Teas for weight loss are some of the popular weight loss supplements available in the market today. Stores all over sell slimming tea, dieter's tea and others but all of them are actually the same. And though they appear to be effective, what is not obvious may actually harm you.
One of these non-obvious effects of drinking dieter's tea is the frequent bowel movement. It tends to give people the feeling of body cleansing. You may get toxins out of your body but it isn't exactly the only thing that slimming tea actually does to the body. Slimming tea contains herbs which are natural laxatives. Such herbs include aloe, senna, rhubarb root, cascara, buckthorn and castor oil. These are products which are derived from plants and have been used since the ancient times because of their potency in treating constipation and to inducing bowel movement.
For example cascara, castor oil and senna are substances which are widely recognized as laxatives available over the counter. Some types of their preparations are even regulated as drugs.
Scientific studies show that diarrhea induced by laxatives does not result to significant amounts of calories taken out of the body. The reason for this is that laxatives do not act on the small intestines where most of the calories are absorbed. Instead, they work on the large intestines.
If taken in large amounts for prolonged periods, these disguised laxatives can end up affecting fat absorption of the body. This may lead to greasy diarrhea and even loss of weight. However you should not count on this process to lose weight.
The deliberate abuse of laxatives is common practice among people who suffer from bulimia and anorexia nervosa, who use them to purge food they have eaten.
While weight loss cannot be guaranteed by overdosing on laxatives, it may for sure cause permanent damage to the gastrointestinal tract and the weakening and softening of the bones, a condition known as osteomalacia.
Drinkers of slimming teas may actually patronize the product because they are less expensive and taste better than other laxatives sold in the market. Other people, such as those with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa drink dieter's tea because they work fast and produce watery stool and having loose consistency.
Although they may are not known to interfere directly with the woman's menstrual cycle and fertility, women should watch out if drinking these slimming teas causes them to rapidly shed off weight. It is also not safe for pregnant women to be taking in laxatives of any kind. Wise and responsible herbalists also discourage the use of senna and other herbal products with laxative properties for pregnant women and women who are trying to conceive.
Whats more, the labeling of slimming teas in the market today can be absolutely misleading. For instance, you will find them commonly referring to the laxative qualities as "natural bowel cleansing properties". They will rarely specifically use the word "laxative". Some even use the term an even more misleading term, "low-calorie" on their labeling. These products in fact, contain essentially no calories nor nutrients whatsoever; unless of course, if they are sweetened.
Whether as a direct abuse of laxatives or used as slimming tea, adverse effects generally occur when taken in more than or longer than recommended. Such effects include nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fainting, rectal bleeding, electrolyte disorder and dehydration as well as injury and worse, death. It was also reported that excess use of stimulant laxatives cause severe constipation and pain for long periods (even as long as decades) due to the colon losing its function. It can eventually led to the surgical removal of the colon altogether.
