The Dish On Detoxing
Since gaining popularity in the 1980s, detoxes have taken over the supplement market. You and your friends have tried them and many celebrities swear by them. The hype is real, but what’s really going on when we detox?
What Are Detoxes?
Here’s the tricky thing: nobody really knows. Companies’ definitions are inconsistent from one to the next, and oftentimes there’s no evidence to backup product claims. With this uncertainty in mind, the general purpose of most detox products is to rid your body of toxins. Detoxes may come after a period of poor dieting as a way to ‘hit reset,’ or they may occur regularly as a way to ‘deep clean’ your body from the inside out.
What’s really going on when you detox?
The Placebo Effect: Between the intense optimism of starting something new and the guarantee of quick weight loss, you may feel like a detox is working moments after you begin using it. All the reviews you read online have you believing that this product really works! Unfortunately, all that hype is just that…hype. The mind is incredibly powerful, so if you are convinced it’s working, you’ll likely feel results.
Weight Loss: Although detoxes are designed to remove toxins from your body, many products focus on weight loss as well (another area companies can’t agree upon.) The two biggest reasons people lose weight while ‘detoxing’ are extreme caloric restriction and loss of water weight. Whether you are undereating or making frequent trips to the bathroom, chances are you’ll lose weight rapidly. However, the chances of gaining it all back are even greater once the detox is over.
Short Term: Any type of extreme dieting or supplementation is short lived; most detoxes are designed to be one to two weeks long. They’re not recommended for long-term usage due to their unsustainability and potentially harmful effects. While ‘detoxing’ once a month may seem sustainable, the real benefits occur when you’re in a constant state of health. Swinging from one extreme to the next ends up being more counterproductive than anything.
What’s the best detox you can do?
That’s right: you can detox your body in a healthy manner. In fact, our bodies naturally detoxify themselves on a daily basis. Drop the pills and lose the teas, because your body is already doing what you want it to. Each time you ingest something, the detoxification process begins. The more whole foods, vitamins, and minerals you eat, the clearer your detox pathways become. Fruits, vegetables, and proteins all work together to help your body, namely your liver, detoxify.
Most toxins in our body, whether accumulated from our environment or diet, are stored in our body fat. These toxins include heavy metals, pesticides, and pollutants. The more fat we lose, the more toxins we expel. It must be mentioned that rapid weight loss can lead to such high toxin-release levels that our livers become overburdened. For this reason, amongst others, weight loss should be slow, steady, and sustainable.
What about juice cleanses?
Juice cleanses are a bit different than the average detox because they focus on consuming nothing but juice for one to two weeks. Let’s not forget that every time we process food, it loses a bit of its nutritional value. Yes, juicing counts as a type of processing. When we juice whole fruits and vegetables, we lose the fiber and many nutrients located in the skins of these foods.
Imbalances
If you’re only consuming fruits and vegetables, you will have an extremely low protein intake. Remember, along with feeding muscles and bones, protein is a key component in your liver’s detoxification process. Another thing to consider is the high sugar content in fruits, especially their juices, as well as antinutrients found in some vegetables. In small amounts, neither of these things are harmful to our health. However, when used as meal replacements for two weeks, the small amounts add up and can become dangerous.
Is Juice Bad For You?
While there are dangers that come along with juice cleanses, fruit and vegetable juices are not inherently ‘bad’ for you. In fact, juices, or even smoothies, can be a great way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. They are most effective when used as an addition, rather than a substitution.
Take Away
If you’ve detoxed or cleansed before, your health is not suddenly in jeopardy. Having juice won’t make you sick and drinking tea won’t make you ill. The biggest thing to remember going forth is if something isn’t sustainable, it isn’t helpful. When you restrict yourself to such a small selection of food or drink, you are missing out on a variety of nutrients. The best way to look and feel better about your body is to help your body detoxify naturally. Eat whole, natural foods, stay active, and remember: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Citations
National Academy of Sports Medicine. “Detoxes and Cleanses.” Nasmu.nasm.org, nasmu.nasm.org/pluginfile.php/791769/mod_scorm/content/7/chapter/22/lesson/4.