Warning: The video above includes profanity and a sassy dietitian.
Cleansing and detoxing is widely advertised in the media and endorsed by influencers as the “best way to lose weight.” These diets are usually expensive, not sustainable, and very specific in what food restrictions. According to an article on Today’s Dietitian, “Despite the popularity of detox diets, there’s little scientific evidence that they actually remove toxins, improve health, or induce permanent weight loss.”
Cleansing and detoxing is widely advertised in the media and endorsed by influencers as the “best way to lose weight.” These diets are usually expensive, not sustainable, and very specific in what food restrictions. According to an article on Today’s Dietitian, “Despite the popularity of detox diets, there’s little scientific evidence that they actually remove toxins, improve health, or induce permanent weight loss.”
So the real question is, why put yourself through days of liquid misery of deprivation for something that isn’t scientifically proven to work? Harvard Medical School identifies the health risks of detox diet cleansing in an article they published. The article states that, “The diet is lacking in protein, fatty acids, and other essential nutrients. It can also disrupt the native intestinal flora, microorganisms that perform useful digestive functions. A person who goes on this diet repeatedly may run the risk of developing metabolic acidosis.” This statement touches on the important part about disrupting the normal gut flora function in the body. When these functions lack it can effect normal digestion especially when food is re-introduced, which is inevitable.
Want to know something really cool? We already have an amazing detox system inside our bodies…the liver. The liver has many useful functions, one of those being the body’s own detoxifier. The liver removes toxins from our blood so that our body is not full of harmful substances. Amino acids bind to toxins which are then processed in the liver and excreted through urine or bile. Since our bodies already have a built in detoxing system, it is unnecessary to go out and buy a liquid and supplement detox that will only cost you money.
Johns Hopkins Medicine says that there are myths about cleanses for our bodies, and myth #2 states, “Many liver detoxification products are also sold as weight loss cleanses. However, there are no clinical data to support the efficacy of these cleanses. In fact, some dietary supplements can actually cause harm to the liver by leading to drug-induced injury and should thus be used with caution.” Instead of working on cleansing your body, focus on eating foods to help support your liver. By supporting your liver, you can enhance the naturally occurring detox that happens in your body constantly.
Fisher Titus Medical Center posted a list of ten foods that help support the liver. Click here to see the list that includes garlic, citrus fruits, vegetables, turmeric, walnuts, beets, carrots, green tea, apples, and avocados. These foods contain enzymes that assist the liver in breaking down and excreting toxins from the body. This way you get to support your body’s detox while eating delicious foods, it is a win-win situation.
Now we are ALL for nutrient dense food, such as things listed in the chart below, but please know that ALL foods fit. You don’t ONLY have to eat the foods listed in this chart. The body knows how to digest, absorb, and use all macronutrients. We get macronutrients through ALL sorts of food. I personally drank the “diet culture koolaid” for years and thought that cleanses were the answer to being “skinny & happy” until I realized they were always followed by a binge. Also spoiler alert: skinny doesn’t mean happy. From the wise words of Caroline Dooner, “you can’t hate your way to happiness.”
We took a poll on Instagram to see what our followers had to say. We asked them “Have you ever tried a pyramid scheme detox or cleanse. If yes, how did effect you before/during/or after the cleanse?” Here were the honest answers we got back from our following:
- I tried Arbonne because everyone said how great it was but it messed up my stomach and tastes nasty.
- It lead to binge eating.
- It didn’t work for me.
- I temporarily lost weight but was exhausted and gained it back once I ate food again.
- I was always hungry and it lead to binge eating.
- It was HORRIBLE!!
- I did a juice cleanse and felt awful.
- I learned very quickly that juice is NOT a meal.
- I was so desperate because women on social media made it look appealing so I started selling it but then quit because it was crap.
So next time you are tempting to stop eating and guzzle green juice for a week, save your self the time, money, and misery! Eat food, drink water, repeat.
Sources:
https://enzymedica.com/blogs/naturaldigestivehealth/the-role-of-the-liver-in-detoxification
https://enzymedica.com/blogs/naturaldigestivehealth/the-role-of-the-liver-in-detoxification
https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/1016p52.shtml
https://www.fishertitus.org/health/what-foods-cleanse-your-liver
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dubious-practice-of-detox
https://enzymedica.com/blogs/naturaldigestivehealth/the-role-of-the-liver-in-detoxification
https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/1016p52.shtml
https://www.fishertitus.org/health/what-foods-cleanse-your-liver
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dubious-practice-of-detox
2 Responses
Always informs and always entertaining.
This is a wonderful article! Every day something new comes out about what you should and shouldn’t do in terms of food which is so confusing and the new diet fads are the worst.