Detox Teas: Is it just another modern-day tall tale?
One of the disadvantages of an online culture saturated with Instagram models and targeted advertising is that a casual scroll can be followed by the nagging urge to alter yourself, whether it’s the bulge of your tummy or the lack of dazzling whiteness of your teeth. Whatever your perceived Achilles Heel may be, there’s no doubt that an initially meaningless and lazy browse through social media can swiftly spiral into an intense episode of self-loathe.
Detox Tea is one of the newly popular trends that grabbed everyone’s attention on social media. They promise that they can help you “feel fit,” “get rid of your belly fat” and “melt away the pounds.” Who needs diet and exercise when a cup of detox tea can do the trick, right?
The basics for weight loss are pretty simple: Eat a little less and move a little more. It’s an uncomplicated concept that’s been around for ages — yet we still search for some magical instant solution so that we can fit into society’s unrealistic standards of beauty.
The appeal of these instant weight loss products such as detox teas, meal replacement shakes and the appetite suppressant lollipops are straightforward and endlessly promising, which is basically buy me and you can be skinny. Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it probably is.
This do-nothing-and-be-rewarded mentality is reminiscent of faulty diet pills like Hydroxycut and Ephedra; only this time, the message has been diluted through a seemingly harmless substance like tea. Tea is synonymous with joy, comfort and rejuvenation. It is safe and reliable. There is no way it could ever hurt anyone more than the possibility of a burnt tongue. Now that it also promises the benefit of effortless weight loss, it’s only natural we would want to try a cup without even questioning it.
According to Dr. Newson, a clinical doctor, detox teas aren’t regulated and they’re not all the same. “Some are harmless, but some contain laxatives such as senna, which work by stimulating your colon to contract more than it usually does, forcing out water and waste,” explains Dr. Newson. The weight loss from detox tea is primarily, and probably all, water weight. True weight loss can only occur from a caloric deficit, and that can only arose from a change of eating habits.
Detox tea programs usually come in two segments: a daytime tea, and a nighttime one. The daytime tea is riddled with caffeine from blends of yerba mate, guarana, and green tea. Caffeine is known to have a diuretic effect on our bodies. While some studies have shown a link between the consumption of caffeine and weight loss, others have also gone on to find the connection between the use of caffeine and weight gain, thereby leaving the evidence for weight loss from caffeine consumption in the dark. On the other hand, the nighttime tea is advertised as the tea that does the cleansing and detoxification and this is where the real weight loss happens. This is mostly due to the number of laxatives in the drink, such as senna root or senna leaf. Senna is a medication used to treat constipation and empty the large intestine of patients before surgery. Senna works by irritating bowel tissues, which results in bowel movements, which will make anyone who ingests them to go to the bathroom a lot. It is not a quick or painless process either. It will take hours and hours of bathroom trips to complete after taking senna, which will eventually affect your sleep cycle.
Senna shouldn’t be used for more than two weeks. Longer use can cause the bowels to stop functioning normally and might cause dependence on laxatives. Long-term use can also change the amount or balance of some chemicals in the blood that can cause heart function disorders, muscle weakness, liver damage, and other harmful effects. Although it is scientifically proven that continued use of senna can weaken the colon and lead to dependence on the drug, it doesn’t hurt detox tea companies. It turns out, your dependency is great for their business. If detox tea users find they can’t properly function without the tea, they are more likely to turn into repeat customers.
Detox tea companies can actually help prevent the unwanted side effects of their teas by not including them as part of a long-term plan, yet many detox tea programs involving the laxative come in packages of 28-day plans. These 28-day programs instruct users to consume senna every day even though the maximum prescribed dosage of the drug is only intended to treat patients pre-colonoscopy. With all the known potential harmful side effects of senna, detox tea programs often feature a small or no warning mark at all, leaving many users to detect the hazards themselves. We put the health risks on cigarettes, alcohol, and all drugs, and yet nobody is forced to do the same with these products, despite thousands of medical professionals speaking out about the harm and pseudo-science of it all.
As if consuming the maximum dosage of senna wasn’t enough, detox teas are also branded as “movements” to join indefinitely instead of one-time cleanses. With the movement mentality these companies promote, it’s obvious that detox tea companies provide ample encouragement for extended and repeated use of dangerous laxatives like senna but it doesn’t just end there.
There are celebrities and influencers with a huge fan following on social media endorsing these products to their gullible audience. There’s little to no information about the main ingredients, the harm they cause or the science behind the workings of any of these products. They are instead promoted by celebrities and influencers without any nutrition, medicine or biology expertise in glossy-pay-out advertisements. Celebs who support and endorse weight loss aids for payment, do so because brands have realized how influential their posts are with young people. These detox tea companies are very much aware of the influence of these celebrities on their vulnerable young followers who wouldn’t think twice about buying their product.
Flat Tummy Co is undoubtedly ahead of the pack in that arena. When the company was sold by two Australian entrepreneurs to a consumer healthcare corporation in 2015 for a whopping $10 million, one of the reasons supporting the hefty price tag (cited in a press release) was Flat Tummy’s algorithm, which it uses to find and target people who will follow the company on Instagram. No one seemed to bother to investigate what Flat Tummy Co. is actually selling, other than unreasonable expectations and teas. Flat Tummy Co. products are not FDA-approved and should be taken with caution and at your own risk.
As reported by the BBC, top doctors are now asking those celebrity’s ads for diet aids to be banned by social media companies. NHS medical director, Professor Stephen Powis argues that these products have a damaging effect on the physical and mental health of young people.
“Social media companies have a duty to stamp out the practice of individuals and companies using their platform to target young people with products known to risk ill health,” he said.
This kind of deceiving and irresponsible advertisement is a part of widespread and disturbing rhetoric that preys upon eating disordered behavior and the new trend of “quick fix” that relies upon a vulnerable customer. These naïve customers are not educated as to the full list of health implications that these products and diet restrictions can bring. Creating and highlighting insecurities about the female body has, as a result, become central to many ad campaigns in the cosmetics and personal care industry.
It’s fine to want to increase our strength or to get fit by working out, or to try to make an effort to eat more whole grains and fresh vegetables in a bid to get healthier, but we should never put our health at risk for the chance to lose a few pounds quickly. It’s just not worth it. We should value people on their achievements and attributes rather than what they weigh or how they look. Let’s put an end to this foolish new trend by stopping those with the most influence from being able to spread lies freely and irresponsible, ignorant absurdity, to their deceivable young followers.
