The Good Place actress, Jameela Jamil, posted a video on Twitter, satirizing “slimming teas.” In the video, she holds a cup in her hand, seemingly promoting a slimming tea. Then, the video cuts to the actress in a toilet bowl, with makeup smudged and farting noises in the background. She says, on her video’s caption, “I’ve made a petition to try to stop celebrity endorsement of pseudo-science detox/diet products that can be harmful to your health, and can encourage disordered eating.”
After releasing this video, the actress continues to expose the real effects of these teas as well as celebrities who promote them on social media. These teas that claim to detoxify the body are, in reality, laxatives. They quicken the journey of food in the digestive tract that the body fails to absorb the necessary calories and nutrients. As such, the users feel the need to go to the bathroom more often, and if they fail to re-hydrate, they may suffer from dehydration. In the worst-case scenario, they may develop a “laxative dependency, effectively shutting down a person’s colon and potentially damaging their liver.”
Social media influencers and detox teas
The presence of social media influencers has led manufacturers of detox teas to venture into influencer marketing. The results are detrimental, considering that these influencers can convince their followers that detox teas are effective and good for the health. Some of these followers are minors, too.
Followers are likely to consume these teas, especially when these are advertised along with the influencers’ abs and toned bodies. When you take into account the amount of money these celebrities spend for their trainers, dietitians, and even plastic surgeons, these detox teas advertisements look deceiving. These lead the misinformed audience to take slimming teas without consulting their gastroenterologists or GPs.
Healthy ways to lose weight
The basics of weight loss are to burn more calories than you consume. Exercise and a healthy diet should go together to achieve weight loss.
Exercise
WebMD cites Dr. Timothy Church in their article: The best exercise for weight loss is: “the exercise you’ll do.” People don’t always need to start with rigorous training. They can start with a 30-minute walk, a few squats, planking — whatever is doable for them. From there, they can continue the journey with the right amount of motivation.
Healthy diet
A healthy diet is crucial because no matter how much a person works out if they consume so much processed food, unhealthy sugar, and other junk food, it might be to no avail. Instead, they could opt for healthy options: carbohydrates that are rich in fiber, fruits and vegetables, and fish. Starving is discouraged, too, because it can throw off the body’s functions and can cause binge-eating. Therefore, eating healthy meals three times a day is the way to go.
Nothing beats the classic combo of exercise and healthy eating. Not only do these lead to weight loss, but they also benefit a person’s overall well-being. Hopefully, people will become more aware of what detox or slimming teas are.
