Your body does not need a special diet to "detoxify" itself. It does this naturally. The best way to "detox" your body is to support its natural processes to eliminate toxins. You do not need to detox or "cleanse" your body by drinking only juices or fasting for a few days or longer. Some ways to support your body's natural processes include limiting your alcohol consumption, getting plenty of sleep, staying hydrated, being physically active, and eating a balanced diet of antioxidant-rich foods.
Some detox regimens can even be dangerous. Any weight you lose might return unless you modify your lifestyle and eating habits. Read on to learn how to help your body detox in a healthy way.
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Here's Why You Really Don't Need To Do a Juice Cleanse
A detox is a way to get rid of toxins from your body and lose weight. Several extreme programs, such as herbal detox or cleansing regimens, fasts, laxatives, and juice cleanses, claim to help detox your body. However, these methods aren't needed and can be dangerous.
Your body actually has several ways of detoxing itself naturally. For example, your liver breaks down toxins and elements you consume, helping eliminate them. Your kidneys also metabolize and excrete waste products. Your colon and intestines also remove toxins through feces. Even your skin and lungs help your body get rid of toxins, Rudolph Bedford, MD, a gastroenterologist at Saint John's Physician Partners, toldHealth.
Are Detoxes Effective for Weight Loss?
Some evidence suggests certain detox programs can help with weight loss, improve insulin resistance, and manage blood pressure. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of detoxes, and existing studies lack large sample sizes.
Other research has found that detox diets do not support sustainable weight loss. You might lose weight rapidly but regain it after the detox ends. There's also a lack of research that has examined the long-term effects of detoxes for weight loss or other purposes.
If you feel you need to "detox," it may actually mean you feel like your health is off. If you have any concerns about your health and diet, talk to a healthcare provider. Trying certain popular detox diets without a doctor's supervision can lead to malnutrition.
If you are eating a balanced diet but experience symptoms like bruising or bleeding easily, feeling tired, or having unintended weight loss, see a healthcare provider. Those might be signs of an underlying condition or damage to your liver or kidney, which help detoxify your body naturally.
How To Help Your Body's Detox Processes
Your body can detoxify itself in many ways without a specific, depriving diet. Read on to learn about lifestyle changes that enhance your body's natural detox processes.
1. Care for Your Skin
Dry-brushing your skin with a soft brush before a bath or shower may help your skin look and feel better if done correctly. You can remove dead skin cells, which may smoothen your skin texture, by mechanically exfoliating. Keep in mind that exfoliation may increase your risk of acne and redness if you do so too harshly.
Some evidence suggests that adding Epsom salts to your bath may help cleanse your body inside and out. For example, your skin might absorb minerals in Epsom salt, namely magnesium. Magnesium aids muscle and nerve function, controls blood sugar, and regulates blood pressure. A hot Epsom salt bath can also relax you.
2. Consider Taking Prebiotics
Prebiotics are nutrients that help promote the growth of "good" bacteria in your gut. Your gut bacteria break down prebiotics into their natural components, like fatty acids, which benefit organs outside your gut. Try eating enough fiber, drinking plenty of fluids, regularly exercising, and loading up on prebiotics to keep things moving—and detoxing—in your gut,
You can consume prebiotics naturally in foods like:
- Asparagus
- Banana
- Barley, rye, and wheat
- Beans
- Chicory root
- Dandelion greens
- Garlic
- Jerusalem artichoke
- Milk
- Onion
- Peas
- Raw honey
- Tomato
3. Eat Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Whole foods with plenty of nutrients help keep your body healthy. Try limiting fried, sugary, processed foods and red meat. Those foods increase the risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Instead, opt for fiber-rich foods like fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, lean protein, and probiotics that aid gut and liver function.
4. Get Good Sleep
Getting plenty of quality sleep is essential to supporting overall health. Sufficient rest will help reduce stress and inflammation so your body can function at its best.Experts advise that adults sleep about seven to nine hours per night.
Sleep hygiene practices that will help you get a good night's rest include:
- Avoid stimulants before you go to bed: This includes alcohol and caffeine.
- Create a sleep haven: Keeping your bedroom cool, dark, quiet, and free of technology screens.
- Stick to a standard bedtime: This allows you to get at least seven hours of sleep nightly. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning, including on the weekends.
5. Get Moving
Sweating is one way your body safely and effectively eliminates heavy metals like nickel, lead, copper, arsenic, and mercury. A study published in 2022 found that sweating from dynamic exercises, like running, may get rid of more toxins than sweating in a sauna.
Regular physical activity also has mental health benefits. Exercise helps you feel less anxious and reduces depression symptoms.
6. Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water and electrolytes each day to help your kidneys flush out toxins from your system. Electrolytes help move nutrients into your cells and waste out. Experts advise drinking 91–125 fluid ounces of water or more daily. Switch things up with tea or a squeeze of lemon or lime if you want something different than straight water. Green tea may improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which may reduce your heart disease risk.
7. Swap Added Sugars for Foods Rich in Antioxidants
Antioxidants are artificial or natural substances that may prevent or delay some types of cell damage that lead to chronic illnesses. One of the main things that antioxidants do is offset free radical damage. Free radicals cause oxidative stress, which can trigger cell damage.
Oxidative stress may increase your risk of several chronic illnesses, such as:
- Alzheimer's disease, a common type of dementia that impairs your memory and ability to do daily activities
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Eye disease
- Heart disease
- Parkinson's disease, a nervous system disorder that affects your movement and causes trembling
Antioxidants include beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamins A, C, and E. You can find several antioxidants in fruits and vegetables.
8. Take It Easy With Alcohol
Alcohol"jumps to the front of the metabolic pathway" so that your body can process it quickly and get it out of your body, Jessica Cording, CDN, an integrative nutrition health coach, toldHealth. Your body processes alcohol mainly through your liver and a little through your breath.
Your body must work hard to process alcohol, directly impacting the organs that naturally detoxify other toxins from your body. Keep your drinking to a minimum to help support your body's natural cleansing processes.
Many popular detox plans can require drastic lifestyle changes that are not great for your body. Those plans are often restrictive, minimizing your calorie intake. You are more likely to regain weight with a restrictive diet than if you lose weight slowly over time.
Other risks of detoxing include:
- Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance
- Exposure to harmful ingredients
- Illness from harmful bacteria in unpasteurized juices
- Kidney damage from juices that are high in oxalate, a natural substance
- Nutrient deficiencies
Side Effects
Talk to a healthcare provider before trying a detox or cleanse. There are several side effects of rapid weight loss, as with a detox, such as:
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Gallstones, or hard deposits inside of your gallbladder that sometimes cause pain
- Gout, a type of arthritis that causes severe pain in one or few joints (e.g., ankles, big toes, and knees)
- Loss of bone density, muscle, and water
- Nausea
Detoxes also often focus on "short-term detoxing." You might not learn how to reintroduce healthy foods or develop a sustainable eating pattern that supports overall health after the detox ends. Instead, allow your body to detox on its own.
Is a Sugar Detox Worth It?
A Quick Review
You may consider a detox if you need a reboot to get on a healthy path. Still, detoxes and cleanses are not necessary since your body detoxifies itself regularly on its own.
Instead, you can help your body boost its natural detox processes and eliminate toxins by adjusting your lifestyle. Eat nutrient-rich foods and reduce added sugars and alcohol to support overall health. You can also enhance your body's natural detoxifying process by drinking plenty of water, getting quality sleep, and exercising regularly.
