THE SKINNY ON SKINNY TEA

“Lose 10 pounds with a cup of tea! Reduce your bloating and detox your system!”

Recently, social media has been overrun with promotional posts making claims such as these. These messages are paired with lean males and females flaunting their flat stomachs, holding packages of tea, looking quite content. Their claims touch on goals you want to achieve—weight loss and a flatter stomach—and with such a simple approach. So, how could you pass up such an opportunity? Before you log onto any of these websites and break out your wallet, let’s take a deeper look into these products.

BODYBUILDING MIND-SET

There are seemingly endless options when it comes to tea, from your basic white, black, green, or oolong, to herbal varieties infused with any number of fruits, herbs, and spices. Each variety has different proposed benefits, some proven through research, others lacking this support. Regardless of science, tea is widely consumed. In fact, after water, it’s the most commonly consumed beverage around the world.

With strong cultural ties, tea has long been used in Chinese medicine. Tracing it back, it originated in southwest China as a medicinal drink and spread across other Asian countries and into Europe as a social drink. It’s undeniable that tea has a wide array of health benefits, including a reduced risk of some types of cancers, heart disease, controlling diabetes, alertness, and even weight loss.

That’s right, some evidence shows a positive relationship between tea consumption and weight loss. Namely, green tea is regarded for its efficacy when it comes to weight loss due to the antioxidants known as catechins. Specifically, epigallocatchin gallate (EGCG) has been found to boost metabolism, the driving factor behind weight loss. This ingredient can also be found in sports supplement products, especially those targeting fat loss. Often, the combination of EGCG and caffeine is used to further promote fat loss through the metabolic boost and energy enhancement of caffeine.

But, where does this leave us in terms of “skinny teas”? Do they really contain the specific ingredients known to be helpful with weight loss, or is it all smoke and mirrors?

THE CLAIMS

To judge how effective a product is, reading the reviews will only take you so far, as it’s impossible to know which are from genuine users and which are paid endorsements. A more solid approach is to cross-reference the ingredient list to the claims they advertise. Once you know what’s in the product, you can establish whether the claims are remotely possible.

One thing is for sure: Skinny tea companies aren’t shy when it comes to proclaiming their benefits. A scan of different brands yielded the following benefits:

• Weight loss

• Relieve stomach bloat (i.e., flatten your stomach)

• Detoxify or cleanse your system

• Boost or support your metabolism

• Improve energy levels

• Help maintain a healthy immune system

• Cleanse your digestive system

• Decrease water retention

That’s a tall order for a cup of tea!

At first glance, some of these outcomes are just a by-product of using products with caffeine—i.e., improved energy and, to a degree, a metabolic boost. However, the most prominent claims on which these products base their livelihood—weight loss, detoxification, and flattening your stomach—are questionable.

THE SKINNY

A lot of these products are sold as a two-stage process, something of which potential customers may be unaware. First, there’s a “morning” tea, which provides the energy boost through caffeine, much like a regular cup of tea. The difference comes with the “nighttime cleansing” tea, which targets weight loss and leads to the detoxification effects.

A quick look at the ingredient list explains how the cleansing effects occur. Primarily, the tea promotes bowel cleansing through the use of various laxatives such as senna leaf, yerba maté, and dandelion leaf. These ingredients can act harshly on your body to reach the promised outcome. Specifically, senna leaf and yerba maté contain chemicals that irritate the lining of the bowels and stimulate muscular contraction.

If you step on a scale on Monday morning and then use the tea throughout the week, you’ll likely see a decrease in weight come Saturday morning. However, this won’t be due to fat loss; rather, it will be the result of fluid loss and waste removal. Additionally, flushing this waste out of your system can potentially help your stomach look flatter due to the loss of bulk in your stomach. The second method of weight loss is from the diuretic effect of the tea. By helping your body draw out excess water to be excreted, it may result in another couple of pounds down on the scale. Again, it won’t be a change in body fat levels, purely just a loss of bodily fluids.

Therefore, at a basic level, weight loss does occur, so the product delivers on its promise. However, this change will be short-lived. It’s not permanent fat loss; it’s just like having a bowel movement. As you go through the next few days of eating and drinking normally, this weight will likely be regained. Beyond the fact that no fat loss occurs, the methods taken to flush the system can be harsh, often causing stomach cramps and leaving you dehydrated.

DETOXING

Another prominent claim made by skinny teas is “detoxification,” or cleansing your digestive system. Basically, it refers to the removal of substances from your body, which is achieved via the laxative effects and waste removal—theoretically. “Detoxing” is a buzzword in the health and fitness world at the moment, with many programs and products targeting this process. While it’s not optimal to have waste material built up in your bowels, harsh approaches such as laxative-type products shouldn’t be the answer.

Luckily for us, we have a natural detoxification system built right into the body—the liver. This organ’s function is to regulate chemical levels in the body and create bile to be used in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Provided your liver functions normally, eating a healthy, balanced diet and drinking plenty of water is all you need to help your body detox, cleanse, or remove waste—whatever you want to call it. Going natural, simple, and supplement-free is the best way to clean yourself out. You don’t need to add any exogenous supplements to your regimen. Adding more in order to take away seems a little counterintuitive, don’t you think?

THE FINE PRINT

Strategically, sometimes subtly and sometimes not so subtly, hidden deep on many companies’ webpages is the fine print—information they’re legally bound to tell you but don’t want to make too prominent.

First, some products come with the offer of a nutrition plan created by a dietician. Some even include a statement that regular exercise should be practiced. These two lifestyle factors will always be the cornerstone to weight loss and health. Basically, solely drinking the tea isn’t the answer, even though the majority of their marketing leads you to believe it is, and that exercise and diet are just an afterthought. But we know this isn’t true.

Second, if you look carefully, many companies have a note that their claims and outcomes have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is the agency that oversees all food and drug products on the market, and FDA approval indicates a thoroughly reviewed product that meets its stringent requirements.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, many companies advise against using the “cleanse” product on consecutive nights. Senna leaf is a harsh laxative that can cause stomach pain and cramps. Using high doses or using it for longer than two weeks is strongly discouraged. In fact, its use can negatively affect your colon’s normal function as it becomes dependent on the external stimulus to process waste. That’s a point you don’t want to hit.

BOTTOMS UP?

After digging a little deeper into the phenomenon (read: fad) of skinny teas and learning more about how they work, you’re able to make a more informed decision regarding their use. You’ve learned what their claims mean and how they achieve them, along with some of the hidden warnings they may not want you to read.

Because all companies will use slightly different ingredients, be sure to check the list and subsequently read up on how the herbs work. Also, if you opt to use one, be sure to read all the directions and follow them exactly as they’re laid out. The last thing you want is for your body to become dependent on a cup of tea.