Why Diet Pills and Skinny Teas Are Unhealthy
This post is intended for general consumer inspiration and entertainment only and does not replace medical advice.
I am very passionate about dismantling myths and ensuring that people who are simply trying to improve their health do not get scammed by these shady products.
Why are they still on the market? The rules are easy to circumvent with vague labels.
What are diuretics?
“Diuretic: A drug that eases the heart’s workload and decreases the buildup of fluid in the lungs and other parts of the body by promoting the excretion of water and salts.” (Medical Dictionary of Health Terms — https://www.health.harvard.edu/d-through-i)
Here is why you do not need detox drinks, detox pills, or detox juices:
Our kidneys and liver are the built-in detoxifier organs/systems in our bodies!
What if you are trying to enhance your kidneys and liver?
If you eat enough fruit and vegetables, eat a balanced diet overall, your organs will function correctly on their own.
Buzzwords to be aware of:
- Magic
- Detox
- Cleanse
- Superfood
- Smart
- Slim
- Skinny tea
- Tummy tea
- Clean
This all insinuates that fat can be burned through a random substance or pill that we ingest, but the bodily functions that trigger fat loss are not at all related to ingesting some sort of pill. While I am talking about detox pills, and not fitness performance enhancers, usually, the people these marketers target, most of which have no fitness qualifications, are weight loss patients.
Pills and potions have the following dehydrating and acidic ingredients:
- Black pepper
- Citric acid (in high doses)
- High doses of apple cider vinegar
- High doses of caffeine
- Cayenne pepper
- High doses of ginger and turmeric
- Garcinia cambogia (apparently inhibits fat absorption, which isn’t natural and there is too much conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of this ingredient)
Here is a small list of side effects that these pills and potions can cause:
- Heartburn
- Stomach pain
- Constipation
- Bad breath
- Dehydration
- Water retention
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Unhealthy gut flora and dismantling of the stomach lining
- High gut acidity
If these magic potions inhibit fat digestion even minimally, then it just means “stopping digestion” and it also means not digesting food correctly, nutrient malabsorption, and also inhibits muscle growth.
Increasing metabolism and muscle mass are both required for actual weight loss, so these pills and potions may help people lose water weight and see immediate changes on the scale (not fat loss, but just water weight loss), but truly derail real weight loss by slowing down metabolism long-term.
Laxatives and diuretics give the illusion of weight loss due to water weight. If you’re a potential consumer, please don't.
In a situation where some level of medical intervention is needed, a doctor or qualified professional (depending on whether it is a drug or supplement) should be the only one prescribing something (rather than a sales representative who likely works for a multi-level marketing scam).