Myth or Miracle: Can We Really Detox Our Bodies?
Take some cucumber, water, lemon juice, coconut water and honey — and why not throw in some broccoli? Mix it together and you've made the perfect detox drink.
Or have you?
There are a lot of products that say they'll "detox" or "cleanse" the body. The detox industry is worth billions of dollars each year.
And it's easy to see why we like the idea — it's nice to think of cleaning out our bodies, perhaps after a weekend of eating and drinking too much, or after a holiday.
The idea we're sold is that a "detox" diet — including only green vegetables, for example — or a special "detox" drink might clean our body of toxins. Some companies also say their products will give us more energy or help us lose weight.
But there's a problem with these detoxing products: we don't need them. Doctors say there's really no scientific evidence that shows detoxes work.
The Guardian put it like this: "You can't detox your body. It's a myth."
That's because, according to doctors, our bodies are really good at cleaning themselves. That's what our organs are for. There's no science that has found a drink or a diet that can do the job any better than our bodies already do.
It's true that if you go on a detox diet for a week, and only eat fruits and vegetables, you're likely to lose weight — but only for a short time.
Some detoxes could even be bad for us. If we're not getting enough calories, we might feel tired, while detox drinks that are made with laxatives could cause dehydration.
If you really want to get healthy, doctors say detoxes aren't the answer. As always, the answer is quite simple: don't smoke, do some exercise and enjoy a healthy diet every day.
