“Detox is more of a marketing ploy than a recommended diet”

As an active dietitian who meets patients on a daily basis, I notice a growing problem that we know the principles of healthy eating, but we are not able to adapt all these recommendations to ourselves. We know sugar is bad and green vegetables are an antidote to many diseases. However, it is difficult to adjust all fashionable trends to yourself, your lifestyle, working hours, training, favorite flavors and culinary skills.

Body detox

When spring comes, we are flooded with information that the fall / winter period has caused our body to be polluted, our organs are overloaded, and this results in fatigue, worse mood and appearance, digestive system disorders and sleep problems. After the winter period, we want to lose unnecessary kilograms, we miss fresh meals and we are happy to fall for recommended supplements and cleansing diets. Is it necessary and, above all, effective?

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It is worth starting with what this famous cleansing is and what we are to cleanse from. So cleansing, detox, is the removal of toxins from the body that have accumulated as a result of improper diet, air pollution, the use of stimulants and stress. Every day we are exposed to contamination in the air, soil, water and food. The ubiquitous heavy metals and chemical compounds require the body to constantly and efficiently detoxify. Manufacturers of miracle drugs are not able to determine the type of toxins and the detoxification mechanism with their products on their own. What is this toxin?

Ubiquitous toxins

Toxins are substances produced by living organisms which are poisonous to another organism. When I read this definition, the question arises: is our body really full of toxins? Of course, toxins, as well as poisoning with toxins, do exist and do occur. Unfortunately, even if the substance is really harmful, a cleansing diet will not do much. If our body is full of toxins, can it cope with them thanks to juices alone?

Meanwhile, our body – through the liver and kidneys and with the help of a proper diet rich in vegetables – cleans itself perfectly. There is no need for cleansing diets if our organs are working properly. This is their role in the body. Even if we eat something less healthy, the liver and kidneys are designed to cleanse our body.

The use of mono-diets and elimination diets in most cases results in numerous nutritional deficiencies, rapid weight loss (usually, however, it is a loss of water and muscle mass due to low protein and energy supply), which leads to a quick yo-yo effect. One of the most popular diets used to cleanse the body of toxic substances is the so-called fasting. It consists in the complete elimination or significant reduction of food intake during the day.

From a nutritional point of view, this method is not recommended due to the inability to meet the body’s nutritional requirements. In the case of fasting, a defense mechanism is activated consisting in the production of ketone bodies, which contribute to general malaise, nausea, dehydration, fatigue, lack of energy, apathy, headaches.

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Rapid weight loss is most often caused by a loss of water from the body, as well as glycogen stores, muscle mass, and finally body fat. Another method of detox that is often used is called sokotherapy. This method consists in consuming only fruit and vegetable juices for a certain period of time. The above method of nutrition provides significant amounts of minerals and vitamins, but is deficient in proteins and fats. This may have a negative impact on the hormonal balance, as well as impair the growth and regeneration processes of the body.

Loss of minerals from bones

An equally well-known cleansing diet is the so-called one-component diet, which is characterized by the consumption of one group of products or one product. However, it should not last longer than 3 days due to nutrient deficiencies. Cleansing diets are very often based on the elimination of gluten and dairy products. However, their use negatively affects the calcium-phosphate balance, causing the loss of minerals from the bones. Unjustified elimination of gluten from the diet contributes to, inter alia, constipation resulting from insufficient consumption of dietary fiber, the best source of which are cereal products.

From a nutritional point of view, there is no cleansing diet that will not cause negative health effects. The intended effect can be obtained through the use of a rationally balanced diet rich in vegetables and fruits as well as ingredients that support the work of the liver. Violet fruits rich in polyphenols as well as garlic, onions and apples containing quercetin are especially effective.

A diet high in cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts can improve the performance of our detoxists by up to 37 percent. It is important that half of the vegetables during the day are raw. In order to support the organs responsible for cleansing the body, it is worth using various types of herbs (dandelion, burdock, red clover, field horsetail, artichoke, violet tricolor, echinacea, common nettle, birch, aloe) and add lemon or mint to the water.

What will not hurt?

Drinking green tea also has a positive effect on cleansing the body as it has an antioxidant effect. Less known, but equally effective in detoxification are algae – spirulina and chlorella. Chlorella is a single-cell algae that contains a fibrous and non-digestible inner shell, thanks to which it can bind harmful metabolic products residing in the body. In addition, it seals the intestinal walls, which prevents the secondary penetration of toxins into the body. This alga is especially recommended as a support for the liver in its work: detoxification, it also has antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. Spirulina, on the other hand, strengthens the body’s immunity, and in addition, it contains a lot of highly digestible protein (much more than beef or fish). Moreover, it is rich in micro and macro elements, vitamins and nucleic acids.

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It normalizes the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, and also improves the condition of hair, nails and eyesight. The high content of gammalinoleic acid (GLA) has a positive effect on the functioning of the heart and other organs. In order to improve the functioning of the liver and to cleanse the body of toxic substances, alcohol consumption should be reduced. Despite its antioxidant properties, it can damage and overload the liver and kidneys. Alcohol causes the work of the liver to be limited to its neutralization, which in turn contributes to the accumulation of toxins coming directly from the body and from food.

A detox is actually more of a marketing ploy than a recommended diet. The promised effects, such as a reduction in body fat and improved well-being, have never been scientifically proven. By analyzing the positive and negative properties of this diet, it can be concluded that it poses a threat to the health and proper functioning of the entire body. It is definitely better to follow a proper diet, rich in vegetables and fruits, all year round.

The quoted fragment comes from Hanna Stolińska’s book “Zakłamane food” published by Otwarte publishing house.

Hanna Stolińska author of the book ‘Zakłamane food’. Photo Private archive, press materials.

Hanna Stolińska – doctor of health sciences, clinical nutritionist. Creator and content supervisor of the nutrition education project in “Zielona Kraina” schools. One of the founders of the Women without a diet foundation. Author of scientific and popular science articles, author or co-author of respected books on nutrition, including “Love Vegan”, “Eat healthier”, “Irritable bowel. Diet treatment”, “Insulin resistance. Diet treatment”.