Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only; there is no suggestion that a detox of any kind is a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet. If you're thinking about doing a detox, please consult your doctor beforehand.
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Are you feeling sluggish and blech lately? Thinking of starting a detox program?
The word detox is everywhere, from detox foot pads to detox yoga poses! It’s hard to know what’s legit, or where to begin. If you want to try detoxing, here are a few things to consider before diving in.
First off, it’s important to know that the medical term detox is very different from the wellness buzzword. Detoxification is the removal of toxins (usually from alcohol poisoning or drug overdose) through antidotes or dialysis. And a toxin is defined as “a poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism,” according to Merriam-Webster.
In the wellness world, toxin is loosely defined as any substance that allegedly causes poor health.
But in the wellness world, toxin is loosely defined as anything that allegedly causes poor health. So, white sugar, aspartame, and MSG are all toxins.
In the wellness community, the definition of ‘detox’ gets even trickier! I’ll sum it up in three categories:
1. Cleanses: Sponging Out All the Toxins. This is detox by removal of extra toxins in the body. Things like colon cleanses, herbal protocols, or detox foot pads fall under this category.
2. Diets: Reducing the Intake of Toxins. This isn’t detox by removal of toxins, but instead, by no longer adding toxins. So, if I were to skip eating fast food for two weeks and substitute that with fresh salads, we could call that a detox.
3. Detox Water, Breathing... ak.a. Your Body Doing its Thing. Your liver, kidneys, lungs, bowel, and bladder never stop pumping out the bad stuff (unless you’re seriously ill). Your bladder filters out the bad stuff through urine. So, if you drink water to stay hydrated, it could be said that you’re drinking detox water. If you breathe deeply during yoga, you’re detox breathing.
This last definition dilutes the word detox so much that it becomes basically meaningless.
I think it’s safe to say that the wellness industry has milked the word detox for everything it’s got! So how do we know which detoxes are legit? Let’s hit pause for a sec before you spend your hard earned money (or time) on a detox kit. Whether it’s a cleanse, a diet, or a product like detox foot pads, here are five important questions to ask before starting your detox.
5 Things To Know Before You Detox
1) Which toxins will it remove? Toxins have names! For example, cyanotoxins, dinotoxins and neurotoxins all fall under the umbrella of biotoxins that are found in living organisms.
Your detox might not touch on these at all. It might only refer to pseudo-toxins like excess sugar, preservatives, and food additives. But even so, it’s still reasonable for you to ask, “Which ones??”
If Red Dye no. 5 is a toxin, then I’d want to know if my detox will remove Red Dye no. 5 from my body. Will it remove traces of aspartame? What about traces of formaldehyde? Detox providers are confident that toxins are building up in your body and need to be removed. But what these toxins actually are is somewhat hazy. And which ones their product or protocol will remove is anyone’s guess.
If your detox is legit, its provider should be able to answer this question and be specific.
2) Where are the before and after studies? Let’s say that my detox cleanse is going to remove toxic sludge from my colon. (Many wellness sites claim that the average American has something like 20 pounds of toxic build-up in their colon.) Yuck! So a cleanse sounds worthwhile, doesn’t it?
A cleanse like a colonic, enema, or a liquid/supplement protocol should do the trick. But first, is there any evidence of this toxic build up or sludge?
Gastroenterologists do diagnostic imaging, like CTs and MRIs, on literally every demographic in North America. So far, they haven’t found toxic build up in anyone’s colon or small intestine. If it’s hiding from the camera, then it can’t hide from bowel surgery. But to date, nothing even close to this description has been found. (And frankly, if we all had 20 pounds of toxic waste sitting in our colons, we’d be dead.)
Your large bowel is a membrane coated in mucous that expands and constricts just like the inside of your mouth. Could a layer of toxic crust realistically build up inside your mouth? No. The same goes for your colon.
So if toxic sludge wasn’t there to begin with, it certainly won’t be there after a detox.The same goes for toxins anywhere in the body, like in your sweat. If a product is going to draw toxins out through sweat, there has to be evidence of identifiable toxins first. And then there has to be evidence of a significant reduction after the detox.
I think before and after studies are the most important things to ask for if you’re getting serious about detox. It could be in the form of blood work, tissue samples, or scopes in the body. Whatever gives you actual data.
Keep in mind that feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed is not a reliable after for a before and after. Neither is a change in your bowel habits or an improvement in your sleep. The reason for this leads me to question number three... 3) Are the results of this detox any different than those of a healthy diet and lifestyle? Detoxes usually cut out refined carbs, sugars, and processed foods as a baseline. From there, they go in any direction, like drinking water with cayenne pepper or apple cider vinegar. If food is allowed, it’s usually whole organic foods. Sometimes herbal supplements are added to further cleanse the liver and kidneys.
After the fatigue and grumpiness of the first few days of a detox protocol, many people feel lighter, more energetic, and less sluggish than they did before. But these results are in line with switching to a healthy diet and exercise regime anyway.
You may already be living a healthy lifestyle. Or, perhaps you’re on your way there. Either way, ask yourself what extra benefit a detox will give you. 4) Do doctors recommend this? Some wellness companies like to paint doctors as cutthroat businessmen with zero care for your health – and the field of medicine as a giant conspiracy to keep people sick for profit. So, sometimes you’ll see advertising saying, “What your doctor doesn’t want you to know...”
I’ll acknowledge that there are flaws in the medical industry for sure. And doctors aren’t perfect!
But many doctors don’t approve detoxes because they don’t want to hurt you or mislead you. There just isn’t an acceptable definition of ‘toxin’ outside of the field of toxicology. There isn’t evidence of toxic build up in the kidneys or liver, like the detox community suggests. And there isn’t evidence that all detox protocols are safe or even effective. If a detox is marketed as the underground truth that doctors won’t acknowledge, that’s a red flag. Your detox provider should have a stellar reason why they aren’t approved by the medical industry. It should include pages of documentation. And a money trail that proves that crooked doctors are deliberately keeping it from the public. 5) What have I been feeling badly about lately? This question is not for everyone, but I believe it’s closely tied with the sudden urge to start a detox. Doing a cleanse is very often about cleansing the psyche. I know I love the feeling of getting my life back on track. Everyone does!
Doing a detox might reset your headspace for a little while. But if there’s an underlying problem or issue in your life that you aren’t addressing, it will resurface again and again. What are you hoping to sweep away with a detox? It may be nothing. Or it may be something that’s still crying out for your attention.
A detox isn’t going to make you more spiritually whole. Take a moment and think about the finest people you’ve ever known. People who were kind, generous, and had integrity. When I think of these people in my life, people whom I can only hope to imitate, I realize that one passed away from a stroke and the other from colon cancer. So, is being healthier a worthwhile goal? Yes! Does being healthier make you a better person? No. The wellness industry has woven your physical health into the spiritual high ground pretty tightly. It’s time to unravel that.
I hope these five questions sparked some thought about detox. I’m always interested in hearing what you think, even if you completely disagree! Have you tried a detox? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments below.
References/Sources:
Toxicology Primer, University of Illinois at Chicago, October 2013Detoxification Schemes and Scams, Dr Stephen Barrett, Quackwatch, June 2011Toxin,
Biotoxin, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, June 2017
How Clean Should Your Colon Be, American Council on Science and Health, February 2003
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