Saturday, May 10, 2008
Posted by Miss Neddy at 04:56 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Categories: Tea Black Other uses Tea Related

While talking to some friends yesterday, they divulged that they had friends who relied on “slimming teas” to retain their figure, drinking it every day. Slimming teas, if they are not dark black teas, such as Pu’er, are usually laxatives. Continual use of laxatives are not healthy at all; after a while, your bowels become somewhat atrophied, and relies on the laxatives to work properly. Laxatives per se are fairly useful, for specific problems. Just as you wouldn’t take antihistamines continually for months, you don’t consume laxative teas continually in order to slim down.

Many “slimming teas” are not teas at all. They are laxative herbs, such as senna leaves or cascara. In the past few years, though, I have noticed that some black teas are marketed as slimming teas as well. Teas such as Tuo Cha 沱茶 and Pu’er are good for aiding digestion, and some studies have tentatively shown that drinking such teas help lower blood cholesterol. How effective they are as slimming beverages, though, I have my doubts. 

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