You’ve seen them on the internet and on social media under various names: skinny tea, detox tea, teatox tea – they’re hugely popular diet trend right now for one reason – their sell of big weight loss for little effort.
Many of these teas also come with a list of other attractive claims: promising you more energy, a flatter stomach, a boost for your metabolism, or a body detox and cleanse.
The skinny tea trend took off in Australia a few years ago making its way to our shores from the U.S, and in the past couple of years celebrities and popular Instagram “influencers” began being paid to promote the teas, making their already pretty packaging seem extra enticing. Some teatox brands have racked up millions of followers on Instagram.
What are skinny teas?
There are lots of different weight loss tea brands on the market, some sold in loose leaf form and others in teabags. Ingredients vary widely from brand to brand, but they can contain anything from regular old caffeine, to fennel, which is used to help with digestive problems, dandelion leaf which is thought to be a diuretic, burdock plant which is thought to increase urine production and senna, which is a laxative used to treat constipation.
Do weight loss teas actually work?
It’s hard to put them all under one umbrella and say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – as their claims also vary, but many medical professionals have discredited detox teas, as they are targeted at impressionable young women as a quick fix for weight loss and some dangerous side effects have been reported by users, including as dizziness, cramping, stomach pains and uncontrollable diarrhoea.
Last year Choice reported that weight loss teas fall into a grey area when it comes to regulation, at what’s known as the food-medicine interface, so they aren’t being suitably classified or regulated. This means that some teas are making unsubstantiated claims about what they can do.
How do you choose a tea?
Firstly, know that if you want to lose weight, skinny teas are not a substitute for healthy weight loss through healthy eating and taking exercise. Secondly, experts say regular or long-term use of detox teas could be harmful to your body and digestive system, so always check with your GP first, particularly if you have a health condition or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Because skinny teas contain a laxative effect, there is some evidence that they can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill, with women reporting that they have become pregnant as a result.
Here are some of the most popular teas on the market:
10. Skinny Me Tea
$39 for a 14 day pack
Marketed as the first Australian-made detox tea, Skinny Me’s Morning Cleanse tea is designed to be consumed once every day with breakfast and then one cup of Evening Cleanse tea every second night before bed.
These teas are an energising, refreshing and de-bloating tea which contain a long list of ingredients including senna, sencha and green tea extract.
Shop around on the site and you will find that for maximum health benefits, Skinny Me Teatox ‘should be consumed in conjunction with a healthy balanced diet and exercise’ such as their recommended eating and exercise plan.
9. Thin Tea
$34.95 for a 14 day pack
This Kardashian-approved skinny tea has some decent reviews on amazon, with many people saying it tastes nice and lives up to its appetite suppressant claim, though others says is does nothing. Fit tea is designed to lower your hunger for 4-6 hours, it contains electrolytes and garcinia cambogia extract that’s used in many weight loss products as it’s said to prevent fat storage, control appetite, and increase exercise endurance.
For results FitTea says you should drink 1 cup a day, some users report increased heart rate and advise cutting out your morning coffee.
8. Fit Tea
$14.99 (US) for a 14 day pack
This Kardashian-approved skinny tea has some decent reviews on amazon, with many people saying it tastes nice and lives up to its appetite suppressant claim, though others says is does nothing. Fit tea is designed to lower your hunger for 4-6 hours, it contains electrolytes and garcinia cambogia extract that’s used in many weight loss products as it’s said to prevent fat storage, control appetite, and increase exercise endurance.
For results FitTea says you should drink 1 cup a day, some users report increased heart rate and advise cutting out your morning coffee.
7. Bae Tea
$28.95 (US) for 14 days
A fortnight-long detox to boost your energy, promote fullness and help reduce your appetite, Bae Tea is another US company promising to transform your body with a cuppa. These pyramid teabags contain a blend of garcinia cambogia extract, guarana seed, rooibos an green tea leaf and other herbs.
They also sell other teas for wellbeing, beauty, mood and energy.
6. Teatox Australia
$29 for a 14 day pack
The instructions are to drink two tea bags per day, once in the morning, and once in the evening to boost your metabolism, flush out toxins, reduce bloating and burn fat. Teatox Australia’s tea contains radish seed, oolong Tea, hawthorn, lotus leaf and cassia seed, and claims to be free from both caffeine and laxatives, although cassia and oolong are both thought to have caffeine and laxative properties.
This Instagram-friendly skinny tea company has been in business for five years in Australia and ticks all the bases on using cute and local influencers to promote its products and comes in lovely packaging.
5. Tropeaka Cleanse Herbal Infusion
$29 for 125g
A powerful tea “to combat your modern lifestyle” this loose leaf tea includes flaxseed and liquorice root to clear things out and ‘sweep away yesterday’!
Not marketed as a long-term weight loss tea, this is more of a brew for after you’ve gone overboard at the buffet table dinner or when you’ve eaten rich food and need some digestive relief.
4. Skinny Mint
$69 for a 28 day pack
Not a fan of tea? Skinny Mint offer fat burning coffee and hot chocolate as well as teatox teas. The minimum commitment for Skinny Mint is a 28 day plan, unless you just buy the Night Cleanse teas which come in a pack of 14, but the 28 day plan is the most popular purchase.
Skinny Mint is a 2 step tea cleanse, one in the morning and the evening formula every other night, and it’s claims are to reduce bloating, boost your energy and purify your body. The night formula contains senna leaves and psyllium husk, both ingredients have laxative qualities.
3. T2 Detox Tea
$16 for a box
Your favourite artisan tea company also makes a blend that’s designed to aid digestion and help your tummy. This loose leaf blend contains fennel, juniper berries, stinging nettle, sweet blackberry leaves, lemongrass, marigold petals, liquorice root, spearmint, and rose buds.
It has a 4.8 stars average rating by customers, with most saying it soothes the too-full feeling after a big meal.
2. Flat Tummy Tea
$50.85 for a 2 week program
@flattummyco boast over 1.7 million followers on Instagram and offer teas, shakes and supplements on their website. The US company also offer the controversial appetite suppressants lollipops, which came under fire from nutritionists after they were promoted by Kim Kardashian (in a since deleted post).
Flat Tummy Tea is a cleanse that is designed to cleanse, de-bloat and decrease water retention. It’s an immensely popular brand, with thousands of reviews and before and after photos on their site. “30 days of exercise & clean eating combined with #flattummytea Lost a total of 4 kilos & 5 cm off my stomach in total! I’m very happy with the product, but I have also put a lot of work in with it too,” says one user.
1. Bootea
$22.49 (US)
Bootea say they will never be portrayed as magic formulas or miracle slimming aids and that ‘All of our formulas should be combined with a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise for the best possible results.’
So if you want to add some oomph to your healthy eating kick, daytime tea bags contain Chinese Oolong tea, ginger root, fennel seeds and mate leaves among others, while the evening cleanse bags are made with laxative-effect senna leaves, peppermint, fenugreek seeds and burdock root.
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