Detoxing. It’s everywhere, it seems to be one of the big buzzwords at the moment, particularly in the health and fitness industry. And it’s huge business, with companies selling all manner of detox techniques, juices, cleanses, superfoods. And they love their terminology as well, a dash of “science”, mixed with a tonne of urgency. You NEED to detox now, right this very second, no time to waste, click here to find out why. So, does it work, is it genuine? In a word, no. In a bigger word, noooooooooooooo!
Let’s start with the science. Do you have a functioning liver and at least one kidney? If you’ve answered yes to this question, then congratulations, you’re detoxing as we speak. Now I’ll briefly mention that the skin and lungs help too, but there is zero actual scientific evidence to support the validity of any form of detoxing, other than what your body does naturally. Zero. Nada. Zip. Zilch. None whatsoever. Your liver and kidneys filter your blood of toxins, and then eject them in the forms of our waste. Your body is pretty effective like that, otherwise we’d all be dead. Also, what are these “toxins” that desperately need to be removed? Magical toxins your body either can’t deal with, or can’t alert you to the presence of. It’s nonsense.
Another big problem with detoxing, is that it might encourage you to eat poorly the rest of the time. You think that, because you’re doing this magical week (or however long) during which your body is flushed of everything bad, that it really doesn’t matter what you eat the rest of the time. You can eat anything, you can do anything, because your magical cleanse week offsets it all. And that’s just not true. So, you might even find that you put on weight when you’re not detoxing, because you’re eating and drinking awfully, and then lose a bit of weight when you do detox, because you’re not eating and drinking enough. That makes things even worse, because now you think detoxing is working for you. It’s not, you just need to make slight changes to your habits.
Most people could probably benefit from eating “cleaner” though, and that’s going to have a much bigger and longer lasting impact on your life, than any detox. The only cleaning these detoxes do, is cleaning out your wallet. Just eat slightly better, that’ll make the difference you’re looking for. And with a healthier diet and lifestyle, you’ll find there’s less pressure on your body, so you won’t need to detox anyway. Improve the quality and nutrient value of the food you eat, and if you probably drink too much alcohol, just drink a little less. Your liver and kidneys will thank you for it, more than they’ll thank you for some stupid detox shake.
Detoxes can actually be harmful, encouraging dangerous lifestyle habits, like excessive juicing or starvation. And your body, your liver, actually needs some natural toxins to operate efficiently. I’m not even going to dignify the likes of Alkaline Cleanses with recognition, because they are so stupid. If you’re the type of person who thinks you need to shift the pH level of your body, you’re probably not going to be watching this video, and you may be beyond any help. Your body detoxes itself, save yourself a lot of money, and a lot of hassle, and just let it do it’s job. Maybe make it slightly easier on it, by eating better, eating a more balanced diet, but that’s about all you can do. It’s all you need to do. I’ll be back next week.
Dan Miller
Body Fuel Personal Fitness Trainer