Detox or liver cleansing diets have been around for many years. With astonishing claims of rapid and easy weight loss, improved health, and more energy, they offer the ultimate quick fix to get you healthy again. In this podcast, I will give you the essential guide to detox diets, look at the claims made versus the reality and outline my list of pros and cons for anyone considering going on a cleanse.
The idea of detoxing the body dates back thousands of years. In fact, several sources say that the process of detoxification can be traced back to ancient Egyptian and biblical times. So, what is the rationale behind a detox diet? Promoters of detox diets claim that the diet is intended to purge the body of a supposed build-up of toxins to regain good health. These ‘toxins’ are claimed to arise from our body being overloaded with pollution, cigarette smoke, a poor diet, eating refined foods, food additives, alcohol and caffeine.
‘Toxin’ build-up is supposed to be the main culprit for weight gain, constipation, bloating, flatulence, poor digestion, heartburn, diarrhoea, lack of energy and fatigue. ‘Detoxing’ is a way for the body to eliminate these toxins and as a result, a person will feel healthier and lose weight.
Detox diets make amazing promises, including dramatic weight loss and more energy – all achieved by ‘flushing’ toxins from the body. The weight loss seen on such diets though is entirely due to their restrictive nature, and has little to do with the ‘elimination of toxins’. A few days on a detox program does not absolve a person from a poor diet and lifestyle.
So, what does a typical detox diet involve? Detox diets can vary from a simple diet of raw vegetables and unprocessed foods and the elimination of caffeine, alcohol and refined sugars, to a much stricter diet bordering on a starvation diet with only juices consumed. Detox diet programs can last from anywhere from a day or two, up to several months.
Foods allowed or banned can vary dramatically among popular detox diets, but typically ‘healthy’ foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, herbal teas and water are allowed. Common foods normally banned include wheat, dairy, meat, fish, eggs, caffeine, alcohol, salt, sugar and processed foods. Some detox programs may also recommend vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements.
There is no shortage of glowing testimonials from people who have gone on a detox diet, claiming to feel cleansed, energised and healthier. But if you go searching, evidence-based scientific research to support the testimonials is very thin on the ground indeed.
The principle that we need to follow a special diet to help our body eliminate toxins is not supported by medical science. Healthy adults have a wonderful system for the removal of waste products and toxins from the body. Our lungs, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and immune system remove or neutralise toxic substances within hours after we eat them. Promoters of detox diets have never put forward any evidence to show that such diets help remove toxins from the body at any faster rate than what our body normally eliminates them.
In fact, a 2015 critical review on the basis for detox diet claims published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (which I’ll link to in the show notes) found no compelling evidence to support the use of detox diets for weight management or toxin elimination. In fact, the authors go so far as to say that the seductive power of detox diets likely lies in their promise of purification and redemption, which are ideals that are deep‐rooted in human psychology https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jhn.12286
One fact conveniently ignored by promoters of detox diets is that many vegetables can have more naturally occurring pesticide toxins present in them than those found in meat, fish, and milk. Our body, especially the liver, has little trouble dealing with the toxins naturally found in foods. In fact, one theory is that the mild stress and adaptation to these naturally occurring chemicals found in many vegetables is one explanation for their health benefit on us. It’s kind of like how exercise places stress on the body when we do it, but have innumerable long-term health benefits for it.
Now it is undeniably true that many people do feel better for following a detox diet, yet this has little to do with the elimination of toxins from the body. Any person, especially someone who has a poor diet to start with, and who eats more fruits and vegetables, drinks more water and eats fewer foods high in fat, salt or added sugar, and drinks less alcohol will naturally feel better. In other words, detoxes and cleanses work as de facto elimination diets. An elimination diet is a diet that removes a food or category of foods that you suspect might negatively affect your health.
As for the dramatic claims of weight loss, this is easily explained by the restrictive nature of detox diets, which can cut kilojoule intake dramatically. The more extreme detox diets so severely restrict kilojoules that the body losses most of its carbohydrate stores (as glycogen in the muscle and liver) resulting in several kilograms of ‘weight loss’. This weight will go back on as soon as a person resumes their normal diet and carbohydrate stores are replenished.
Claims made that the typical physical side effects of detox diets such as bad breath, fatigue and various aches and pains are evidence that the body is getting rid of toxins just does not stand up to scientific scrutiny. ‘Bad breath’ on a detox diet is simply a symptom that the body has gone into starvation mode (called ‘ketosis’) and is using more fat as an energy source because of a dramatic reduction in carbohydrate intake.
As for the notion that a juice-only detox can shift your gut away from digestion and toward the excretion of toxicants, if you want your organs to do their best, including to rid you of toxins, then you should not deprive them of the nutrients they need to function. That means that, rather than the occasional cleanse, what you need is a daily diet rich in varied fruits and vegetables.
Case study
Let’s delve into a diet detox case study. A popular detox diet heavily prompted is the Lemon Detox Diet. It involves purchasing a supplement which is based on tree sap to which is added lemon juice, chilli powder and water.
Following the diet for the full seven days as recommended, with no other food consumed apart from the ‘detox drink’, does indeed result in dramatic weight loss as ample testimonials to the diet proclaim. Unfortunately, because the detox is essentially a fasting diet, the initial weight loss is mostly water and carbohydrate stores will be rapidly regained once the detox is finished.
For most people, ‘losing weight’ means wanting to reduce body fat stores. The amount of exercise needed to achieve true loss of body fat in the period of a Lemon Detox Diet to match the weight-loss claims made would amount to needing to run over 50 kilometres each day!
While there may not be much credence to many of the health claims made about detox diets, they do have some positive aspects. Many of the recommendations of a detox diet do encourage good habits such as eating more fruit and vegetables, drinking more water and cutting back on junk food and alcohol. Detox diets can also help people to think more about what they are eating. For some people, a detox diet can be the start of a change to a more healthy diet and lifestyle long term.
Apart from the false belief that a detox diet is actually ‘detoxifying’ the body, these diets though have many well-described downsides including:
But the biggest downside of detox diets, especially the more extreme ones, is that any weight loss achieved is usually temporary and is more the result of a loss of water and glycogen rather than body fat. This means that the weight is easily and rapidly regained once the person goes back to a more ‘normal’ eating plan. These dramatic weight fluctuations can be demoralising and lead to yo-yo dieting.
The detox fad may also encourage the idea that a person can lead an unhealthy lifestyle most of the year and then undo the damage in a few days with a rapid detox. A theory that simply does not work.
The Australian consumer organisation Choice has carried out a survey and expert review of popular detox diets sold in supermarkets and chemists. They examined seven popular detox kits and put them under the scientific microscope by a panel of expert nutritionists and medical professionals. And I’ll link to the study in the show notes https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-body/diet-and-fitness/weight-loss/articles/do-detox-products-work
Choice found that most of the programs recommended a restriction of key food groups (like red meat and dairy), but gave no clear justification for this. While the kits contained diet plans, some of them were unnecessarily restrictive, and some gave diet advice with poor or no rationale. For example, one kit advised not mixing fruit and vegetables in the same meal, and another avoiding citrus fruits, but lemons were okay. When following a diet plan, recommendations like these can be restrictive and are certainly confusing.
The conclusions made by Choice about detox diets were:
Safety
After detox diets safe? Following a typical detox diet for a few days has few real health risks in otherwise healthy individuals. Very restrictive detox diets such as water or juice only fasts though are not the safest form of weight loss and should not be used for more than a few days. These diets, if done improperly or for too long, may result in nutrient deficiencies. Of particular concern is the lack of protein, which may result in wasting of muscle tissue, due to insufficient amino acids for repair.
Children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding shouldn’t follow a detox program, as they have specific nutrition needs for growth and good health. For anyone with specific dietary requirements, a chronic illness, or who are on any type of medication, they should seek medical advice before embarking on a program.
Detox diets may do little harm to most people, except perhaps for their bank balance, but neither do they do a lot of good just on their own. Rather than a detox diet, the key to feeling more energised and healthy is to reduce the number of negative things in your diet and lifestyle in the first place. Nutritionists the world over consistently advise people to reduce alcohol, cigarettes, saturated and trans fats, and foods and drinks high in added sugar in the diet. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, and getting plenty of activity each day are the cornerstones of dietary and health guidelines for the population.
So that’s it for today’s show. You can find the show notes either in the app you’re listening to this podcast on if it supports it, or else head over to my webpage www.thinkingnutrition.com.au and click on the podcast section to find this episode to read the show notes.
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I’m Tim Crowe and you’ve been listening to Thinking Nutrition.