Detox diets have gained popularity as quick fixes to cleanse the body, especially after the consumption of excess food and drinks, common throughout the holidays. Nonetheless, people should proceed with caution as these diets might need negative effects.

A couple of sorts of detox diets include fasting, juice cleanses, restricting self to certain foods, using detox supplements, or “cleansing” the colon with enemas or laxatives. These diets are generally short-term and claim to remove toxic substances from the body. The pattern these diets typically follow is a period of fasting after which an especially restrictive food regimen for some days.

“As a registered dietitian, I actually have seen clients attempt detox diets and experience a slew of negative uncomfortable side effects, including developing a negative relationship with food,” Taylor Grasso, Dietitian on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said, as reported by Inverse.

“Research shows that there’s little evidence to support using detox diets and that they should not needed anyway. The body is well-equipped to eliminate unwanted substances by itself, without expensive and potentially harmful supplements sold by the nutrition and wellness industry,” Grasso added.

Quite the opposite, these diets can result in uncomfortable side effects, including headaches, fatigue, weakness, fainting, and irritability. 

In response to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, there are foods which will boost the body’s detox system, including cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, berries, artichokes, garlic, onions, leeks, and green tea. Furthermore, adequate intake of lean protein may improve “the body’s natural system by maintaining adequate levels of glutathione, the body’s master cleansing enzyme, or catalyst.”

The few studies which have supported these detox diets have been found to be flawed, in keeping with Grasso. The experiments are shown to have flawed methodologies and small sample sizes, and are sometimes done on animals.

Moreover, supplements promoting detox advantages are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“In reality, some business supplements have raised so many health and issues of safety that the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission have taken legal motion against the businesses that make them remove their products from the market,” Grasso noted.

Some detox rituals involving laxatives or enemas, or restriction of solid foods can result in dehydration, nutrient deficiencies, and electrolyte imbalances, in keeping with the outlet. Moreover, diets that severely restrict certain foods can put the body into “starvation mode.” 

“Doing that repeatedly over an extended period can result in a chronic decrease in metabolism, which implies that the variety of calories you burn at rest may slowly decrease over time. This will make it tougher to drop pounds and balance blood sugar. It may well also leave people more vulnerable to chronic metabolic conditions akin to heart problems and diabetes,” the dietician explained.