Detox yourself from all the detoxing.

Current trend of “clean eating” turned into a rat race of different extremes of cleanse. Whilst the whole idea of clean eating is still fairly unclear, detoxing is even worse. I mean - what exactly are we detoxing from?

How does it work?

Detoxing commonly involves several days of living on juices/teas or other supplements. After those few days you’re meant to be cleansed… but of what?

The thing is - nobody knows, that’s including the “gurus” and the detox companies. An investigation from 2009 [1] showed that the companies promoting their products not only couldn’t name a single toxin but even worse couldn’t prove that their products actually worked. Whoops!

What are toxins?

Strictly speaking - toxins are animal/plant based products substances, poisonous to humans!

According to detox gurus, toxins also include heavy metals, and everything synthetic, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, gluten, red meat, whatever else.

What will happen when you consume toxins?

When a substance really is noxious, in cases of acute toxicity, you are going to most likely end up in hospital. A detox diet won’t help here.

Our body detoxifies itself 24/7.

The liver, kidneys, lungs, and other organs work around the clock to remove harmful substances and excrete the waste products of metabolism. By reducing your intake of the nutrients they need to perform these functions, a detox diet can hinder your body’s natural detoxification process! If you wish to promote this process, your best bet is to load up with various foods that can help these organs work optimally,[2] such as cruciferous and other fibrous veggies.[2][3]

Are detox diets of any benefit to us?

The real question is - are they safe to begin with? Not necessarily. Ever once in a while, researches emerge showing harmful effects of detox diets to kidneys (from green smoothies) [4] or liver failure (from detox teas) [5].

Why are detox diets so popular?

Quick weight loss. Deprive your body from any carbohydrates and solid foods - you will drop your body weight very quickly. The drop will be significant too. It’s not the “toxins” leaving your body though. It’s just depletion of the glycogen stores (let’s simply call this “water weight”). I don’t even want to mention detox diets that include laxatives because that a whole new level of dumb.

To sum it all up, detox diets are a load of shite. Sometimes quite literally (if you get my pun there).

*

[1] http://senseaboutscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Detox-Dossier.pdf

[2] odges RE, Minich DM. Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application . J Nutr Metab. (2015)

[3] Kieffer DA, Martin RJ, Adams SH. Impact of Dietary Fibers on Nutrient Management and Detoxification Organs: Gut, Liver, and Kidneys . Adv Nutr. (2016)

[4] Makkapati S, D'Agati VD, Balsam L. "Green Smoothie Cleanse" Causing Acute Oxalate Nephropathy . Am J Kidney Dis. (2017)

[5] Kesavarapu K, et al. Yogi Detox Tea: A Potential Cause of Acute Liver Failure . Case Rep Gastrointest Med. (2017)