Detoxing: What Your Body Naturally Does

Detoxification and cleansing diets have gained popularity in recent years as individuals seek to become healthier, rid the body of built up toxins or quickly drop a few pounds. However, the issue here is that many detox diets are extremely restrictive in essential nutrients and are evidently unnecessary. Each body is masterfully equipped with a liver. Livers are tasked with many important metabolic functions: converting nutrients into useful substances and storing nutrients. Another significant role of a healthy liver is to rid the body of toxins by converting them to harmless elements and preparing them for excretion (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016). By following these counterproductive detox diets, important nutrients are cut out of the diet for days or weeks at a time, putting an individual at risk for nutrient deficiencies, muscle wasting, blood sugar problems, gastrointestinal upset and many other unpleasant side effects of inadequate nutrition.

Detox diets can be tolerated better in some individuals than others. Unfortunately, today, many individuals are living with one or more chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes or heart disease, to name a few, that can pose a higher risk to an individual trying out a detox diet. Someone battling diabetes can be easily placed into a ketogenic coma if they were to do a detox that cuts out substantial amounts of carbohydrates. Detoxing can be particularly harmful for a patient with kidney disease, as many diets are high in potassium and phosphorus which can exacerbate symptoms and worsen kidney function by putting too much stress on them.

The idea of a detoxifying diet can date back to the beginning of an Indian form of medicine called Ayurveda, which used detoxification as a key component of its philosophy. Traditional Chinese Medicine also places emphasis on removing toxins from the body, often through acupressure and acupuncture (Ross, 2014). Today, the National Institute of Health categorizes these medicinal practices under the umbrella of the term “CAM” which stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

It is imperative that health care professionals such as registered dieticians, nurses and doctors are aware of the harmful side effects to of a detoxification diet, and educate their patients on safer ways to lose weight or improve their health, whatever the patient’s goal is. Many individuals just want to be healthy and happy, and a detox diet often promises this result in a manner that is appealing and easy to follow, naturally enticing people to participate in unhealthy behaviors. It’s our job as professionals to warn against these unsafe practices.

The main idea driving the detox craze today is that every so often we need to cleanse our bodies from toxic waste that builds up. There are many health claims that are made regarding detox diets such as rapid weight loss, increased energy, and improvements in immunity, hair quality and digestion. Each detox diet varies in length and nutrients, but most usually involve fasting for short periods, consuming a small range of nutrients or avoiding major food groups. Unfortunately, these claims are completely erroneous considering our liver’s work to remove waste and toxins efficiently. In fact, our skin, kidneys and digestive system also work to remove their designated set of wastes from the body, from excess minerals and vitamins to dead skin cells. And while many individuals claim to feel better after having followed a detox diet, the same could be said if these individuals were to practice proper hydration, sleep, fresh air, exercise and proper nutrition while cutting back on alcohol, tobacco, sodium and excess added sugars (Porter, 2016).

Luckily, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides us with specific evidence-based advice on how we can support our body’s natural detoxification process. Aligning with the USDA and DHHS’s dietary guidelines to make a conscious shift to include more fruits and vegetables into our diet, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommend five to nine servings each day to optimize our detoxification system. These servings should be cruciferous vegetables, berries, green tea, onions, turmeric and garlic, as these specific foods have been seen to support detoxification (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2015). In addition to this, consuming adequate fiber will help support our digestive system to effectively remove wastes. Eating enough protein will also work to increase our body’s supply of glutathione which works as an enzyme for detoxification processes.

Fermented foods are also great foods to consume to support our body’s microbiome and ensure that harmful bacteria are taken care of. Maintaining an optimal hydration status helps provide the water necessary for kidneys to flush out unneeded elements. It could also help to take a multivitamin to ensure help make up for any vitamin intake that may fall short (Foroutan, 2017). As a future dietitian, I understand the importance of following healthy dietary patterns throughout each phase of our lifecycle, and making sure that these dietary patterns are easy to follow for long periods of time.

It’s important to note that not all detox diets are made to be extremely restrictive. There are some diets out there that many individuals may consider “detoxifying” such as paleo or the whole 30 that allow for a wide range of nutrients and food groups. But the argument remains that our diets should be easy to follow for our whole life. If the diet you’re currently following requires you to buy a book and reference it to make sure you’re following all the strict rules, than it is likely not “easy”. For most of us, eliminating added sugars and caffeine completely from our diet can be torturous and near impossible. Yet this is precisely what the Whole30 diet requires and it promotes these rules by claiming it will “push the reset button on your health, letting your body heal and recover” (Hartwig, 2015).

Instead, let us refer to those U.S. Dietary Guidelines given to us through a collaboration of qualified health professionals that allows for about 10% of our calories to come from added sugars. These health professionals recognize that added sugars aren’t going to improve our health necessarily, but to eliminate them from the diet forever would be extreme and impractical.

It’s completely understandable that many individuals are intrigued by detox diets. We’re all just trying to improve our health and feel better any way we can. But these detox and cleansing diets are largely misunderstood, and it’s up to us health care professionals to clear it up for others. Always keep in mind that the body is a spectacular and competent collection of systems and organs that work together to keep us going, functioning as efficiently as possible. And thus, it does not need us to only eat grapefruit for a week straight to keep it running. Optimizing our health is possible through simple and common practices such as consuming enough fruit and vegetables daily, staying hydrated and avoiding harmful behaviors like smoking and doing drugs. It’s a great rule of thumb to seek counsel from your primary physician or dietitian before following any drastic diets we see advertised.

In this graphic, we can see that following a juice cleanse can cause one to consume more carbohydrates than recommended and not enough protein or fat, thus leaving out essential amino acids and fatty acids that our body needs to get from the diet. Also, juices will have significantly less fiber than solid foods which can hinder our GI tract from functioning optimally.

References

Consumer Reports. (2016). [Graph illustration of macronutrients in a juice cleanse]. Is a Juice Cleanse Right for You? Retrieved from:

https://www.consumerreports.org/dietnutrition/is-a-juice-cleanse-right-for-you/

Foroutan, Robin (2017). “What’s the deal with Detox Diets?” The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Retrieved from

https://www.eatright.org/health/weight-loss/fad-diets/whats the-deal-with-detox-diets

Hartwig, Melissa. (2015). The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30 Success. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Porter, Sian. (2016). “Detox Diets”. The British Dietetic Association. Retrieved from https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/detoxdiets.pdf

Ross, A. C. (2014). Modern nutrition in health and disease. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available at https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2016). “How Does the Liver Work?” Informed Health Online. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072577/