Facts and Fallacies: Here’s What You Need To Know About Detox

You probably hear some friends or family members going on a detox after embarking on a month-long or even week-long journey of less than ideal diets.

 

From solid food fasting to colon cleansing, a detox diet is an option for people who want to lose weight or jumpstart into a healthy lifestyle. For a short period, detox has become a form of diet for shaving off some pounds using low-calorie regimens.

 

Beware though, because detox therapies aren’t as healthy and beneficial as they seem. As a matter of fact, nutrition experts and doctors alike warn that they can be risky and can even backfire at your health.

 

If you’re still thinking about it, here are the things that you need to know first.

 

What is Detox?

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Scientifically, detoxification is a practice of removing toxic and other harmful substances in the body. It is more about optimizing and improving the functions of your body’s detoxification systems.

 

People who patronize detox therapies believe it can reduce the risk of diseases and renders you with good health, glowing skin and radiant energy. But then again, there are no scientific proofs that this so-called cleansing is beneficial to a person’s health.

 

But if there’s one thing that comes close to the claims stated above, it is that if your kidneys and liver are healthy, they will do a great job of cleansing your body on a daily basis. The benefits of eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains go a long way in improving your health and is more long-term compared to cleansing.

 

Truth About Toxins

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Since we’re talking about detoxification here, it’s only proper that we dig deeper about the clamoring of people for detox. Let’s talk about toxins.

Toxins are poisons from biological processes. It could be metabolic wastes generated by the cells in your body.

 

Commonly, when people talk about toxins, they are most likely referring to human-made chemicals as well. A human body accumulates natural and human-made toxins when ingesting food and water and breathing air.

 

According to Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of cell biology and pathology at Columbia University in New York, what you need to understand is that undergoing an internal cleansing or drinking juice is not going to help your body flush out these toxins more efficiently or faster.  Your body has natural systems that get rid of toxins on its own.

 

The Built-in Detox System

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The liver is the primary organ that helps in the detoxification process of the body. Everything that you take and breathe is broken down and distributed to the bloodstream then passes through the liver, the body’s largest internal organ.

 

The body naturally depends on the liver to modulate, store, synthesize and excrete essential nutrients and proteins. It also helps in transforming, purifying and filtering unneeded substances or toxins.

 

A lot of detoxification scheme claims that cleansing is good for the liver, but to healthy people, toxins do not go in the liver. Rather, the liver converts harmful chemicals into water-soluble substances that you can easily excrete or sweat out.

 

Meet The Fat Cell

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The general detoxification scheme that generates massive fandom includes juicing, fasting, eating raw diet or swallowing a herbal solution. But, studies have not shown that juices or foods are useful in pulling out toxins from the organs or blood.

 

While there are proponents who argue that juicing or fasting help in burning fat cells, which they say contains toxins, the idea is not scientifically sound. Burning fat cells have nothing to do with the body’s natural process of detoxification.

 

Dramatic limitation of food intake via fasting or crash dieting will only put stress on the person’s biological system. One of the serious risks of fasting is dehydration. Your kidney, intestines, and liver are good enough to overcome different dietary insults. Cleansing and juicing will only jeopardize the proper mechanisms of your bodily systems.

 

The Effort Level for Detoxification Is High

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If you are seriously considering detox, there are two things that you need to prepare for yourself. You’ll be hungry and weak.

 

Regardless whether detox is safe or not, it all depends on your plan and for how long you are going to do it. Most people are not comfortable with nutrient-poor and low-calorie diet, much fewer juice diets. The potential side effects include low blood sugar, low energy, dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, and nausea.

 

If detoxifying appeals to you, what you can do is eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains and whole foods. These foods are good for you and will give you long lasting results especially if you include exercises.

 

Detoxification Is Not Good For Certain Conditions

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Detox is not only dangerous for people with certain medical conditions, but they are harmful too. No studies prove that it improves blood pressure or lowers cholesterol. A diet that restricts food intake will only lead you to serious health issues.

 

If there’s exemption to the rule, it would be a diet that encourages clean-eating. Clean-eating approach is ideal for people who suffer from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.

 

Does It Work?

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The biggest question is, does it work? Well, if your goal is to shave off some pounds, it might help you, but there’s a high chance that you’ll gain it back. At the end of the day, you accomplish nothing. And, it’s certainly not a healthy approach.

 

There are even claims that detoxifying improves sexual desire or libido. But it is just a big misconception. Besides taking a toll to your energy and endurance, detox methods that involve ‘liquid-only’ approach is a threat to your stamina. Detoxifying has no relation to sexual endurance. Check out omg brah reviews Male Extra, and you’ll get more informative facts relating to sexual stamina and diet issues.

 

Now, if your goal is to detoxify your system, don’t waste your money and time. Your body is already an expert at getting rid toxins, no matter what you eat.

 

Toxins do not build up in your kidneys, liver or any other part of your body. You can’t ward them off with detox schemes. Stay away from diets that promise cleansing or detoxifying your body or whatever it is that the diet determines needs flushing out.

 

The only beneficial diet is one that omits high-fat, processed and sugary foods and replaces them with whole foods.

 

Takeaway

 

You probably heard a lot about detox for a long time, but all of them are just excitement with no health benefits. There are various ways to get your body healthy and in shape. Detoxifying is certainly not one of them.

 

Author Bio:
As an environmental advocate, Harry Beckett believes in the importance of preserving our nature. Apart from nature, he is also a self-confessed health enthusiast and spends most of his free time researching and reading about the latest trend in health and fitness. During his downtime, he likes to write his ideas and thoughts about men’s health and generously shares them with his readers.