FitTea: Miracle Liquid? Or Just Another Money Maker?

Those pesky Kardashians are back…even though they never really went away, despite all our best hopes and prayers…and they are back with more Instagram magic tricks: FitTea.

You’ve seen the Instagram stories and the advertising (don’t get me started on how much money they get from that) from celebrities all across the internet about how their weight loss just sky-rocketed when they began their FitTea “cleanses”.

WHAT IS FIT TEA?

FitTea is a company that has developed what they believe to be the #1 detox tea in the world, as well as “The detox tea approved by celebrities!”(1).

Isn’t it interesting how they thought the best way to convince their consumers to buy their product was to say that celebrities approved it, instead of saying the research approved it? Hmmmm.

I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, I just think that’s interesting to point out what is believed to grab consumer’s attention the most…

According to the FitTea website, they recommend that you blend one packet into 1 cup of water each morning, hot or cold, with or without breakfast. Just know, if you do the math, each packet is roughly $2 per, which isn’t bad compared to the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Now, I will give them praise where praise is due. There is a disclaiming statement at the bottom of the page (albeit in very small font), that their teas are not curative, they are not quick fixes, and that they must be combined with a clean diet and safe exercise practices in order to maximize weight loss and health results.

Wow, kudos to you FitTea. Here’s a nice golf clap for you.

In this post, we are going to see what all the fuss is about this company called FitTea, and if their products really do work effectively?

To do this, I am going to cover the top 3 ingredients that FitTea reports are present in their tea blends, and the effects that each one can have on fat loss, weight management, appetite suppression, etc.

Upon visiting the FitTea website, you can look at a variety of the special ingredients that are present in each tea packet they sell, as well as can see how proud they are that their products are nonGMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, and so on and so forth.

I searched everywhere on the FitTea website, but I could not find any stated health benefits or the rationale for the use of any of their ingredients.

So, you know me. I’ve always got your back. I started doing the dirty work for you. I looked up some of the current research that is out there on each of these wonderful ingredients.

I’ll say something that might shock you (cause I know it FLOORED me)…people like the Kardashians may actually be on to something here, for once.

1. GREEN TEA

At the very top of the ingredients list on the FitTea website is green tea.

With green tea, the biggest take home message that I could leave you with is this: if you are someone who just NEEDS their caffeine fix in the morning, a green tea caffeine mix is essentially a better version of coffee.

With coffee, we know that caffeine has somewhat of a positive effect on increasing metabolism and suppressing your appetite. However, there are additional negatives to coffee that may make green tea the better alternative for getting our “caffeine fix”.

Green tea, in countless studies, has shown to have similar amounts of caffeine, as well as demonstrates similar positive effects as coffee. I have a future post coming up about health benefits and negatives of coffee….so definitely subscribe and stay tuned for that piece.

In fact, it was shown, in a study following a whopping 17,000 people, that a green tea caffeine mix actually showed to reduce the risk for development of Type 2 Diabetes (2). However I must say, this study was conducted in Japan.

Why does that need to be clarified? Well…don’t get me started on how much healthier the rest of the world is than America to begin with. If you are Japanese and are reading this, here’s another hand clap to you.

Secondly, in another study, it was shown that a green tea caffeine mix has proven to improve body thermogenesis and fat oxidation (3). If right now you are saying to yourself “whoa whoa, thermo-what-esis and fat who-dation? Hang tight, let’s go over these.

Thermogenesis is the body’s ability to create an environment of heat in order to metabolize nutrients: in laymen’s terms, your body producing heat to burn calories.

Fat oxidation is a process by which fatty acids in the bloodstream and various other areas are broken down to produce an energy source that can be used by the body.

Though diabetes risk management, thermogenesis, and fat oxidation are fantastic, the true key to green tea lies in something called EGCG, or Epigallocatechin Gallate (yes, my brain hurts too after reading that).

EGCG, otherwise known as a catechin, is a very very strong antioxidant (4). Green tea is full of these catechins. It was additionally shown in this article that green tea possesses more catechins than regular black tea and oolong tea, which will be discussed momentarily (4).

The kicker here is that, not only are catechins already super antioxidants, but the chemical makeup of green tea allows their effects to be felt even greater by the body than in normal circumstances.

Additional effects of catechins are significant reductions in risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers, as well containing as a host of other biophysical boosters (4).

However, the research in these areas still leaves a little to be desired, with even some of these conclusions disputed by others (5).

2. OOLONG Wu Yi TEA

The second major ingredient listed on the website of FitTea is by far my favoritely named beverage: Oolong Wu Yi tea (what. a. name.)

Oolong tea is a Chinese developed tea that is essentially a weakened version of green tea, with just a handful of additional effects.

Most research on oolong tea confirms that there are a multitude of catechins present and that there is a strong weight loss boosting effect, however, the content of catechins in oolong tea is nowhere near as vast as the contents in green tea (6).

One of those additional positive effects that oolong tea has over other forms of tea is that there is a strong belief in its preventative capabilities in reducing risk of hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and fat content in the blood), decreasing visceral fat content, and even sometimes reducing overall body weight (7).

Not only can oolong tea reduce overall fat content, it has shown to be excellent at preserving fat-free body mass, which is essentially anything in your body that is NOT fat: bones and muscle specifically.

I was able to read roughly 10 or 12 articles (I wrote this really late, so I can’t remember how many) that confirmed the same conclusions about oolong tea.

Who wouldn’t want something that will prevent fat from taking over and help in preserving muscle content…I know I would.

3. GARCINIA CAMBOGIA EXTRACT

I will admit, the research I found on this substance may not be as conclusive as you would like, due to the fact that I would most likely have benefited from an advanced PhD in Biochemistry to understand half of the articles I read...so many molecules and compounds. Nevertheless, let’s carry on.

The garcinia cambogia is a fruit that, interestingly enough, is much too sour to eat raw, thus must be either cooked or consumed as an additional ingredient.

According to the vast…and I do mean vast…amount of research I did regarding this substance, there were a handful of benefits that stuck out to me, as well as some negatives.

To understand the effects of garcinia cambogia it is crucial that you first understand serotonin, and concepts regarding appetite, insulin levels, glucose metabolism, and potential for diabetes.

Serotonin is a hormone present in the body which, when there are high levels, suppresses your appetite, essentially making you feel “full” (8).

Most of you may know about it’s “serotonin-high” capabilities, in which high levels of serotonin make you feel joyous and euphoric, reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. But little do people know that serotonin is most commonly found in the stomach, not the brain (8).

There is substantial research support that garcinia cambogia increases serotonin levels in the body, sometimes even by as much as 40% (9,10). Thus, there is a significant appetite suppressing effect from this substance.

Secondly, let’s talk about diabetes. Garcinia cambogia efficiently lowers serum insulin levels, as well as increases glucose metabolism (11). “How does this play into diabetes?”, you may be asking. Well, let me explain.

If you have read my post about the keto diet (if not, shameless plug incoming…you should subscribe and go read it) you will remember that glucose is a highly available energy source in the blood stream.

When these levels of glucose get too high in the blood, insulin is called into action to lower those levels. However, when diabetes develops, blood glucose levels have been so high for so long that insulin is no longer really effective. The receptors don’t respond to insulin the way they used to.

If this is the case, the only thing that you can really do is ensure that your blood glucose levels get too high.

Well, this is where garcinia cambogia extract comes into play. It’s ability to increase glucose metabolism helps the body naturally lower blood sugar levels by “burning off” the excess glucose.

Finally, and most simple to understand, research proves that garcinia cambogia has the ability to reduce fat accumulation in the body, which is always a plus (12).

THE TAKE HOME

Could it actually be true? Are the Kardashians actually right about something?

Well…it turns out they are in fact on the right track here (for once).

Based on a detailed review of the major ingredients in FitTea products, we can see that there is a significant benefit that these drinks can have on appetite suppression and fighting off excess fat storage in the body.

FitTea can be highly effective if you are looking for something to replace your morning coffee yet still want that caffeine “energy high” for your stressful work day. And, they can even supplement your workout plan to potentially aid with fat loss and muscle preservation.

However, as FitTea even admits itself, these drinks are not to be used ALONE if your goal is strictly fat loss. In order to achieve optimal weight loss and fat burning results, the conventional theory still stands tall.

A clean, well-balanced diet with safe and strategic exercise practice is needed, with FitTea as a supplemental health addition.

There you have it. FitTeas aren’t just some new hoax. But, they aren’t some new miracle liquid either.

As always, please do not take this post as medical advice. Ingredient interactions with medications, specifically diabetes and cholesterol medications, are highly variable.

If you are considering beginning a FitTea “cleanse” (as the website calls it), and have concerns, please talk to your doctor or a registered dietician or nutritionist before beginning.

Thanks for reading!