The Truth About Slendertoxtea

You may remember a while back I posted about receiving a 14 Day Teatox* from Slendertoxtea, via the Blogger's Hub Twitter Party. So as not to repeat myself, if you want to check out a bit of the background info about the detox, I included it in the introductory post.

Detox Diary

Day one, and I received the teatox midway through the day, so I started with the night time tea. I'd heard reports that the night time tea can be potent, so I didn't brew it for too long. Considering I drink a lot of herbal teas, I was surprised I didn't enjoy the taste of this tea. It had almost a musty taste. The next day, I woke up and tried the morning tea and found while it was far from delicious, it wasn't the worst thing I have ever tasted, and was more palatable than the night tea. I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary, so continued with both teas on day three.

So far, so good? Not quite. Cue some TMI action below.

Day four and I woke up with intense cramping in my tummy, similar to menstrual cramps. To cut a long story short, I was well overdue an urgent toilet trip. "Get it over and done with and it'll all be fine", I said. Yeah right. It showed no signs of stopping and I was literally scared to move from the toilet for about half an hour. This happened two more times that morning, and I was put off poop for life.

How was I feeling? C.R.A.P.

I was sweating buckets and felt exhausted and dehydrated. One thing I knew for sure, my colon was most definitely cleansed. Okay, I guess that's the point, but I'm pretty sure diets shouldn't feel like death? When I was ready for breakfast, I took the morning tea as usual, and continued with my day. Just when I thought by some kind of miracle that everything was a-ok, around 10pm I felt those dreaded cramping pains again. After a repeat performance of the morning, I was well and truly done.

There and then, I made the decision to stop my Teatox. The thoughts that entered my mind? I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!

Reflecting on Slendertoxtea

I don't class myself as fat and needing to lose weight as such, rather just wanting to feel a bit healthier. And did I feel healthy? God no. I felt the worst I had done in a long time. I definitely do not see this as a healthy way to lose weight as it is completely unnatural, as well as being an overpriced laxative.

Is Slendertoxtea misleading? I would say yes. To some, it is obvious how the tea would work. Call me naive but detox has become such an overused word in my opinion. You could say that drinking hot water and lemon is detoxifying, but that doesn't mean it's going to make you shit yourself cleanse your colon.

Yes there is a warning on the packaging that there may be a laxative effect, but the way that it is glossed over implies that they almost want to deceive the public. Chewing gum packets have a similar warning on their packaging. But no one ever takes any notice. I feel like these kinds of detoxes try to do the same. I think that Slendertoxtea aren't advertising the laxative effects as obviously as they should be, rather marketing these teas as a glamorous quick fix solution. And boy, glamorous it ain't. Admittedly the website is a little more informative than the packaging.

There are so many reviews that praise these kinds of detox teas, saying that they are simply incredible. This leads me to wonder, did these women experience the same as me? Or are they just not advertising it. Slendertoxtea does recommend you stop the detox if you have any bad reactions to it. I felt pretty crap by the end of the three days, so I knew it was time for me to stop. But it is such a fine line. Maybe I was weak and gave in too soon? But with having a physiological reaction, surely this brings us on to the safety of such detox teas. 14 days of the shits surely isn't going to have you sitting pretty (sorry).

The Sciencey Bit

An article from Shape.com paraphrases the National Institute of Health: "According to the National Institutes of Health, there’s insufficient evidence that senna promotes weight loss. But it does irritate the stomach lining to produce a laxative effect and can contribute to stomach discomfort, cramps, and diarrhea. Using it for more than two weeks (as you would following most teatox plans) is discouraged since it can cause abnormal bowel function or changes in electrolyte levels that can lead to heart problems, muscle weakness, liver damage, and other harmful effects." Other articles, such as this one from The Guardian argue that there's is no such thing as detoxifying the body.

Other Reviews

Obviously I didn't complete the 14 day plan, so this isn't going to be the most accurate review in terms of results, so I'll link up a few more reviews:

Stylingo | Do detoxes actually work?

An Impatient Scottish Girl | Slendertoxtea

This last one is brilliant as it documents the lows and highs, from start to finish, a much more useful review that mine, sorry folks! I hope that by linking up a few reviews and articles I've redeemed myself, and that you can make an informed decision about whether you think Slendertoxtea is for you. Although it wasn't for me, I'm not necessarily saying it is a bad product. If you would like to try this, here's the link to the Slendertoxtea 14 Day Teatox, costing £19.99.

- Post contains PR samples kindly provided on behalf of Slendertoxtea -

- This does not affect my views and I will always give my honest opinion of a product -