Purify your body with Detox Tea

Water is possibly the most valuable tool for detoxifying your body. The body’s most basic functions require water.^[Your body needs water to produce saliva, help with perspiration, and remove waste.

When I say drink water, I do mean water, not coffee, or sports drinks, or soft drinks. If you’re one of those people that find the taste of water boring, try detox tea.

Tea’s Potent Powers
Tea’s health benefits covers almost every territory: A 2013 study analysis from Italian, Dutch, and American researchers found that tea may help lower your risk of stroke and heart disease, lower your blood pressure, increase mood and mental performance, and even keep your energy up and weight down.

But when it comes to detoxification, tea alone isn’t enough for the job. “No one food, herb, or remedy has the ability to cure ailments or disease, nor does it have the ability to ‘detox’ the body,” says Manuel Villacorta, R.D, author of the forthcoming book, Whole Body Reboot: The Peruvian Superfoods Diet to Detoxify, Energize, and Supercharge Fat Loss.

In fact, there is no hard evidence backing the claims made by tea companies that their detox teas actually purify human cells. However, high quality teas can help support the body’s natural daily process of detoxification—just as much as other foods and drinks can hurt this system, says New Jersey-based holistic nutritionist, Laura Lagano, R.D.

Basic green and black teas are rich in antioxidants—the secret behind boosting our natural cleansing process. “Antioxidants work to reduce the oxidative stress and free radicals in our body, too much of which can cause chronic inflammation and even mutate our DNA strains, leading to cancer and other chronic diseases,” Villacorta explains.

Detox Teas
If green and black tea are helpful in their own, pure form, is there any upside to those bags branded explicitly for detoxing?

“Specific detox teas offer added benefits in the additional ingredients,” Villacorta says. Herbs like lemongrass, ginger, dandelion, and milk thistle all contain properties said to support a healthy liver, one of those organs in charge of your natural detoxifying process. Ginger has also been proven to alleviate oxidative stress within the liver, which indirectly helps the organ perform its cleaning task more efficiently, Villacorta explains.

Best Practices
Both nutritionists agree drinking tea when you wake up and before bed can help your system rev up and calm down, depending on which variety you choose. If you’re a tea fanatic, work in a few cups throughout the day: Unless you’re sensitive to caffeine, you can probably handle five to seven cups a day without any negative side effects, Lagano says.

The most important part about your teatox, though, isn’t even in what tea you choose—it’s in what else you eat: “Tea can only be medicinal and detoxifying if your diet isn’t taxing your system, which most American meals are guilty of,” Lagano says. In order to truly detoxify your body, cut processed and fried foods, and up your intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and anti-inflammatory fats like avocados and almonds, Villacorta explains. Once your diet is clean and gentle on your body, detoxifying teas can begin to enhance your natural organ function.

So what are the best leaves to choose? If you’re really focused on a start-and-stop teatox (rather than just incorporating detox teas into your diet), check out programs like SkinnyMe Tea, which offers 14- or 28-day packages of high-quality, loose-leaf herbs to steep. Or save a little cash and try one of these four off-the-shelf detoxifying varieties, recommended by Lagano and Villacorta.

LeCharm Detox tea is rich in Vitamins and fiber that works gently to help you detox your body safely and healthily. The 100% natural herbal tea won’t make you have multiple trips to the bathroom in the morning.