When You Drink Detox Tea Every Day, This Is What Happens To Your Body

Detox tea is one of many products promoted online every day, thanks in part to social media having drastically changed the world in which we live. From the pressure to always be living your best life to the hundreds of so-called influencers that make money telling people what products to use (whether or not they themselves actually use those products), there is virtually no escaping the world of social media. Unfortunately, because of that, there are some products that are promoted on social media that aren't the best for you health-wise, including detox tea.

It seems that everyone from the Kardashian-Jenner family to influencers with smaller platforms promote some sort of detox tea, and the way it's advertised might make it seem like a great idea. You'll hear words and phrases like "slimming," "flat tummy," and "debloat," and might think that a detox tea is a great way to shed a few pounds. But the fact of the matter is, if you drink detox tea every day, you won't necessarily lose weight, and you might actually be doing your body more harm than good.

One of the biggest reasons why people are drawn to detox teas is because they seem like a pretty easy way to lose weight. With names like Flat Tummy Tea and Fit Tea, it's no wonder why you might think that drinking a detox tea will help you shed any unwanted pounds. However, that's not necessarily true.

Most detox teas contain green tea, or green tea extract (GTE), which can help with fat loss. According to one study from the American Society for Nutrition, "GTE has been shown in some studies to increase fat oxidation at rest and during exercise. However, these results have not been consistent." And according to Healthline, there is no definitive proof that detox tea can aid in weight loss. "As for detox teas, there are no clinical studies proving they're a good tool for weight loss," the website reported. While some influencers or detox tea drinkers might claim they've lost weight while drinking the beverage, that's usually because detox teas advise those who drink it to eat healthily and exercise. So, if you drink detox tea every day, that doesn't mean you'll lose weight.

Many adults rely on caffeine to help perk them up in the morning, and it's super common for people to have a cup (or two or three) of coffee every day. However, when you add in detox tea, you are also adding in super high amounts of caffeine, which isn't exactly great for you.

According to Healthline, "detox teas often contain high levels of caffeine." All that extra caffeine in your system won't do your body any good. In fact, drinking too much caffeine can cause some really unpleasant side effects, such as headaches, irritability, tremors, a super-fast heartbeat, and more, according to the Mayo Clinic. Additionally, caffeine has been found to increase stress levels, no matter how often you drink it and think you might be used to it, a study from the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center found. 

Caffeine can be great in small doses, but there is such a thing as having too much caffeine, and if you drink detox tea every day, you'll likely experience the unpleasant side effects associated with caffeine overdose.

Anyone who has ever tried a detox tea — even for just one day — would probably be able to tell you that the tea had a certain negative side effect they weren't all that prepared for: an increase in bowel movements. That's because detox teas contain such a high level of caffeine and thus also contain diuretics, which can increase your bowel movements.

According to Healthline, "Diuretics trigger the body to expel water through urine and bowel movements. They can make you lose what's known as 'water weight.'" So, while it may seem that detox teas are helping you lose weight, that's probably just water weight, and the negative side effects of diuretics can definitely outweigh the water weight that you'll lose. As Healthline reported, diuretics can cause cramps, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, headaches, and even rashes. Because of the diuretics, when you drink detox tea every day, you'll likely have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Not only do detox teas have high levels of caffeine, diuretics, and other potentially questionable ingredients, but they also contain laxatives on top of all that, which could cause you to have diarrhea, according to Healthline. Obviously, no one wants that, but, because of all the laxatives found in detox teas, that's usually what ends up happening if you drink detox tea every day.

One of the main laxatives found in many detox teas is senna. Health magazine reported that the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database noted, "The potential side effects of senna use may include abdominal pain and discomfort, cramps, bloating, gas, nausea, and diarrhea; excessive use can lead to potassium depletion and other electrolyte abnormalities, which can trigger muscle spasms and an abnormal heart rhythm." The senna combined with the high levels of caffeine and diuretics all work together to cause diarrhea, and, if you drink detox teas every day, you could be dealing with all those negative side effects of diarrhea which can cause serious health problems.

As much as some people want or need to lose weight, choosing to drink detox tea every day usually isn't the way to go for real, lasting weight loss. Though all the caffeine, diuretics, and laxatives may cause you to lose some water weight and bloat, that isn't actually burning any fat. Additionally, all those ingredients can actually cause a lot of pain in your stomach.

Healthline noted, "Detox teas commonly cause abdominal pain and discomfort. Cramps, bloating, gas, and nausea are also common while consuming detox teas." Basically, while you might be going to the bathroom a lot, you can still bloat and have bad pain in your stomach. "The high levels of caffeine and laxative ingredients usually cause these symptoms, as they put stress on the digestive system," per Healthline. Most detox teas aren't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so the ingredients that you consume when you drink them can really hurt your body in more ways than one.

Really annoyed by bloating? Here's the reason why you feel bloated all the time.

It's no secret that detox teas can be kind of sketchy. Even if a certain brand of detox tea is promoted by a celebrity or influencer, that doesn't necessarily mean that they work or that they're even healthy. In fact, most detox teas "aren't regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," according to Healthline. Moreover, "some teas and other 'detoxifying' weight loss products have been found to contain dangerous drugs and chemicals not advertised on the packaging," the site reported. One such ingredient that's commonly found in detox teas is guarana.

As Health magazine reported, guarana can be pretty dangerous. "Its side effects are commonly related to its caffeine content, which may include nervousness, restlessness, stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, headache, anxiety, agitation, ringing in the ears, and fast heart and breathing rates," per Health. So, when you drink detox teas every day, your heart might not be able to handle it. Guarana, in combination with senna, can have a scary impact on your heart health, and ingesting it by deciding to drink detox tea every day might not be a good idea.

There are so many negative side effects of detox teas that it can be hard to keep track. And while the products might seem to work for some people, that doesn't mean it's actually working, or that it will work for everyone. On top of that, the seriously negative impact that detox teas can have on your body often just isn't worth it when it comes to just shedding some water weight.

In fact, drinking detox tea every day might cause some anxiety. As 40 million American adults struggle with anxiety, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the ingredients in detox teas might make those symptoms of anxiety that much worse. As Healthline reported, detox teas have high levels of caffeine, which can cause anxiety. As if that wasn't enough of a reason not to drink detox tea, another common ingredient in them, guarana, can also cause anxiety, according to Health magazine. And anxiety attacks can do a number on your body.

Whether or not you already struggle with anxiety, making the decision to drink detox tea every day isn't a good idea and doing so can worsen anxiety symptoms.

As some of the main ingredients in detox tea tend to be laxatives, the side effects of such laxatives can be seriously damaging to your body. When you drink detox tea every day, you're ingesting a lot of laxatives and the more laxatives you put in your body, the more damage they can do. One of the biggest side effects of laxatives is dehydration, and, although that sounds simple, it can be pretty damaging.

According to Healthline, "dehydration can reduce the levels of electrolytes in your blood." That might not sound like much, but "electrolytes are important for your muscles to function," per Healthline, which noted, "An electrolyte imbalance can trigger muscle spasms and an abnormal heart rhythm, both very serious issues." Additionally, Harvard Medical School reported that your body can become dependent on laxatives, which can be dangerous. "Their use can lead to long-term dependency on them to keep the colon moving — or, as some have put it, an addicted colon in need of a laxative fix," Harvard Medical School reported.

In addition to the claims that detox teas will help you get rid of bloat and water weight, one of the biggest advertised perks of the product is that it will give you more energy so you can work out longer and harder. However, all that energy has to come from somewhere, and, in the case of most detox teas, it's from an extremely high dosage of caffeine. However, all that caffeine can make it hard for people to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

Healthline noted, "Detox teas may contain much more caffeine than is recommended in a single day. This can lead to problems falling asleep and staying asleep." And as Health magazine reported, not getting enough sleep can "trigger excessive eating and weight gain and even slow metabolism, which can make it easier to gain weight even if you don't eat extra calories." So even though you might have more energy to work out, that doesn't mean you'll lose weight if you aren't getting proper sleep. If you drink detox tea every day, you'll probably be exhausted a lot of the time, and that's no fun.

There have been so many cases of celebrities and influencers posting sponsored content to Instagram specifically related to detox teas, and it might seem like "all the cool kids are doing it." But the thing is pretty much all of the purported benefits of detox teas aren't actually benefits at all. Not only will you not lose weight when you drink detox teas every day, but you'll be doing your body more harm than good.

In fact, all detox teas really do is drain your body of nutrients because of the laxative effect of the ingredients, and that's not good at all. "These teas aren't beneficial, they are the opposite," Dr. Mary Flynn told The Irish Independent. "Seven days of losing nutrients and every bit of goodness from our food will have a definite effect on the body, and doing that regularly will of course have a long-term impact." If you drink detox tea every day, one thing will become increasingly clear: A lot of what influencers say about detox tea is wrong.

Though it's really not too bad to occasionally drink detox tea, or to give it a try one time before deciding it's not for you, there's a big difference between occasional use and regular use. And choosing to drink detox teas every day can literally be deadly.

According to Vice, "the FDA has reported several deaths resulting from laxative tea abuse." That's right. People have literally died from drinking laxative teas. "While senna, the ingredient commonly found in dieter's teas, is FDA-approved as a laxative, laxatives are intended for occasional use to combat constipation, not chronic use as a weight loss aid," Vice reported. Really, is the slight chance that you could lose some weight worth the increased risk of death that comes with drinking detox tea every day? Probably not. Especially considering the fact that detox teas aren't monitored by the FDA and most influencers who promote them likely don't even use them, it's really just not worth it.

It's clear that regular consumption of detox teas can cause more than their fair share of problems, but the extent of those problems is somewhat unknown. And sadly, one of the side effects of detox teas can be that the laxatives in the tea can cause liver damage. 

According to Vice, the laxatives in detox teas aren't all bad, but, if you drink detox tea every day, it can be dangerous. "Used in moderation, laxative teas can relieve constipation," noted Vice. "But obviously, overuse is dangerous. Drinking too much of these teas or steeping them too long can lead to liver, kidney, and colon problems." Additionally, a 2017 study found that drinking Yogi brand detox tea can literally cause liver damage. "Four case reports featuring seven patients show complications can range from mild hepatitis to acute hepatic failure requiring transplantation," according to the study. "Cinnamon bark, black pepper, juniper berry, and rhubarb root, other ingredients of this tea, have all been associated with liver dysfunction." 

If you drink detox tea every day, you might actually damage your liver, and that's seriously dangerous.

The whole point of detox tea is to, quite literally, detox your body. People believe that drinking detox tea everyday will flush all the toxins out of their body, help them get rid of bloat, and even shed a few pounds in the process. But the thing is, much like juice cleanses, detox teas are kind of pointless and won't actually detox your body.

"Any tea that claims to detoxify your system is pure hype," Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D.N., co-author of Healthy in a Hurry: Easy, Good-For-You Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, told Self. "Your body has its own built-in detoxication system that works 24/7 — your liver, which dismantles toxins, and your kidneys, which flush out these waste products," she continued. Your body is literally designed to help remove any toxins that might have built up, and it doesn't need a "detox tea" to help it do so. Basically, if you drink detox tea every day, not only are you possibly damaging your body, but you're wasting your money as well.

Perhaps the most important piece of information about detox teas is that they literally aren't regulated at all by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That said, while some detox teas might list ingredients such as green tea extract or caffeine that might seem normal and even healthy, they can also have other ingredients in them that aren't so great for your body.

Healthline reported, "While some detox teas may contain normal tea ingredients like tea leaves, others could contain toxic or allergy-triggering substances, including drugs and medications." Because the FDA doesn't regulate detox teas, there's no way to really know what you're putting in your body, and that's scary in and of itself. The allure of detox teas can definitely be tempting, especially for people who have some kind of event or vacation coming up for which they want to look their best. But at the end of the day, detox teas can cause a lot of damage to your body. All in all, choosing to drink detox tea every day is a terrible idea. A better alternative may be green tea — here's what happens to your body when you drink green tea every day.