In Brief: Herbal diet teas

Herbal diet teas: FDA's Food Advisory Committee recently recommended that herbal diet teas bear a warning that the products contain herbs that can act as stimulant laxatives. The warning supported by the group would explain that prolonged steeping time can increase the risk of adverse laxative effects including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and diarrhea; that chronic use of laxatives can impair colon function; use of laxatives may be hazardous in the presence of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or rectal bleeding; laxative-induced diarrhea does not significantly reduce absorption of food calories; and acute or chronic diarrhea may result in serious illness or death...