Facts don’t support detox diets
The desire to rid the body of fat and suspected toxins often ends up putting the body through torturous fasts and consumption of strange liquids. While flushes, detox diets and fasts are hyped as a way to remove waste that’s supposedly “stuck” in our digestive system, there’s not a lot of scientific evidence that this is so.
Touted as a means to improve liver and kidney function, fight off disease, increase energy and lift the spirits, the diets often turn a blind eye to nutritional health.
Diets may last as long as several weeks and rely on weird concoctions, such as the decades-old “Master Cleanse,” a drink made up of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper bookended with a cup of salt water in the morning and a laxative tea in the evening. Others claim to flush out toxins by fasting or drinking only juices for up to 14 days or more.
“Our bodies are designed to naturally purify themselves, so these kinds of diets are really unnecessary,” says Ruth Frechman, registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly the American Dietetic Association. “In the long run, they can actually weaken the body by lowering levels of necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins normally provided by food.”
In addition, such prolonged fasts can put blood sugar levels out of whack, a threat for those with diabetes, heart and kidney disease, according to experts.
“You also may experience sodium, potassium and chloride deprivation, which isn’t good,” says Frechman. “These detox efforts aren’t accomplishing anything because what they’re really doing is simply taking out the fluid that’s in your intestines. You’re not getting rid of fat or supposed toxins, only water weight.”
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