More and more people are buying into cleansing, or at least, the idea of cleansing. Today it’s en par with detoxing and getting rid of perceived “toxins”, even though most people don’t even know what a toxin is. On top of that is the fact that many cleanses often go to extremes, putting people’s health at risk depending on how far they’re willing to go.
So what’s the truth here? Are detoxes and cleanses really that effective? And do you even need to do one in the first place?

Cleansing 101
First of all, what does it mean to go on a cleanse? Usually, the goal is to clean house. People that undergo a cleanse are oftentimes plagued with a laundry list of symptoms, such as acne, bloating, tiredness, headaches, and weight gain. Some people even commit to a cleanse in order to get rid of a perceived toxicity.
On paper, the cleanse would help the body to purge itself of these toxins, and renew itself. All of the aforementioned symptoms and then some would be “cured”, and you could go on good as new.

The Problem
Sure, cleansing itself sounds plausible. And even reasonable. A cleanse would be like washing your car or hitting the reset button. But on your body. Here’s the issue here.
Your body cleanses itself every day. By the second.
We have kidneys, a liver, colon, skin, and both a respiratory and lymphatic system that filter out waste and keeps our body cleansed.
In short, we don’t necessarily need to commit to any “cleansing” when we’re actually performing it on a daily basis.

Devil’s Advocate
With this in mind, let’s say that we do need a “cleanse”, and that our body and internal organs just aren’t keeping up with the demand of processing out toxins. What do we do?
The first order of business is to identify what these toxins even are! Here’s a quick rundown of very real toxins, and how too much can be a problem:

• Environment: Exposure to air pollutants or gases (hydrogen chloride, benzene/toluene, dioxin, asbestos, etc), cigarette smoke, and unfiltered or contaminated water. [1]
• Endocrine Disruptors: These are chemicals or compounds that, at least according to some research, may have a negative effect on our hormones (and overall health for that matter). These include Xenoestrogens, which mimic estrogen and are disruptive to hormonal balance, include Phthalates (found in cosmetics, perfumes, and skin and body care), BPA and BBP (both which may increase breast cancer risk), Parabens (found again in cosmetics, skincare, and creams), and artificial additives/flavors in foods (all of these are harmful when consumed excessively; just recently, McDonald’s announced it would begin getting rid of them in its classic burgers- if they were truly benign, then removing them wouldn’t have been necessary… hmmm- food for thought!). [2] [3] [4] [5]
• Heavy Metals: Even though these can be found naturally in our environment, in excess, they become toxic in the body. Heavy metals can interfere with metabolic processes and gradually lead the body into a downward spiral of degeneration. They’ve been linked to conditions and diseases like Alzheimer’s, muscular dystrophy, and even cancer. Arsenic, lead, and mercury are some of the worst toxic of heavy metals with a laundry list of debilitating effects. [6]

The WRONG Way to Cleanse
OK, so you are indeed “toxic” and in need of a cleanse (or detox) to get rid of them. What do you do? Well, you should first know what not to do. And that’s playing Dr. Google! If you truly are plagued with toxicity, then your priority is to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Not only will you get a confirmed and professional diagnosis, but you’ll also be under strict supervision and thus prevented from making any further mistakes. When it comes to cleansing, the last thing you want to do is put your health at risk by playing into assumptions (rather than confirmations).

A lot of people are quick to invest in cleansing packages containing pills, powders, and herbal tinctures, thinking these things are their ticket to cleanliness. This decision opens up a whole can of worms. Starting off, most (if not all) of these cleansing tools or supplements hardly have any scientific evidence to show that they work. Hepatologists (who study and treat the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas) don’t buy into them, and neither should you, for that matter. According to Johns Hopkins hepatologist Dr. Tinsay Woreta, “Unfortunately, these products are not regulated by the FDA, and thus are not uniform and have not been adequately tested in clinical trials.” [7]

Not only are these supplements unnecessary, so are the diets that accompany them. Many people attempt to cleanse by going on juice cleanses, gallbladder flushes, and variations of the famous “Master Cleanse” that involves drinking laxative teas and lemon juice-cayenne-maple syrup concoctions. Once again, absolutely no data or research shows that these even work. If you do lose weight, it’s mostly water weight, due to a combination of using the toilet frequently and practically starving yourself on low calories.
Here’s the risk though. According to a 2008 publication from Harvard Women’s Health Watch on detox practices, detox diets pose a number of risks because, “The diet is lacking in protein, fatty acids, and other essential nutrients…. The daily laxative regiment can cause dehydration, deplete electrolytes, and impair normal bowel function. It can also disrupt the native intestinal flora, microorganisms that perform useful digestive functions. A person who goes on this diet repeatedly may run the risk of developing metabolic acidosis, a disruption of the body’s acid-base balance, which results in excessive acidity in the blood. Severe metabolic acidosis can lead to coma and death.” [8]
Let that last point be the nail in the detox-diet coffin!

The RIGHT Way to Cleanse
The “right” way to cleanse is to do a complete overhaul of your lifestyle. Instead of committing to a one-and-done (and dangerous) fad, why not prevent yourself from having any possible problems in the first place? The prescription I suggest is common sense. You don’t need to juice cleanse to clean your body. What you can do is incorporate a variety of vegetables and fruits into your diet. Instead of buying expensive pills, why not put that money into cleaner personal care products, quality food, and indoor plants that naturally filter the air in your house? Why not take care of your body so that it can continue to detox and cleanse for you! That’s what it’s meant to do anyway. If you take care of it, then it will take care of you.
Cleanses today misunderstand the fact that we have an intelligently designed system that takes care of toxins. They also fail to mention that they have no foundation in science, or medicine for that matter. A real cleanse involves getting to a doctor and having him or her test you for real exposure. If there is such a toxicity, then you will be treated not with fads but with science. And to prevent that from happening, it’s better to stick with simple practices stemming from your lifestyle.

Sources:
[1] http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/outdoor/air-pollution/toxic-air-pollutants.html
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18942551
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/xenoestrogen
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2907875/
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2018/09/27/why-mcdonalds-got-rid-of-artificial-additives-in-its-burgers/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4427717/
[7] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/articles-and-answers/prevention/detoxing-your-liver-fact-versus-fiction
[8] https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-dubious-practice-of-detox