Detoxifying and cleansing tea

90% of the so-called "detoxifying colon cleansing teas" on the market rely on the addition of stimulant laxatives such as senna leaves, rhubarb, and cassia seeds to create the illusion that "defecation = detoxification". Long-term drinking will destroy the balance of intestinal flora and even induce colon melanosis.； Tea drinks that can truly assist in regulating the intestines must be selected according to individual constitution and syndrome differentiation. There is no "universal intestinal cleansing tea" that is suitable for everyone.

During the Chinese New Year two years ago, I ate a lot and my stomach was bloated and I didn't have a bowel movement for three or four days. I came across a bowel cleansing tea recommended by an internet celebrity, who said, "One drink of it will help you pass 3 pounds of bowel movement." I placed the order without saying anything. As a result, within two hours of drinking it, my stomach hurt. I went to the toilet six times in one night and my legs collapsed the next day. I was so soft that I couldn't even walk downstairs, and I felt so happy that I had "cleansed the toxins." It wasn't until I went for a physical examination later and talked about it with my cousin in the Chinese medicine department, and she scolded me that I realized that I wasn't detoxifying at all, but that I had diarrhea caused by the stimulation of senna leaves added to the tea.

Don’t think I am an exception. I looked through the ingredients list of the top 10 best-selling intestinal cleansing teas on an e-commerce platform. Almost all of them contain cassia seeds, and three of them have senna hidden at the end of the ingredient list. You can’t even notice it unless you look carefully. Many businesses have also created the marketing concepts of "feces" and "intestinal poisoning", saying that if a person has more than ten kilograms of feces piled up in his intestines, drinking their tea can clear it out. To put it bluntly, our intestines are not trash cans, so how can there be so much garbage piled up? There is no such thing as "defecation" in Western medicine. The normal metabolism of food residues only takes 1-3 days. As long as you defecate no less than 3 times a week, the stool properties are normal, and there is no need for additional "bowel cleansing".

Of course, this does not mean that all teas that can help regulate the intestines are IQ-taxed. Regular Chinese medicine does have many tea recipes with the same source of medicine and food, but they don’t call them “detoxifying intestinal cleansing tea” at all, and they don’t let you drink it every day. The prescriptions that my cousin usually prescribes to patients are all based on the patient's preferences: for people who are usually afraid of heat, always have dry mouth, and have stools as dry as sheep's excrement eggs, and occasionally suffer from constipation, use 3g cassia seeds and 2 feverfew chrysanthemums to make some warm tea and drink it. Drink it for a day or two, and the stool will stop after clearing up. It is gentle and not irritating. ； But if you are usually afraid of the cold and will have diarrhea for a long time after eating iced watermelon, people with spleen and stomach deficiency should not touch cool foods such as cassia seeds and chrysanthemums. If you eat too much and your stomach becomes bloated, use 5g of fried malt and 2 slices of tangerine peel to make a tea. Drink it warmly. After half an hour, you will burp twice and the bloating will be almost gone. Last time I had a drink with my friend after eating heavy oil and spicy hot pot, and it was indeed more effective than taking Jianweixiaoshi tablets.

Western medicine is more straightforward: the intestines have their own microecological balance. If you drink stimulating tea for catharsis when you have nothing to do, it is equivalent to giving the intestines a "violent cleaning" and sweeping away the beneficial bacteria. Over time, the peristalsis ability of the intestines will decrease, and it will become more and more constipated. In severe cases, you can also get colonic melanosis. The entire intestinal mucosa turns dark brown, and the risk of disease is much higher than that of normal people. My cousin said that she had a baby in her 20s two years ago. She drank intestinal cleansing tea every day for half a year in order to lose weight. Initially, she only had occasional constipation. Later, she could not pass laxatives at all without using laxatives. After the colonoscopy, the entire intestinal wall turned black. It took almost a year of conditioning to slowly recover.

Oh, by the way, some people say that drinking bowel cleansing tea can help you lose weight, but that is purely an IQ tax. What you pull out is water and electrolytes, not fat at all. Drinking a lot of water will make you lose weight, and eating a hot pot will make it all come back. You might even become potassium deficient, and your whole body will be so weak that you can't even go to work or make mistakes.

Anyway, if you really want to drink some tea to regulate your intestines and stomach, first feel your own bottom: do you usually have constipation, are you afraid of cold, and will you feel uncomfortable after eating cold food? Don't believe the efficacy that the merchants boast about. If you really want the formula, ask a regular Chinese medicine practitioner. If you have colic or diarrhea after drinking it, stop immediately. Our intestines are very delicate, so don't mess around with messy things.