Dishin’ on Layered Teas
It’s time to dish the tea… on these layered teas!
Before I dive in, please know that I am in no way trying to “diss” a small business here. It is just vital that you are able to make an informed decision on what you believe is best for your health and many shops will not disclose their ingredients.
Unfortunately, these very popular shops have “health” or “nutrition” in the title, but in my experience, they do not always even know the ingredients in the products they’re serving. I was told that these products contained no artificial ingredients and were sweetened & colored with organic fruits and veggies… this is really alarming considering what was actually in the products (nothing organic, no fruits, and no veggies).
Red Flags Prior To Label Reading:
Neon Colors
🚩 This almost always indicates artificial coloring
Exotic Flavors
🚩 This almost always indicates artificial flavors
“Low Calorie/Sugar Free”
🚩 This almost always means artificial sweetener of some kind is in use
“Burns fat”
🚩 This almost always means synthetic “vitamins” (often proprietary so you aren’t even sure what it is) are in use
Only powders are used for teas and shakes (no real juices/fruit purees/fruit/vegetables etc.)
🚩 Quality nutrients rarely come from powders
From my internet research, and confirmed by the owner I spoke to, each tea contains 3 main products as the base:
1️⃣ Herbalife Tea Concentrate
This is the least offensive portion of the drink, and my only label concern was the lack of organic ingredients and the “natural and artificial flavors”.
2️⃣ Herbalife Lift-Off Tablets
These all contained Corn Syrup Solids, Artificial Flavors, Sucralose (artificial sweetener), Polyethylene Glycol, Artificial Coloring, and a slew of synthetic vitamins that mimic what you’d find in a Red Bull.
3️⃣ Herbalife Aloe
I am a big fan of aloe consumption… but this one is not organic and contains more Sucralose (artificial sweetener), natural and artificial flavors, and maltodextrin (which I have no problem with topically, but do not recommend for internal consumption)
Now, let me say that I genuinely LOVE the MLM industry, so this is nothing against the business model or it’s independent contractors. However, you can do a quick google search on Herbalife and find lots of information on the lawsuits they’ve faced, when/where they were banned, and the negative health repercussions of their products, including liver damage.
Then from there, they use zero-calorie powder flavor enhancers that vary from shop to shop. The most popular I’ve seen are:
❌ Skittles Brand: Aspartame, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors, Asculfame K
❌ Hawaiian Punch: Aspartame, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors
❌ Jolly Rancher brand: Aspartame, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors
❌ Kool-Aid: Sucralose, Artificial colors, artificial flavors
❌ Starburst brand: Aspartame, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors
❌ Mio: Sucralose, Artificial Colors, Natural & Artificial Flavors
❌ Crush: Aspartame, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors
❌ “Blue Blast”: Sucralose, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors
❌ Abundant Life – boasts “sweetened with stevia”: Still contains Sucralose, artificial flavors, artificial colors
They take these powders and pop them into sleek glass containers that they scoop from… making it challenging to realize that its just a cheap chemical concoction that is farrrrrr away from “healthy” or “nutritious”.
If you’re new to food labels, here are some links that can help explain further why artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors are dangerous to your health:
📌Aspartame: https://usrtk.org/sweeteners/aspartame_health_risks/, https://draxe.com/nutrition/aspartame/
📌Sucralose: https://draxe.com/nutrition/sucralose/, https://daveasprey.com/sucralose-splenda-safe-dangers/
📌Artificial Colors: https://www.foodnerdinc.com/…/artificial-food-coloring…, https://www.eatingwell.com/…/the-hidden-health-risks…/
📌Artificial Flavors: https://puregreensnutrition.com/…/artificial-flavoring.php
My hope is that this sheds some light on the importance of label reading, and not just assuming something is “healthy” or “nutritious” because someone else says it is.
More to come on the “shakes” from these shops, and also a round up of some of my favorite at home shake/tea products that you can play around… without the negative health impact!
