4 Detoxing Myths: Busted!

The modern obsession with detoxing is at a crescendo with many companies offering juices, diets, colonics, pills, teas and supplements all claiming to rid the body of unwanted toxins and be the answer to great health. Like with a lot of dietary and health advice these days though, there is just such an overabundance of information out there that it can be hard to know what is legitimate information and what is just downright ridiculous. So here are some detoxing myths: Busted!

1.     All detoxes are the same

There are many different types of detoxes on the market: from teas and detox kits to juices and elimination diets. Some ‘detoxes’ simply recommend eliminating the junk from our diet such as refined sugars and grains, fried foods, caffeine and alcohol for a period of time and focusing on whole foods. This is not such a bad thing, particularly if you’re in a diet rut. The reason you feel great though is that you’re cutting out things that typically upset our gut and throw around our energy levels. The detoxes to be wary of are those that cut out important food groups or sell products like detox teas, herbal supplements, kits or procedures, which are generally not regulated and can be harmful.

2.     Detoxing will eliminate toxins from your system

This is just simply not true. Our body is quite brilliant and has a natural, in-built detox system. The liver is the main detoxification organ in the body that is working for us constantly eliminating harmful substances in our system.

3.     You need to detox in order to be healthy

Improving your health requires targeting what it is that is affecting your health and making positive changes. For some it may be cutting alcohol, others it may be getting more sleep. The only positive to a detox is it often recommends these lifestyle changes as part of the program however it’s usually for a set, short period of time and does not support long-term healthy lifestyle changes and is usually alongside other potentially harmful recommendations. Many of these detoxes may also make you feel considerably worse with side effects ranging from cranking headaches, foggy head, lethargy and tiredness, constipation or diarrhoea and an upset stomach.

4.     Detoxing equals weight loss

If you’re eating less or just drinking juices or teas then it makes sense that at the start of a ‘detox’ you will have a little drop in weight. This however is mostly fluid as your body burns up the last of it’s glycogen stores in the muscles, which are stored in the body attached to water molecules. This also causes some muscle wastage that slows your metabolic rate so when you’re back eating normally again, weight inevitably piles back on pretty quickly. Your tummy often feels flatter too because, well there’s nothing left in your bowels.