Dr. Oz’s detox water

Everybody’s buzzing about the fat-flushing power of “detox water,” but do the drinks really work? Dr. Oz’s favorite new recipe sure does! Made with a blend of H2O, green tea, lemon juice, cucumber, mint and cayenne, “it’s tried and tested to help you reset your body to lose the weight,” he recently revealed. Indeed, women sipping versions of his drink report losing up to 16 pounds in 72 hours— meaning there’s still time to get a whole lot slimmer before summer arrives!

Even better, this isn’t a liquid-only strategy. You’ll sip four or more glasses of detox water a day to speed results as you eat healthy food. “You won’t be hungry,” Dr. Oz promised. In fact, many women report feeling better than ever, says Sugar Impact Diet author JJ Virgin, the nutritionist who turned him on to the sip. “Nutrients in this detox water

not only help you steadily drop pounds, they work to improve energy levels, sleep quality and overall health,” Virgin says. Per Rhenotha Whitaker, 38, the New Jersey radio host Dr. Oz recruited to try the drink: “This is ‘wow water!’”

Detox water “wow”

One of the main goals of a detox water approach: “We

want to clean out your pipes in a healthy way,” Dr. Oz explained. Turns out, many of us carry an overload of toxins absorbed from pesticide residue on food, air pollution and a zillion other places chemicals hide in the modern world. Our livers often can’t filter them out fast enough, “so they’re tucked into fat cells for safekeeping,” explains Virgin.

Toxins not only inhibit fat burning in the cells where they’re stored, they also cause irritation and inflammation that slow the thyroid and trigger a host of other health problems. It’s why Dr. Oz’s drink is loaded with some of the universe’s most powerful detox tools. “Antioxidants in green tea, for example, have been shown to activate special pathways the body uses to get toxins out of your system,” Virgin says. Meanwhile, a Purdue University team found that lemon allows us to absorb 400% more of green tea’s antioxidants. So it turbocharges the effects of the tea and allows you to move toxins out very quickly. At the same time, plentiful water itself is another detox powerhouse— Virgin explains that getting lots of it makes it a cinch for the body to flush impurities away in your sweat or urine.

Metabolism magic

As toxins leave your body, fat burns faster— and on top of that, antioxidants in both green tea and cayenne have been shown to rev metabolism by up to 35%, an effect nudged even higher by lemon. “You can literally burn hundreds of extra calories,” promises Virgin. A Brazilian study even found that folks over 60 who simply sipped three cups of a green tea–based drink a day got leaner and healthier without cutting a single calorie!

Flat-belly bonus: Diuretic properties in cucumber release bloat. Plus, green tea, mint and cayenne balance blood sugar, slashing hunger and levels of abfattening hormones—so belly flab burns up to 77% faster!

Real-world success!

Nova Scotia childcare provider Melissa Whitehead, 43, read about the metabolism-boosting and detoxing abilities of water and green tea, and began sipping 2–3 liters a day, adding lemon for flavor without even realizing the extra benefits. Already eating healthier with help from her local TOPS weight-loss group, “I was less hungry and felt a nice boost in my metabolism and energy,” she recalls. Before she knew it, she was down 65 pounds!

Then there’s Tabatha James. She read that green tea, lemon, cayenne, mint and cucumber have outstanding detox properties. So she got drinking. “It really flushes you out and gets your metabolism going,” says the Atlanta author, 45, now down 85 pounds. “When people are skeptical, I always say try it for yourself. It really works—and it’s easy!”

Sip it to “clean” cells, boost fat burn— and drop 16 lbs in just 72 hours!