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The herbal weight-loss diet: an herbal a day

Some herbal products work by increasing the elimination of water with diuretics or stimulating bowel function by laxatives. These products typically use such herbs as corn silk, uva ursi, cascara sagrada, senna, and others.

Several years ago I tested both body fat and body water levels of several dozen dieters. The important water supply was deficient by at least 1 percent in every person who had been using herbal diuretics. Some were deficient by several percent. This may not seem significant until you realize that by the time you are thirsty, you are already 1 percent dehydrated; 5 percent dehydration can lead to serious health problems, and 10 percent dehydration is death! Every percent of water content of the body is critical!

Continued use of laxative herbs like cascara sagrada and senna is addictive. Over time, the ability to maintain normal bowel function without the herbs is lost. And really, what's the point of weight loss? Is it just a few pounds on the scale, or is it fat loss?

No herbal diuretic or laxative can help you lose fat tissue. Any advertisement that promises to help you lose so much weight in so many days is promising water loss, not fat loss. It is biochemically impossible to lose fat that quickly! What you really need to do is balance your body; i.e., bring your body into homeostatic balance so that the excess fat drops off as a consequence of balanced nutrition. That is the only guaranteed safe way to do it.

The moral of the story is clear: Herbal weight-loss products are not safe. While they promise instant results, they can't fulfill their promises, and you are left poorer at the end after you have used them. Don't be tempted by the hype. You're much too smart for that.

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