Fraud Tip of the Day - January 4

Weight Loss Teas Don't Work

If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight and you want to try an herbal tea advertised as a way to lose those pounds think again. The primary ingredient in many of these weight loss teas is caffeine.

As you probably already know caffeine is a diuretic which means taking it can lead to water loss. You might weigh a little less after the first day but that's because you've lost water, not fat. In addition to being a diuretic, caffeine can raise the metabolism slightly but not enough to help you lose any weight.

The one positive thing we can say about herbal teas in relation to weight loss is that if you drink them instead if high calorie beverages like soda and beer you could actually lose some weight. Don't be fooled into thinking it was the tea that did it. What helped was not drinking sugar or carb-laden drinks. There's nothing wrong with that but plain old water would do the trick as well.

Some of the teas are packaged as part of a program that, if you follow it, may actually aid in weight loss. Some of the advice in these weight loss tea programs is that you drink them after dinner and make sure that you don't eat anything else until breakfast.

Yeah, I see how following that rule might help someone lose weight. I also see how drinking a glass of water and not eating anything else until breakfast would have the same effect.