Drink tea twice a day and lose weight? Sounds suspicious? The Good Place star Jameela Jamil thought so too. Over the past few days, she has been in a rightful feud with celebrity Instagram-ers and influencers who advertise detox weight-loss teas. In a video that has garnered over 6,11,860 views, Jameela parodies influencers, sitting on the toilet seat with an irritable bowel, claiming to have lost three pounds despite eating five hamburgers the previous night.
So do slimming teas really work? Delhi-based dietician Manjari Chandra explains, “The concept of detox teas originated because being rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants helps them improve metabolic activity, and energy-burning pathways.”
But “they aren’t directly responsible for weight loss. Maybe, taken over a long period of time, it may result in some weight loss, but that is a very delayed result and not their primary function,” she says.
Then what is their primary function? Flushing toxins out of the body, as the tempting packaging says? “Removing toxins is way more complicated than that,” laughs Manjari, “But yes, they remove acidity from the body and help the liver function better.”
The antioxidants that do this job, moreover, may lose their potency after all the packaging, she adds. “If I pluck green tea leaves, boil it in water and drink, I will get those benefits. But all the packaging and processing (drying, dehydrating) reduces their potency,” she says. Also, you can’t nullify a bad thing: smoking, junk and packaged foods will have a negative impact on the body, even if you’re drinking (or eating) antioxidants (green tea, fruits).
So can you drink tea and expect a flat tummy? Sadly not. Tie your shoelaces and get exercising, because life isn’t that easy.
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