Can senna leaves help with weight loss?
Apr 17, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, senna leaf is not effective for weight loss. Senna leaf is a traditional Chinese medicine that functions to relieve heat, promote bowel movement, remove stagnation, and improve diuresis. It primarily stimulates intestinal motility to accelerate bowel movements, thereby achieving its laxative effect. Short-term use of senna leaf may result in temporary weight loss due to the excretion of water and fecal matter from the body, but this does not represent a reduction in body fat.
Under normal circumstances, senna leaf is not effective for weight loss. The detailed explanation is as follows:
Senna leaf is a traditional Chinese medicine known for its effects of purging heat, promoting bowel movement, and facilitating diuresis. It primarily works by stimulating intestinal motility and promoting defecation, thereby relieving constipation. Short-term use of senna leaf may result in temporary weight loss due to the excretion of water and fecal matter from the body. However, this weight loss is not due to fat reduction but rather loss of water weight, and therefore cannot be considered true weight loss.
Long-term or excessive use of senna leaf may also lead to various health risks, such as gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, electrolyte imbalance, dependency-induced constipation, and melanosis coli. Moreover, senna leaf does not promote fat metabolism in the body and cannot fundamentally address obesity.
A healthy approach to weight loss should involve proper dietary control and moderate physical exercise. It is recommended to reduce the intake of high-calorie, high-fat foods and increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains rich in dietary fiber. At the same time, aerobic exercises such as running and swimming should be performed to accelerate fat burning.
