Do Detox Diets and Cleanses Work?
What Is a Detox?
Generally, detox diets promote short-term dietary interventions designed to eliminate toxins from your body.
These diets generally involve a period of fasting, following by a strict diet consisting mainly of fresh fruits, vegetables, juices and water. It can also include usage of herbs, supplements and colon cleansers.
This process is aimed to:
- Rest your organs through fasting
- Stimulate your liver to get rid of toxins
- Promote toxin elimination
- Improve circulation
Detox therapies are most commonly recommended because of potential exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment or diet. These include pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, and other harmful compounds.
Many diets also claim to help with various health problems, including obesity, digestive issues, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, allergies, bloating, and chronic fatigue.
While research and factual statistics on detox diets is lacking, the handful of studies that exist are significantly flawed.
The Most Common Ways to Detox
There are many detox diets in the market — ranging from total starvation fasts to simpler food modifications.
Most detox diets involve at least one of the following :
- Fasting for 1–3 days.
- Drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, water, and tea.
- Drinking only specific liquids, such as salted water or lemon juice.
- Eliminating foods high in heavy metals, contaminants, and allergens.
- Taking supplements or herbs.
- Avoiding all allergenic foods, then slowly reintroducing them.
- Using laxatives, colon cleanses, or enemas.
- Exercising regularly.
- Completely eliminating alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, and refined sugar.
- Detox diets vary in intensity and duration.
Which Toxins Are Eliminated?
Detox diets rarely identify the specific toxins they aim to remove. The mechanisms by which they work are also unclear.
In fact, there is little to no evidence that detox diets remove any toxins from your body.
Overall, there is little evidence that detox diets alone can help eliminate toxins.
How Effective Are These Diets?
While some people have reported feeling more focussed and energetic during and after their detox diets, it can be argued that simply eliminating processed food, alcohol and other unhealthy items from one’s diet can result in improved well-being.
You may also be absorbing the vitamins and minerals better without the interference of processed food..
On the other hand, there have also been reports of feeling unwell during detox diets.
Effects on Weight Loss
Very few scientific studies have investigated how detox diets impact weight loss. On one hand, some people may experience substantial weight loss quickly – an effect seemingly due to a quick loss of fluid and carb storage rather than fat. Furthermore, the “lost” weight is usually quickly regained after the diet duration.
Detox diets may help with short-term weight loss, though more studies are needed. Some detox diets may resemble intermittent fasting regimes, which can improve some biomarkers of health.
Potential Benefits
A few aspects of detox diets may have health benefits, such as:
- Avoiding dietary sources of heavy metals and POPs
- Losing excessive fat
- Exercising and sweating regularly
- Eating whole, nutritious, healthy foods
- Avoiding processed foods
- Drinking water and green tea
- Limiting stress, relaxing, and getting good sleep
Several aspects of detox diets may aid your health. These include avoiding environmental toxins, exercising, eating nutritious food, drinking water, limiting stress, and relaxing.
At Risk Population
Certain people should not start any detox or calorie-restricting regimens without consulting a related medical advisor.
At-risk populations include children, adolescents, older adults, those who are malnourished, pregnant or lactating women, and people who have blood sugar issues, such as diabetes or an eating disorder.
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