The Truth About The Weight Loss Tea Instagram Models Promote

Have you ever wondered if that special weight loss tea your favorite model talks about is actually any good? Detoxing teas promising the dramatic difference you see in pictures from fitness gurus may be tempting, but what’s the science behind them? Here’s the truth about that weight loss tea you’ve had your eye on:

What’s in This Tea?

A weight loss tea is essentially composed of blended tea and herbs, depending on which brand manufactures the teas. However, many of these teas have laxatives, diuretics, and/or caffeine. The laxatives aim to force your body into having more frequent bowel movements, which can be dangerous in the long run. A natural laxative that many weight loss teas have is senna, which can cause diarrhea and stomach cramps.

If you continually use teas with laxatives, your body can become dependent on them, causing dehydration and severe imbalance in your body’s electrolytes. Fiber supplements are also common in these teas, such as psyllium husk, which has a similar effect as laxatives and is a popular ingredient. Diuretics, on the other hand, cause your body to urinate more. Although this can be useful if your body is holding on to too much fluid, using diuretics, in the long run, do not help you lose weight, but can cause you to be dehydrated.

Natural diuretic ingredients that are found in weight loss tea include juniper, nettle, parsley, caffeine, hawthorn, hibiscus, and dandelion. Ultimately, these ingredients only cause you to lose water, not fat, which is the key to weight loss and staying hydrated. Weight loss tea also contains other natural ingredients from plants to support certain claims.

Closeup of senna flowers blooming. This plant is a common ingredient that many weight loss teas use as a natural laxative.

Are All the Claims True?

If you’ve ever seen an ad for these teas, you know they typically make some bold claims, such as the ability to suppress your appetite, increase the amount of fat you burn, and boost your metabolism. These teas may not have the same water-reducing diuretics and laxatives that other teas have, but they have some other questionable ingredients. Garcinia cambogia, for example, is one plant supplement used in a ton of weight loss pills, but they don’t have that much medical evidence to support long term, effective weight loss. Ginseng is also commonly used, but again, there is barely any studies that support data showing weight loss from the plant. Weight loss tea may also contain caffeine with the statement that it can suppress your appetite and make your body burn energy. While this is true, these effects eventually go away once your tolerance to caffeine builds up, especially if you already consume caffeine daily.

Ingredients like guarana, yerba mate, and green tea especially have a little bit more evidence that shows fat-burning, but the weight you might lose from it is minimal and short-term. Other types of weight loss tea, such as “detox” or “fit” teas claim to cleanse your body of toxins, but this is simply not true. Because your body already has organs to clean out as many toxins as possible, there isn’t a buildup in your intestines that you need to get rid of, so detoxing definitely can’t help you lose any weight.

Cup of ginseng tea placed next to ginseng roots. Many weight loss teas have this ingredient, claiming that it helps burn fat.

Does Weight Loss Tea Really Work?

No, don’t fall for this. The claims of weight loss tea are as good as false because although you’ll probably lose water weight, it will all come back, so you won’t have any real, lasting results. What you want is to burn fat and build muscle, and you can do that through the right diet and exercise. Plus, along with the side effects that many of these teas can have, we encourage you to stay away from these kinds of products.

Our highly knowledgeable and experienced team at Kitsune Medical Weight Loss won’t recommend you phony advertisement teas or any other magical drinks, but rather healthy lifestyles fit perfectly for your body and your goals. We can help you build an individualized weight loss plan that works and is good for you, so skip out on the social media scams and give us a call or make an appointment on our website as soon as you can!