If you overindulge on food often, then the idea of a juice cleanse may be appealing. As there are plenty of dieting products that promise glowing skin, remove cellulite, and have effective weight loss makes it a viable and tempting solution to your mid-winter sluggishness and blues. But does the detox diet truly work? It can sound like an excellent way to begin the new year, but is there any evidence that juicing diets can help you lose weight, remove toxins, and help you feel better? Detox diets have been around for ages, and as celebrities continue to endorse these diets, we’re here to look at the theories and studies behind this diet and give you a more well-rounded perspective.

What is the Detox Diet? 

Detox diets are short-term dietary interventions that are designed to remove toxins from your body. Typically involving a period of fasting, fruit juices, and water, sometimes these detox diet plans also include teas, herbs, and supplements to provide juice cleanse that removes toxic chemicals found throughout your environment or diet. Those who advocate for these diets often cite that they feel more focused and energetic after using a juice cleanse.

As a form of intermittent fasting, this diet brings out a lot of controversies over how these detox diet plans work, the evidence behind detox for weight loss, and the after-effects of using a juicing diet to feel better. These short term interventions, however, claim to:

■ Provide relief for the organs through fasting

■ Stimulate the liver to remove toxins

■ Improve circulation and digestion

■ Promotes toxin removal through sweat, urine, and faeces

■ Aid the body with healthy nutrients.

These detox diet plans are commonly recommended because of the idea of toxic chemicals, which include synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, pollutants, and other compounds considered harmful to the body. By removing these toxins through a detox cleanse, these types of diets also claim to help with various health problems, including bloating, inflammation, autoimmune disease, digestive issues, and obesity.

What Does A Detox Diet Involve?

Detox diets depend highly on the patient’s goal and can vary by method, intensity, and duration to assure results. They can involve:

■ Fasting for short periods

■ Removing wheat and diary

■ Consuming only fruits and vegetables

■ Avoiding caffeine and alcohol

■ Eating a limited variety of foods

■ Pills, lotions, liquids, etc.

In many ways, juicing diets can often fall under the herbal supplement category, as certain herbs can be added into the detox diet plan to help people use detox to lose weight: detox tea, detox juices, and other distribution methods to help assist in the fasting process. The fasting process often works in schedules, and after hours of detoxing through fruits, vegetables, and herbs, the body works to prolong the period of burning calories and begins burning fat as a result. While many brands out there offer their own varieties of detox diets, most detox diet plans work a short period in between three to 10 days. Some of the best juice cleanses can include:

3 Day Juice Cleanse: A 3-day detox cleanse works to remove toxins and additives within a short, three-day period, acting as a beginner’s guide towards effective detoxing and giving people a quick and simple boost towards better energy levels and healthier weight. Throughout this diet, the focus on antioxidant-rich foods is enforced, while toxins and sugars are avoided. With vegetable and fruit smoothies, drinking water, plenty of sleep, and mild exercise, this diet works to renew the body and immune system.

5 Day Juice Cleanse: Similar to the 3-day juice cleanse, the 5-day juice cleanse extends the commitment to fresh fruits and vegetables to a total of 5 days. Furthermore, the reinforcement of fruits and vegetables over the course of 5 days helps to flood the body with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients often found in fruits and vegetables. Depending on the specifics of the plan, at least three to six meals per day are used throughout the five days to begin the detoxification process.

7 Day Juice Cleanse: This diet takes place over the course of a week and is a 7-day detox that focuses on fruits and vegetables as a priority for the detoxification process, and in some cases, will also include grains and vegetables that contain proteins and healthy carbohydrates to help sustain the body over the longer period of time. The 7-day juice cleanse works to not only help provide a body detox for weight loss but also help kickstart a healthier eating lifestyle for those struggling to lose weight.

10 Day Smoothie Cleanse: The 10-day smoothie cleanse, or 10-day juice cleanse, works to fully remove processed foods, white flours, sugars, and fried foods from a person’s diet and help transition them off of meats, dairies, and caffeine. Through fruit and vegetable smoothies, plenty of hydration, and sleep, the 10-day smoothie cleanse works to help encourage those on a diet to begin healthy eating habits and lose weight.

Master Cleanse: As a more advanced version of the juicing diet, the Master Cleanse specifically works with a lemon beverage mixed with maple syrup and cayenne pepper over the course of 10 days. Combined with herbal laxative teas and saltwater solutions, this daily regimen works to create an immediate fast and cleanse of the body of any health ailments. This short-term liquid fast aims to promote rapid weight loss and reset the body towards healthier eating.

All these types of detox diets are based on choosing regular time periods to eat and fast and can vary according to the specific plan people choose. These diets tend to exclude proteins and dairy from the detox diet as these food groups contribute to the toxins that build up from our waste.

Do Detox Diets Work?

This intermittent fasting body detox attempts to work as a solution for low exercise and high-fat diets and attempts to reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses. Studies looking into the effects of intermittent fasting and the core focus of these types of diets heavily focus on the concept of metabolic switching, where the body exhausts sugar stores and burns fat instead. By performing this metabolic switch, intermittent fasting may potentially improve cardiovascular health and metabolism function when combined with exercise.

However, according to sources from the British Dietetic Association, the body has its own ability to detoxify and remove waste products and toxins, removing substances such as alcohol, dead cells, bacteria, and products of digestion through various organs. Those organs, including the skin, gut, and liver, constantly work to remove these toxins. They argue that a balanced diet and regular physical activity will maximize people’s health and that detox diets aren’t necessary for healthy living.

The NHS argues that with detox diets, the body is constantly starved of calories, contributing to the process of ketosis. Ketosis is when the body, when it lacks a sufficient amount of calories and sucrose, builds ketones to act as a secondary fuel, which helps burn body fat and acts as a detox for weight loss. However, a prolonged lack of proteins can result in the body breaking down its own muscles and compromising the immune system.

Alongside that, the concept of detoxification often comes with the association that the gut is primarily responsible for this level of toxicity, but as cited by the NHS and BDA, the digestive system has its own ways to remove toxins from the system through methods such as:

■ The gut contains special lymphatic cells called Peyer’s patches, forming bundles along the mucous membrane lining. These lymphatic cells act to help screen out to remove harmful particles from the body so they aren’t absorbed into the bloodstream.

■ The kidneys work to filter about half a cup of blood a minute, removing toxins from the body and transferring it as urine.

■ The liver detoxes the body from foreign substances such as alcohol, converting it into enzymes, acetaldehyde (the toxic chemical), acetic acid, and carbon dioxide and water. Drinking to excess will cause the body’s blood alcohol to rise and can damage the liver over time.

Because our bodies are a collection of complex systems and interactions, the detox diet argument can appear quite tempting, especially for those with dietary issues and other health problems. So, do these detox diets work? Studies looking into the detox diets have found that their results vary according to the specifics of those studies and controlled variables.

One systematic review found it impossible to isolate enough studies on detox diets, as the concept of detox cleanses have created a modern industrial perspective on the concept itself, and that there are no such trials on detox programs that focus on environmental toxins that arise from food, drink, and other factors.

Alongside the study, another report also could not find randomized controlled trials of commercialized detox diets with control groups, stating that more attention needs to be placed on detox programs to determine their effectiveness.

However, some studies have found that on a 7-day juice cleanse, participants felt healthier afterwards, indicating a trend towards improved liver function.

The Benefits and Disadvantages Behind Detoxing

In spite of this, detox diets remain highly popular among those looking into the concept. For those interested in detox drinks to lose weight, the idea of removing most food groups, drinking juice cleanses and removing toxins at a faster rate is through intermittent fasting.

With any diet comes its pros and cons, and the detox diet doesn’t work for everyone. For those interested in losing weight, gaining motivation, and learning about healthy eating, detox diets can potentially provide that solution. When it comes to the benefits and drawbacks of the juicing diet, detox diets do have both good prospects for those interesting in detox drinks to lose weight to, including:

Chronic Disease Management: In some cases, using intermittent fasting diets can effectively manage chronic conditions, such as high cholesterol and irritable bowel syndrome.

Cutting Back on Caffeine and Alcohol: Because this diet specifically focuses on removing toxins, the diet also attempts to remove alcohol and caffeine from their overall diet and places more emphasis on nutrients, vitamins, and minerals as the main source of energy.

Healthy Living and Motivation: Most of all, the detox diet can potentially help change what people eat, help those struggling with weight loss have better management over their diet, and bring a sense of motivation through its easy-to-follow steps.

However, the detox diet also comes with some disadvantages, as this diet isn’t for everyone, and certain aspects of the diet can be considered difficult to follow for those new to dieting, such as:

Nutrient Deficiencies: Because these diets tend to exclude valuable nutrients such as protein, calcium, vitamin D, and iron, it can lead to vitamin deficiencies and overall lower immunity.

Temporary weight loss: During the first few days of being on this diet, water weight is lost due to the excretion of water and toxins from the system, and once the diet ends, that contributes to only temporary weight loss as a result.

Detox Side Effects: Some people while on juicing cleanses can experience symptoms of headaches, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms due to the severe calorie restrictions.

Detox diets can boost your health, but it’s important to pay attention to your health and speak with your GP about the prospects of a detox diet plan for your health. Using detox for weight loss can be an excellent way to begin healthy eating habits and can help remove excess toxins within your system. When following a detox diet plan, following the instructions of these diets are especially vital to have successful results. Detox diets aren’t for everyone, and it’s recommended that you should speak with your physician about the potential side effects of this diet and any conditions you may experience. By doing so, your physician can work with you and determine if this diet is best for you.