What Does 3 Ballerina Tea Do to the Body?

Ballerina tea, also called 3 ballerina tea, is an herbal weight loss tea. Health benefits of ballerina tea include constipation relief and anti-diabetes activity.

Ballerina tea contains herbs that some cultures have traditionally used for a long time. Some marketing claims suggest that ballerina tea helps you lose weight, but this might not be true. Still, it might have other uses.

Ballerina tea, also called 3 ballerina tea, is an herbal weight loss tea. It’s marketed as a "dieter’s drink", but it’s really a laxative tea. There isn’t a lot of research on ballerina tea specifically, but people have used the individual herbs it contains as teas, tinctures, and other products for a long time. 

Despite marketing claims, the idea that laxatives can help with weight loss is a myth. Laxatives cause water loss, not fat or calorie loss. You might lose what’s called water weight, but you’ll gain it back as soon as you drink liquids, and you may experience other health effects. 

Ballerina tea usually contains two ingredients: senna and Chinese mallow. These herbs have a long history in traditional medicine, including Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. 

Senna

Three ballerina tea contains Cassia angustifolia, commonly called senna or cassia senna. This plant is a fast-growing shrub with bluish-green leaves, yellow flowers, and fruit pods. The leaves are aromatic and release a foul-smelling odor when you crush them. 

The plant is native to Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, and its leaves, flowers, and fruit are commonly used as medicine. People have used senna to treat parasites, cholera, fevers, anemia, poisoning, and constipation. 

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves senna leaf and pod products as non-prescription laxatives you can use at home. Your doctor might give you senna to empty your bowels before a bowel scan. 

Chinese mallow

Ballerina tea also contains Malva verticillata, which is commonly referred to as Chinese mallow or cluster mallow. Chinese mallow is an edible, leafy vegetable popular in East Asia, where it’s also used as herbal tea and medicine. 

In traditional Chinese medicine, mallow seeds are used to treat kidney stones and osteoporosis and to restore kidney function and maintain milk supply. In India and Ethiopia, Chinese mallow is a traditional medicine used to treat coughs, ulcers, hemorrhoids, fevers, vomiting, kidney pain, and stomach problems.

There isn’t much research on ballerina tea, but there are some potential benefits based on its ingredients.

Constipation relief

Both senna and Chinese mallow have laxative properties, so ballerina tea could help ease constipation. 

Anthraquinone glycosides called sennosides are the active chemicals in senna responsible for its laxative effects. Your gut bacteria feed on these compounds and release byproducts called rhein and rhein-anthrone. These byproducts irritate your bowels and cause them to contract, which leads to a bowel movement.

Sennosides also block electrolyte and water absorption in your gut. As a result, you retain more water, which increases the water content of your stool and leads to soft stool that’s easier to pass.

Chinese mallow contains active compounds, like phenolic compounds, mucilages, vitamins, and fatty acids. The high mucilage content likely causes the laxative effect. Mucilage is a gel-like substance found in plants and is often used to soothe the body and help with inflammation. While Chinese mallow is a laxative, it is also commonly used to treat diarrhea. 

Senna is a strong laxative, so herbalists usually mix it with other herbs to offset some of its effects. The mallow in ballerina tea might help neutralize some of the senna side effects even though it also produces a laxative action.

Anti-diabetes activity

Studies show that Chinese mallow extracts are rich in oligosaccharides and flavonoids. Oligosaccharides are sugars that have anti-diabetic properties. Studies show they can lower blood sugar, improve insulin-producing cell function, and improve insulin levels.

In an animal study on zebrafish, researchers found that a Chinese mallow extract had antioxidant effects and could block certain channels in insulin-producing cells. The result was a higher insulin release. 

The researchers state that a steady intake of Chinese mallow might have anti-diabetic and antioxidant activity. The studies were conducted on zebrafish larvae rather than humans, though, so it’s too early to know for sure. 

The herbs in ballerina tea are safe to consume for a short time. You can find many types of senna products in your local pharmacy, and they often have only mild side effects. Long-term use of senna and laxatives can cause health problems, though. They also aren’t to be treated as weight-loss solutions. 

Digestive problems

Senna causes common digestive side effects, like:

• Nausea 
• Stomach cramps 
• Diarrhea 
• Thirst 
• Increased saliva 

It can also cause rectal bleeding, brown urine, and faintness. Long-term use of senna can lead to dependency where you’re unable to pass stool well on your own. Your bowels stop reacting to it, and you then need higher and higher doses to complete a bowel movement. This can lead to dangerous side effects and organ damage. 

Long-term use of senna can also lead to ongoing stomach cramps and diarrhea. The compounds in senna can stain your colon a dark color and cause bowel damage. The staining and damage will usually heal once you stop using senna, though. 

Dehydration

Laxatives, including those in ballerina tea, can lead to diarrhea and water loss, which can lead to dehydration. Ongoing use of laxatives and laxative tea can thus cause serious imbalances that can affect your nerves, muscles, bowel, and heart. 

Liver damage

Long-term use of senna can also lead to liver damage. A few case reports show that senna causes liver injury after 3 to 5 months of use. The liver problems quickly went away after patients stopped taking senna, though, and experts consider liver damage a rare side effect. 

While ballerina tea might be helpful for constipation, it might be unsafe for some people. Avoid ballerina tea if you:

• Are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Have an eating disorder
• Have a bowel disease, such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis
• Have undiagnosed stomach pain or digestive problems

Children under the age of 12 years also shouldn’t take senna products unless they are prescribed by a doctor. Adults should limit the use of senna to a 1-week period. Talk to your doctor if you’re thinking about taking it for a longer span.