• Country

Should You Do a Detox or Juice Cleanse?

By Jiri Kaloc

The new year is here and you want to improve your health, have more energy, and lose weight. Should you do a detox diet to get there faster? Or should you try a juice cleanse? Both of these are quite popular, at least on social media, but do they actually help you achieve those goals?

First thing you should know is that nearly anything you ingest can be toxic in the right dose. Yes, including kale and herbal teas. You can’t avoid toxins. Your body is quite well equipped to deal with toxins, though. We have our digestive tract, kidneys, skin, lungs, liver, lymphatic system, and respiratory system they all help us get rid of toxins quite effectively.

There’s a toxin overload

Even though our bodies are great at dealing with toxins, they never experienced such an overload in the entire history of our evolution. Polluted environment, medication overuse, poor sleep, poor movement, high doses of alcohol, smoking, poor diets, and beauty products all bombard our bodies with abnormal doses of toxic substances.

They don’t work

So, detoxes will help, right? Most likely not; most popular detox diets and cleanses have never been proven to notably remove toxins or lead to sustainable fat loss. In fact, detox diets can work against you by bypassing the body’s natural detoxification systems and creating an unhealthy cycle of starving yourself and over-eating. They can also cause unhealthy blood-sugar swings and GI tract dysfunction.

Detox your lifestyle first

So, what’s the solution? Well, since the toxin overload is basically caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, the surest way to deal with it is to start eating healthy, moving, cutting out bad habits, and spending time in nature. Such lifestyle will allow your body to handle the usual toxin load with ease and your weight will probably naturally adjust too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSRS_32jeWm/

The problem is that a lot of people want these results too quickly or they have an unrealistic body image and want to push themselves beyond what they can safely handle. So, the second step should be detoxing your thoughts. Be aware of those restrictive, fear-inducing, isolating, health depleting diets and cleanses and focus on enjoying your life, saying yes to opportunities, spontaneous trips, laughs and loved ones, and of not giving a damn about what others think.