Tempted to do a new year body cleanse? Do this instead

Detox cleanses are all over social media, with people claiming the diets remove toxins, help you lose weight and supposedly reset your body using a strict regimen of juices, herbal teas or other liquids, supplements or fasting or eliminating certain foods.

Despite the hype, there is little evidence that these cleanses do what they claim, and they can be risky for people with eating disorders and other health issues such as heart and kidney diseases, experts say.

“This has become a multibillion-dollar industry because people are looking for quick fixes,” says Tinsay Woreta, an associate professor in gastroenterology and hepatology at Johns Hopkins University. “But a quick detox for three to seven days is not going to have the same benefits as a long-term healthy lifestyle.”

Detox cleanses are touted as a way to remove toxic substances in our bodies from sources such as ultra-processed foods, alcohol, microplastics, air pollution and household cleaners.

Some juice cleanses, often built around lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, claim to improve liver function, remove toxins and boost metabolic function, among other things. Others may call for food restriction or a complete fast, herbal teas and supplements, even laxatives or what are known as colon cleanses. Depending on the detox, it may last a couple of days or up to three weeks or so.

By the end, you’re told to expect more energy, glowing skin and stronger nails, and a smaller waist. But although you might see short-lived weight loss, you’re unlikely to get actual detoxification, experts say.

Your body already has a well-established filtration system. Your lungs trap and expel airborne toxins, your intestines remove foodborne organisms, and your kidneys filter your blood and eliminate waste through urine. Your body’s main detox centre is your liver, which processes blood from your digestive system and converts toxins such as alcohol into waste products that can be safely eliminated from your body, Woreta says.

“We don’t have any evidence that if you eat a well-balanced diet that these cleanses are adding anything” - and they can’t undo damage that already has been done to your body, she says.

A 2014 research review concluded that there was “very little evidence” to support the health claims of detox diets, and favourable studies of commercial ones were “hampered by flawed methodologies and small sample sizes.”

In a 2022 review of fad diets, researchers found no clinical evidence proving or disproving weight loss effectiveness of commercial detox diets but noted that “the success rate of dieting, in general, is only 20 per cent”.

In 2017, researchers reported that juicing or “detoxification” diets may lead to short-term weight loss because of low caloric intake, but the weight often returns once a normal diet is resumed.

For instance, the popular lemonade diet or lemon detox diet is usually done for a couple of days to a few weeks and excludes solid food. People begin their day with salt water; drink several glasses of a beverage made of lemon juice, maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper throughout the day, and have a cup of herbal tea at night. This diet provides somewhere between 600 and 1200 calories per day when adult women need 1600 to 2400 calories and men need 2200 to 3000 calories, according to the most recent government dietary guidelines.

More recently, in 2024, researchers analysed TikTok videos promoting detoxes and other diets and found that the most popular posts frequently made unsubstantiated health claims, which the authors said posed potential risks to users, including disordered eating.

Juice cleanses can be risky for people who are vulnerable to eating disorders as they can trigger episodes of under-eating or, on the flip side, severe overeating, says Rhonda Merwin, a professor in psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Duke University, who was not involved in the study. Cleanses may also lead to other behaviours to get rid of perceived toxins, such as using laxatives or diuretics, which can become frequent and dangerous, she says.

Fruit and vegetable juices do contain vitamins and minerals and can be a source of antioxidants, though they lack the fibre found in whole fruits and vegetables. But juice cleanses may lack protein, essential fats, soluble vitamins and fibre, leading to electrolyte and blood sugar imbalances, which can cause lightheadedness, dizziness and headaches, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition.

This is especially a concern for people with cardiovascular or kidney disease and taking medications for those conditions because imbalances of sodium and potassium electrolytes can lead to dangerous arrhythmias, says Wendy Weber, the acting deputy director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health.

Additionally, juices high in certain vegetables may increase the risk of kidney stones for those who are prone to them. Spinach, for instance, can be high in oxalates, compounds that bind to minerals such as calcium and can exacerbate kidney stones, Weber says.

Although some fruit juices, such as most orange juice brands, don’t contain added sugars, high levels of natural sugars aren’t good for your health. Dietitians recommend one or two glasses of fruit juice a day, and not eight.

What else you should know

You may feel better after a cleanse because you’ve cut out processed foods, added sugars and alcohol. But a cleanse is of short duration. A more sustainable long-term approach is to limit these items and eat healthy whole foods, Weber said.

Here are more tips from experts:

• Eat a balanced diet. A balanced diet – such as the Mediterranean diet – of fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and lean protein such as fish and chicken and that avoids processed and fatty foods, added sugars, and artificial sweeteners can reduce your risk of liver disease and other health problems, Woreta says. Also, follow nutrition labels for proper portion sizes. Most people eat larger portions than recommended, Weber says, explaining that one serving size of protein should be no larger than the size of your palm.
• Be physically active. Adults should get at least 150 minutes per week, or 30 minutes five days per week, of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, according to recommendations from the American Heart Association. “Being physically active as much as you’re able to do so, whether walking or taking up a new exercise routine - anything you can really sustain and stick to – that’s what’s going to have long-term benefit,” Weber says.
• Limit alcohol intake. Even moderate drinking – defined as up to two drinks per day for men and one for women – is linked to a higher risk of developing certain cancers such as breast, colorectal and esophageal cancers, as well as brain changes and dementia, heart problems and sleep problems.

The bottom line: While some detox diets contain vitamins and minerals and can be a source of antioxidants, they don’t meet all your daily nutritional needs and don’t lead to the same long-term benefits as adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Washington Post

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