Green tea seems to be the best tea for detoxing due to its antioxidant properties.
Green tea seems to be the best tea for detoxing due to its antioxidant properties. Green tea is manufactured by withering, steaming, or pan firing, drying, and grading the young tea leaves. Unlike black tea or oolong tea, green tea does not undergo fermentation. Green tea consists of the following components:
Polyphenolic compounds:
- Epigallocatechin-3-gallate
- Epigallocatechin
- Epicatechin-3-gallate
- Epicatechin
Flavonols:
- Quercetin
- Kaempferol
- Myricetin
Green tea is rich in antioxidants and vitamins, which makes it a better choice for detox. Green tea detox is one of the simplest forms of detoxing. It has been claimed that drinking three to six cups of green tea every day helps to flush out toxins from the body. Drinking only green tea throughout for cleansing is the most extreme form of detoxing.
What is detox?
Detoxification or detox is a process to eliminate toxins from the body. There are many ways to detox your body. Detoxing or cleansing the body has debatable benefits, including:
- Improved energy
- Weight loss
- Relief from constipation
- Resolved headaches and fatigue
- Improved immunity
Toxins are harmful chemicals or poison, which may be unsafe to our body. Toxins may come from:
- Food
- Water
- Chemicals used to grow or prepare food
- Air that we breathe
Once the toxins enter the body, the body’s detoxification system processes these toxins through organs like the liver and kidneys and eliminates them in the form of sweat, urine, and feces.
There’s no scientific evidence to prove detox diet theories, but people who support detox claim that these toxins don’t always leave our bodies properly during the elimination of waste. Instead, they remain in the system and causes problems like:
How does a detox work?
Detox work by eliminating solid food or specific food groups to eliminate toxins from the body. In this way, the digestive system gets a break, allowing it to heal and better absorb nutrients in the future.
Solid foods are often replaced with drinks like water with lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, green tea, or freshly squeezed fruits and vegetable juices.
What are the health benefits of green tea?
Researchers have claimed various health benefits attributed to green tea. The various health benefits of green tea include:
- Promotes weight loss
- Promotes hydration
- Prevents cancer
- May aid in disease prevention
- Improves immunity
- Prevents degenerative and neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease
- Reduces the risk of heart diseases
- Improves blood flow
- Stabilizes the blood sugar level
- Lowers cholesterol and blood pressure
- Theanine in green tea provides a calming effect
Catechins present in green tea have antioxidant properties that promote weight loss. Catechins decrease the absorption of triglycerides and cholesterol.
Is a green tea detox good for your health?
It is a good idea to give up highly processed and sugary foods for better health; however, eliminating solid foods would deprive the person of getting several essential nutrients. Green tea detox helps the body to lose weight temporarily, which returns after resuming the regular diet. The weight lost is largely body water. The body has a natural detoxification system that eliminates toxins and harmful compounds. Hence, green tea detox is ineffective and unnecessary for weight loss and detoxification. Excessive consumption may even cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance in the body.
References
Scott PS. Health Benefits of Green Tea. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea#1
Cleveland Clinic. Are You Planning a Cleanse or Detox? Read This First. January 3, 2020. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-you-planning-a-cleanse-or-detox-read-this-first/
Khan N, Mukhtar H. Tea and Health: Studies in Humans. Curr Pharm Des. 2013; 19(34): 6141–6147. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4055352/
TeensHealth. Are Detox Diets Safe? https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/detox-diets.html
