Detox Tea For Cleansing
Quack or Science?
A Herbal Perspective

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According to Wikipedia, a detox diet can help increase your health, energy and sense of well being. It does so by helping your body remove toxins and other contaminants.

While those who drink detox tea can vouch for its effectiveness, scientists, dietitians, and doctors have their doubts.

To quote Dr. Paul Illing, Chartered Scientist, Registered Toxicologist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry:

 

While I have great respect for Dr. Paul Illing, and understand his concerns on the more quacky aspects of some detox diets, I seriously doubt that our bodies are "effective at clearing out harmful substances" and that "there is little we can do to enhance these [bodily functions]".

A growing body of research suggests that many of the chemicals we consume daily through food, water, and air can become deposited in fat cells in our body.

For example, organochlorines (OC's) are compounds that contain carbon, chlorine and hydrogen. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, these harmful compounds are readily stored in the fatty tissue of animals. This means that your fat cells may contain traces of pesticide and other pollutants.

A diet that lacks certain nutrients may also impair our natural ability to detoxify chemicals, which further leads to their build-up in the body.

Herbal Detox Tea - A Beginner's Guide

Our bodies have seven organs that can help us remove toxins through a detoxification process. These organs are the skin, colon, liver, kidneys, blood, lungs, and immune system.

Any detox tea will generally include herbs that assist in cleansing one or more organs . The key is to know which organs are in need of cleansing and then select a herbal blend to do the job.

Body Cleansing Tea - A Guide to Herbal Detox

Detox diets that contain few calories or involve fasting may help you lose weight quickly. But the result is seldom sustainable. I recommend the use of herbal detox during dieting, not directly for weight loss, but for another reason.

You see, since toxins are stored in the fat cells, when you lose weight, these toxins will be released back into your body. Some data suggests that these toxins could hamper fat loss by decreasing thyroid (T3 conversion) or reducing metabolism. Either way, it makes weight loss harder than it already is.

Drinking a herbal tea may help you fight some of the undesirable side effects of toxin release that happen during weight loss.

Detox and Weight Loss - Five Facts You Must Know

Many herbal formulas on the market advertise they can help our bodies detoxify by removing harmful chemicals accumulated from the air we breathe, the foods we eat and the water we drink.

But how well do they do this? Who can use these herbal formulas? Should we expect the infamous “detoxification reaction” (fever, malaise, fatigue, joint pains, body aches and pains) from them?

Here are my reviews and analysis of three popular herbal teas. Enjoy...

Daily Tea Review - Chinese Long Life Herbal

Yogi Tea - Who Should Drink It?

Liver Cleansing Tea - An American Blend By LocalHarvest

Some cleansing teas will say on the label that they are a Colon Cleanse. But after reading the list of ingredients, you find that the only herb/plant that could possibly have any effect on the colon is psyllium (fiber).

When you see this, it is a red flag indicating that the company does not know about herbs. They are simply preying upon people's lack of knowledge about herbs.

When buying detox products, watch out for overly enthusiastic commissioned sales people.

Some of the multi level marketing (MLM, network marketing) companies are forced to make huge markups in price in order for their business model to work (so they can pay commissions to their down line distributors). As a result you sometimes pay outrageous prices for products you could get for a fraction of the cost in your local grocery, health food or drugstore.

Colon Cleansing Tea Alert! - Herbal Detox Versus Psyllium (Fiber)

While the combination of herbs is important, it is the quality that makes the difference.

Consider the fine restaurant concept. Food in fine restaurants tastes good because they buy the finest ingredients, not because they have the best recipes. It is the same with detox tea.

The highest quality herbs are those that are wild crafted, organic and grown in pristine soil loaded with nutrients. After the herbs are collected, they can be cut (called cut leaf), ground, or made into an extract. The herbal concentration will determine how potent the herbal blend will be.

Often companies save the high quality herbs for extracts and use the cut leaf for tea bags.

Unfortunately, as consumers, we do not know how a company truly produces their herbal blend. Most companies claim their herbs are wild crafted and organic. The truth is they can say whatever they want.

A solution to this dilemma is to try the formula and see how it works. If you don't notice anything in 30 days, either the herbs are inferior or the combination is not what your body needs.

My favorite detox teas are green tea and a proprietary herbal blend. I also like to buy herbs in bulk and use them like that.

Let's talk about green tea first ...

The health benefits of green tea are endless. But few people know that scientists have observed its detoxifying effects in action.

The only catch with green tea is that it HAS to contain high levels of catechins and EGCG to be potent.

Unfortunately, most products sold in the West are either highly processed or low grade. Unless you drink an insane number of cups a day, they may not contain enough antioxidants to make a difference.

For a review of the best green tea to buy, read Green Tea Brands - Best Of 7 Types Reviewed.

Another herbal blend that I use from time to time is the Illumination herbal blend.

It is the closest thing to a stand-alone formula, and works on detoxifying and supporting several parts of the body simultaneously. Unlike the other mass-produced herbal detox teas in the market, it contains high quality extract that has been produced using old time herbal principles rather than low quality teabags.

Best Detox Diet Review - Illumination Herbal Blend

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