Detoxifying the body is a necessary part of each person’s health. It not only helps eliminate toxins from the body but also prevents some chronic diseases, especially cancer. Currently, detoxifying the body with green tea is widely known and widely applied. However, is this detox method really as effective as expected?
1. What’s the detoxify with green tea?
Detox with green tea is advertised as a simple way to help you eliminate harmful toxins from the body, increase energy levels and improve general health. The advocates of the body detoxification method have asserted that adding just about 0.7 - 1.4 liters of green tea to the daily diet can help fade dark spots, enhance immune function and stimulate the burning of excess fat effectively.
However, whether green tea detoxes the body or not depends on many factors. In general, for the green tea detox method, you do not necessarily need to completely avoid consuming certain foods, but to achieve high effectiveness, you should combine exercise and follow a diet rich in nutrition during the procedure.
2. Potential benefits of green tea for detoxifying the body
Here are some potential benefits of using green tea to detoxify the body, including:
2.1.Promotes hydration
Getting and staying hydrated is extremely important for many aspects of health, as nearly every system in the body requires water to function properly.
In fact, proper hydration is essential for filtering waste, regulating the body's temperature, promoting the absorption of nutrients, and helping the brain function effectively.
The majority of green tea consists mainly of water. Therefore, it can promote hydration and help meet your daily fluid needs. When you apply the method of detoxifying your body by drinking green tea, it means you will drink from 0.7 -.4 liters of liquid just from green tea every day.
However, green tea is not the only source of fluid that helps you hydrate your body. Ideally, you should combine the consumption of many other healthy drinks besides green tea to always ensure adequate water intake.
2.2. Supports weight loss
Some studies show that supplementing water helps effectively support your weight loss process. Drinking more water helps you lose weight and significantly lose weight no matter what diet or exercise you are following.
Green tea contains many ingredients that have been shown to aid weight loss and fat burning. Results of a recent study showed that consuming green tea extract increased fat burning during exercise by up to 17% compared to using a placebo.
In addition, green tea contains plant chemicals catechins, which help reduce body weight and maintain ideal weight. Thus, through the use of green tea to purify the body, you not only provide a significant amount of water for your body but also help maintain a slim figure.
2.3. Prevent disease
The method of detoxifying the body with green tea can help you fight some types of chronic diseases, especially cancer. Because green tea contains the antioxidant compound epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which helps prevent the growth of liver cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer cells.
In addition, drinking green tea to detoxify the body also helps reduce blood sugar levels effectively. In fact, drinking at least 3 cups (237ml) of green tea per day can reduce your risk of developing diabetes by 16%.
Furthermore, some studies show that drinking green tea also reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. People who drink at least 1 cup of green tea a day have a lower risk of cardiovascular problems than others. Especially, when you drink at least 4 cups (946ml) of green tea per day, you will have a lower risk of heart attack than people who do not drink any amount of green tea.
2.4. Prevent skin aging
Green tea is not only a beverage that helps provide fluid for the body, it also contains a series of other healthy compounds that are extremely effective in reducing inflammation and anti-aging of the skin.
You should try using tea for detox and youthful skin because it contains many natural compounds polyphenols and the antioxidant epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which helps prevent cell damage while preserving the youthful beauty of your skin.
These healthy bioactive compounds can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are considered the main factor that accelerates the aging process and leads to many other diseases.
3. Limitations of detox using green tea
Besides the potential benefits of green tea detoxifying the body, it still has some other drawbacks.
3.1. Contains lots of caffeine
One serving of green tea (equivalent to 237ml) contains about 35mg of caffeine. Although the amount of caffeine in green tea is less than in other beverages such as energy drinks or coffee, however, when you are drinking 3 - 6 cups of green tea per day can increase your caffeine consumption.
Caffeine is a stimulant that has the potential to cause side effects such as anxiety, high blood pressure, digestive problems and sleep disorders, especially when consumed in large quantities. In addition, it also causes addiction and some withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, mood changes and difficulty concentrating.
For most adults, consuming up to 400mg of caffeine per day is considered safe. However, people who are sensitive to caffeine should consider consuming green tea or adopting a green tea detox method to avoid any negative health effects.
3.2. Reduces the ability to absorb nutrients
Green tea contains some polyphenols, such as tannins and EGCG, which can bind to micronutrients and prevent the body from absorbing them.
In particular, detoxifying the body with green tea also increases the risk of iron deficiency due to the body's poor absorption of iron.
Although enjoying an occasional cup of green tea is unlikely to cause nutritional deficiencies in healthy people, however, drinking a green tea detox is generally not recommended for those at high risk of iron deficiency.
If you are at risk of iron deficiency, drink green tea between meals and try to wait at least an hour after eating before drinking tea.
3.3. Unnecessary and ineffective for detoxifying the body
Drinking green tea can bring many benefits to your health, but using green tea to detoxify the body is considered unnecessary and ineffective for weight loss and detoxification. This is because our bodies have a built-in detoxification system to remove toxins and harmful compounds.
In addition, when you only apply green tea detox for a few weeks, it will not bring as many positive effects as expected. Furthermore, for those who drink green tea to lose weight in the short term, it will not produce long-term or sustainable results after stopping use.
Therefore, detoxifying the body with green tea should only be considered part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, not a way to help you effectively eliminate toxins.
4. Some other healthy body detoxification methods
Our bodies have a complex system that helps eliminate toxins, optimize health and prevent disease. For example, the intestines help excrete waste products, the lungs help excrete carbon dioxide, the skin secretes sweat, and the kidneys perform functions such as filtering blood along with producing urine.
Instead of strictly following diets or outdated detox practices, it's best to provide your body with the nutrients and fuel it needs for its natural detoxification system to function and work more effectively, while also helping to improve long-term health.
Drinking plenty of water every day, eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly are simple measures to optimize your health, promoting weight loss without causing any of the dangerous side effects like like some detox diets.
Overall, green tea is still a great addition to a balanced diet, but you should use it in moderation and make sure to combine it with a healthy lifestyle to achieve detoxification results better.
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References: healthline.com, webmd.com
