Detox tea: real benefits or just a marketing ploy?

“I eliminate toxins from my body to lose weight”, ‘drinking tea contributes to my detox diet’: detox diets are all the rage, and their precepts are spreading to the world of tea. But what exactly is “detox”? Does it apply to tea?

“Detox” for detoxification, a biological process rather than a trend

We're also facing a rise in environmental pollution. It has many consequences, not least exposure to toxic chemicals and metals. Pollution is not the only source of toxins, as some drugs are poorly degraded by the body and can accumulate. These different forms of contamination can disrupt all the body's biological functions in the short and long term.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3239317/

To eliminate these contaminants, the body's cells naturally deploy detoxification mechanisms. Toxins may be rejected and captured by immune cells, or blocked by enzymes such as cytochrome P450. The liver plays a key role in detoxification mechanisms, as liver cells are the main secretors of this type of enzyme.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11859386/

Detoxification can also take the form of medication, used clinically when the individual is unable to eliminate toxins on his or her own (dialysis, heavy metal contamination, etc.).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3691527/

Tea could be of interest in detoxification processes, thanks to the ability of certain polyphenols (EGCG, ECG, EC) to interfere with toxins and activate the molecules responsible for the production and activity of detoxification enzymes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5124528/

When amalgams end up becoming false truths

For some years now, detoxification, shortened to “detox”, has been widely used in the media and by certain businesses to designate slimming diets based on the elimination of excesses (alcohol, a meal too rich in processed foods, etc.).

The mechanism of weight loss does not involve detoxification, but deficiencies in micronutrients, macronutrients and the body's ability to adapt to these reductions.

In fact, research carried out on people who have undergone weight-loss stomach surgery (sleeve, bypass) seems to demonstrate that it is indeed the reduction in food intake that leads to weight loss. Research has also shown that the digestive tract as a whole undergoes major changes: more regular renewal of intestinal cells, reduced hunger signals, changes in hormone secretions (in favour of insulin, satiety hormones and against GIP, one of the hormones involved in converting sugar into fat stored in adipose tissue).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788713/

A cruel lack of scientific information

Skimming the scientific literature, it would appear that no studies have been carried out on tea used in detox diets. I could stop here, but it's important to understand why “detox diet” is such a misleading term. The popular term “detox diet” associates weight loss and the elimination of toxins, but represents a particular and generally low-calorie diet. For this reason, a scientific publication by Klein and Kiat in 2015 looked at work on the impact of diets based on foods with detoxifying potential (fruit, herbal infusions including tea, etc.) on weight control and detoxification.

Among the American programs followed by the volunteers (high-fiber diet, liquid diets, herbal infusions, gluten exclusion, etc.), the longest was 21 days. The first thing to note is that not all detox diets combined weight loss and detoxification. The second thing to bear in mind is that these studies were not conducted long enough to observe the rebound phenomenon (cravings, chronic stress due to reduced food intake, deficiencies, etc.). This is a natural sign that the body is no longer able to adapt to this lifestyle. The effects could therefore be transitory, as has already been shown in vivo in numerous animals such as mice and rats.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jhn.12286

More worryingly, taking products labelled “detox” could also represent a risk, depending on a person's medical history. For example, a 60-year-old woman with high blood pressure started a 3-cup-a-day Yogi Tea cure (contrary to the name, there is no tea but a blend of plants). Fourteen days later, she developed lethargy and hepatic necrosis, even though the plants in question are said to stimulate cellular detoxification. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5674495/

For many years now, the term “detox” has been completely hijacked from its original meaning - the elimination of toxic substances - and associated with weight loss. Current studies show no correlation between detox diets, detoxification and long-term weight loss. Finally, it's amusing to note the absence of any information on tea as a “detox”. How can we claim that tea is “detox / slimming” when there's nothing to prove it?