lab-produced), or on appetite-suppressing herbs. A laxative stimulates bowel movements by irritating the small intestine, while diuretics work to increase your urine output. This can produce a short term "weight loss" which is mostly water weight.
More insidious is that laxatives can produce chronic diarrhea and water loss which can result in reduced magnesium, calcium and potassium. Potassium deficiency can cause muscle problems, paralysis, and fatal cardiac arrhythmia. Another serious outcome is that you can permanently damage your gastrointestinal tract (colon) so that it will not function without stimulant laxative. Note the word "permanently." While the manufacturers might like you as a captive customer, you won't be too thrilled.
Sadly, teas that use appetite suppressant herbs can also be dangerous.
Often, the herbs themselves are just downright dangerous. For instance, a favorite herb called ma huang reportedly includes a component called ephedrine which is found in some decongestants and asthma medicines. This is not good news for those with high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart conditions. The FDA has, supposedly, reported several deaths related to ma huang. Bottom line, if you're innocently sipping your herbal weight-loss tea you probably don't have any idea you could be sipping death.
So, are all herbal slimming teas bad?
No comments:
Post a Comment