Detox Diet Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction

The body is able to cleanse itself without a detox diet. However, other aspects of cleansing may have benefits, including eating whole, nutritious foods, according to the Healthline report.

Detox diets are more popular than ever. These diets claim to cleanse the blood and remove harmful toxins from the body.

However, it is not entirely clear how it does this, which specific compounds should be removed, and whether it is effective or not.

What is a detox?

Detox diets are usually short-term nutritional interventions designed to remove toxins from the body.

A typical detox diet involves a period of fasting, followed by a strict diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, fruit juices and water. Sometimes detox also includes herbs, teas, nutritional supplements, colon cleansing or enemas.

Proponents of this system say:

It gives rest to the body parts through fasting

Stimulates the liver to get rid of toxins

Promotes the elimination of toxins through feces, urine and sweat

Improves blood circulation

Provides the body with healthy nutrition

Detox treatments are usually recommended as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment or in your diet. These include pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals and other harmful compounds.

These diets also claim to help improve the immune system, digestion, energy levels and aid in weight loss.

However, there is no research on detox diets, and the few studies that do exist are highly flawed, according to Healthline.

The most common ways to detox

There are many ways to do a detox diet, from complete fasting to simpler food changes.

Most detox diets include at least one of the following:

fasting

Drink juice only

Use of nutritional supplements

Use enemas or laxatives to clean the colon

Use herbs

Avoid all allergenic foods, then slowly reintroduce them

Sauna

Detox diets can vary in intensity and duration.

What toxins are removed?

Detox regimes rarely specify the specific toxins they aim to remove. It is also not clear how it works.

In fact, there is little evidence that a detox diet removes any toxins from your body.

In addition, your body is able to cleanse itself through your liver, feces, urine, and sweat. The liver makes harmless toxic substances, and then ensures that they are released from your body.

However, there are a few chemicals that cannot be easily removed through these physical processes, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and heavy metals.

These tend to accumulate in fatty tissue or blood and can take a long time – even years – for your body to get rid of.

However, these compounds are usually removed from commercial products or their use is restricted today.

Overall, there is little evidence that a detox diet helps get rid of any of these compounds.

How effective are these foods?

Some people report feeling more focused and energetic during and after a detox diet.

However, this improvement in health could simply be the result of eliminating processed foods, alcohol, and other unhealthy substances from your diet.

You may also get vitamins and minerals that you previously lacked.

However, many people also report feeling very ill during the detox.

Effect on weight loss

Very few scientific studies have looked at how a detox diet affects weight loss.

Although some people may lose a lot of weight quickly, this effect seems to be due to the loss of fluid and carbohydrate stores rather than fat. This weight is usually regained quickly once the cleansing process is over.

An older study from 2015 examined Korean women who experienced weight gain while following a lemon detox. This diet is limited to a mixture of maple or palm syrup and lemon juice for seven days.

The results showed that the diet significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference, inflammatory markers, insulin resistance, and circulating levels of leptin .

If a detox diet includes severe calorie restriction, it usually results in weight loss and improved metabolic health. However, it is important to remember that it is unlikely to help you maintain your weight in the long term.

Detox diets, intermittent fasting… and stress

Many types of detox diets can have effects similar to those of short-term or intermittent fasting.

Short-term fasting can improve symptoms of various diseases in some people, including improved leptin and insulin sensitivity.

However, these effects do not apply to everyone. Research shows that detox diets can lead to weight gain and overeating.

Potential benefits

Certain aspects of a detox diet can have health benefits, such as:

Avoid food sources of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants

Avoid processed foods

Drink more water

However, these aspects are generally associated with improved health, whether you are in good health or not.

Safety and side effects

Before doing any type of detox, it is important to consider possible side effects. Possible detox effects include:

Strict calorie restriction

Many detox diets recommend fasting or severe calorie restriction. Short-term and low-calorie fasting can lead to fatigue, irritability, and bad breath.

Long-term fasting can lead to energy, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, and even death.

Colon cleansing techniques, which are sometimes recommended during the detox process, can cause dehydration, cramping, bloating, nausea, and vomiting.

overdose

Some detox diets may contain too much additives, laxatives, diuretics, and even water. There is a lack of regulation and control in the detox industry, and many detox foods and supplements may have no scientific basis.

In the worst cases, detox product ingredient labels can be inaccurate. This can increase the risk of overdose, which can cause serious and even fatal side effects.