The demands of day-to-day life often lead us to make decisions that aren’t great for our health or wellbeing. A teatox might be a great way for you to press the reset button on your mind and body.
You wake up at the crack of dawn, rush to get ready and get to work, spend all day focused on the tasks you have to get through, and, when you finally get out of work, focus on trying to finish your errands and chores. When you can, you do your best to have a social life. All of this while chugging coffee and eating whatever is within reach and seems somewhat healthy.
Does any of this sound like you?
In these conditions, our bodies are under significant stress, and the tons of caffeine pumping through our blood isn’t great for our body, especially if it’s at the expense of sleep and healthy, slow meals.
Carrying out a tea detox (teatox), together with eating clean, may help you feel more relaxed, have more clarity, and eliminate toxic chemicals from your body.
What Is a Teatox?
There are a thousand companies out there each marketing their own version of a “teatox” regimen. Here, we aren’t fans of extremes or unrealistic dietary guidelines, so we may offer a different definition than some companies.
Teatoxing doesn’t mean you will only drink tea and nothing else for days on end. While you teatox, you will eliminate processed foods, added sugar, and caffeine from your diet; and you will start a light exercise regimen, if you don’t exercise already. Then, you will integrate one or more tea blends into your day.
Some of the most common ingredients of tea blends are:
- Senna leaf (Cassia angustifolia)
- Ginseng
- Chrysanthemum
- Ginger
- Cinnamon bark
- Rhubarb
- Cloves
- Hibiscus flower
- Oolong
- Green tea
- Goji berries
- Yerba mate
- Osmanthus
- Mint
- Rose
- Lemongrass
- Jasmine
- Dandelion root
- Lavender
- Fennel
Some teatox blends promise that you will lose weight, but the real goal for us is to boost your health and improve how you feel about yourself in terms of energy, mindfulness, and balance. Remember that teas can contain powerful compounds that aren’t always good for everyone, so make sure to talk to your doctor before starting an herbal tea regimen and, most importantly, listen to your body and its reaction to the teas you are taking.
While the specific health benefits will vary from tea to tea, here are three proven benefits of tea.
1. It Can Help You Get Over Your Coffee Addiction
Sometimes, our addiction to coffee is partly an addiction to the feeling of having a hot drink after your morning meal, or having a way to pull your focus away from anxiety as you are working or studying. Tea is a great alternative to coffee, since it has less caffeine and a similar concentration of antioxidants to help fight free radicals.
2. It’s Packed with Beneficial Flavonoids
Flavonoids are a type of antioxidant that has shown to help prevent and fight cancer. Most types of tea are packed with them. Some evidence shows that flavonoids also help to promote heart health and fight cardiovascular disease.
3. It Promotes Digestive Regularity
In controlled quantities, some teas can help fight bloating and constipation. Most teas are diuretics, promoting bowel movements and fighting water retention. This can flatten your stomach and give you the sensation of losing weight. Make sure not to overdo it, however, as this can have the opposite effect and result in diarrhea or constipation.
Some websites boast up to 20 benefits of teatoxing, but few are scientifically backed. Drinking more therapeutic teas, together with diet and exercise, may greatly improve how you feel, and may even help you kick bad habits. After you kickstart your tea regimen with your teatox, try integrating more tea into your diet long term–in moderate quantities of course.
