The REAL Truth About Detoxes & Cleanses (Science-Based)

[00:00] How good exactly are

[00:01] detox diets or cleanses

[00:03] and are they actually worth doing?

[00:05] Well today we’re

[00:06] gonna learn a bit more about them,

[00:07] what the actual science says,

[00:09] and how I personally rate them

[00:11] on a scale between zero and ten

[00:13] PicFit points. Let’s get started.

[00:14] Now detoxes

[00:15] and cleanses

[00:16] have been all the rage

[00:18] for quite some time now despite

[00:20] receiving continuous pushback

[00:22] from the scientific community.

[00:24] To be upfront,

[00:24] there’s just not much in the realm

[00:26] of scientific evidence

[00:27] to support the supposed benefits

[00:29] of detox diets.

[00:30] And, in a way,

[00:31] it seems that people who are pro-detox

[00:34] and cleanses

[00:34] kind of rely on

[00:36] just feels and vibes

[00:37] rather than any measurable benefits.

[00:40] Now, the reason for the lack of evidence

[00:42] largely comes down to the fact

[00:43] that there’s

[00:44] no one detox diet out there and detox

[00:47] companies can’t seem to agree

[00:49] on what foods are best.

[00:50] Some allow eating only fruits

[00:52] and veggies.

[00:53] While some actually ban

[00:54] certain fruits and veggies.

[00:56] Others ban almost all protein sources.

[00:58] While others are actually protein-rich.

[01:00] And, of course, many companies

[01:02] also require you

[01:03] to purchase and consume

[01:04] their own little special juices,

[01:06] pills, and shakes.

[01:07] One company

[01:08] even requires you to consume their juice

[01:10] and nothing else.

[01:11] So unsurprisingly it’s

[01:13] hard to research something

[01:14] with so much inconsistency

[01:16] across the board.

[01:17] And inconsistencies

[01:19] also expand to what exactly

[01:21] these diets are supposedly detoxifying

[01:24] from our bodies.

[01:25] Some claim to detoxify

[01:26] heavy metals, others

[01:27] claim to detoxify processed

[01:29] food waste, and others claim to remove

[01:31] synthetic chemicals like BPA.

[01:33] Some even claim

[01:34] to cleanse certain diseases.

[01:36] But, again, there’s simply

[01:38] no evidence

[01:39] showing these diets

[01:40] can detoxify anything.

[01:42] And really,

[01:43] we gotta give our bodies

[01:44] a bit more credit.

[01:45] Organs, like our livers

[01:46] and kidneys,

[01:47] have evolved to be highly effective

[01:49] in managing, filtering,

[01:51] converting, and excreting

[01:53] many potentially dangerous substances.

[01:55] It’s not a perfect system, of course,

[01:57] but it’s still pretty darn great.

[01:58] But, if we really wanna be more proactive

[02:01] about detoxification,

[02:02] then perhaps we should do something

[02:04] that’s actually scientifically supported.

[02:06] One is to simply exercise more

[02:09] because sweating

[02:10] can also eliminate a good deal of toxins.

[02:13] And, if we wanna take things

[02:14] even further,

[02:15] then we should step into a sauna

[02:18] ‘cause some studies suggest

[02:19] the sweat produced

[02:20] in saunas excrete

[02:22] even more toxins

[02:23] than sweat from exercise.

[02:24] Just make sure you properly hydrate.

[02:26] Now, it might seem like everything

[02:28] discussed so far

[02:29] is painting detox diets

[02:31] in a pretty bad light,

[02:33] and that’s because it is.

[02:34] And even though there’s

[02:35] not a lot of research

[02:36] on specific detox diets,

[02:37] there are research reviews

[02:39] in 2015

[02:40] and 2022

[02:41] that analyzed these diets

[02:43] in a general sense.

[02:44] Both came to very similar conclusions,

[02:46] and that is that there’s, again,

[02:47] no compelling evidence

[02:49] to support the use of detox diets.

[02:51] But they also pointed out

[02:52] potential dangers to these diets

[02:54] since some of these diets,

[02:56] which are supposed to improve our health,

[02:58] ironically provide

[02:59] very little nutritional value.

[03:01] It might also be a potential risk

[03:02] to consume any propriety

[03:04] detox juices and supplements

[03:06] since they often go completely unchecked.

[03:09] In fact,

[03:09] there was a case in Spain

[03:11] where many people experienced

[03:13] severe illnesses,

[03:14] including one death, after consuming

[03:16] proprietary Epsom salts

[03:18] from a cleansing program

[03:19] because the salts were

[03:21] accidentally prepared

[03:22] with the wrong compound.

[03:24] Overall, both reviews concluded that,

[03:26] based on its current

[03:27] standing, detox diets

[03:29] should be discouraged.

[03:31] And now with all that said,

[03:32] how exactly would I personally rate

[03:35] detox diets or cleanses?

[03:37] Well, with the lack of data

[03:38] and basically everything else,

[03:40] I give detox diets

[03:41] a solid 1 PicFit point out of ten.

[03:44] Now, the only thing

[03:45] saving detox diets

[03:47] from being an absolute zero

[03:49] is the fact that I do think

[03:50] it’s a good idea

[03:51] to promote using nutrition

[03:53] to potentially eliminate dangerous toxins

[03:56] and improve our health.

[03:57] The thing is, based on some preliminary

[03:59] evidence certain

[04:00] nutritional components

[04:01] might indeed carry

[04:03] detoxifying properties.

[04:04] Citric and malic acids,

[04:05] for example,

[04:06] both common in fruits, are associated

[04:08] with reduced levels of aluminum.

[04:10] Chlorella from algae

[04:12] is associated with reduced levels

[04:14] of lead and mercury.

[04:15] And even coriander has been associated

[04:18] with reducing cadmium.

[04:19] So it’ll be great

[04:20] if we keep seeing more research

[04:22] developed in this area.

[04:24] That said,

[04:24] we don’t need

[04:25] detox diets to take advantage

[04:27] of these potential benefits.

[04:28] And if these diets do end up

[04:30] causing more harm than good,

[04:32] then we’re best to skip them entirely.

[04:35] Now if you made it this far,

[04:36] please please

[04:37] let me know what you think about this

[04:39] whole ratings video format.

[04:40] I really wanna give this format a shot

[04:42] since it kind of presents health

[04:43] and fitness content in a different light.

[04:45] Not all things are so cut and dry

[04:47] in fitness, ya

[04:47] know, ‘cause it depends,

[04:49] so rating things might be a good idea.

[04:51] In this case,

[04:52] it was a bit more cut and dry,

[04:54] but if you have certain topics

[04:55] you want to see discussed in this format,

[04:57] please let me know that as well.

[04:58] Other than that,

[05:00] if you enjoyed this video, then please

[05:01] give it a cleansing

[05:02] thumbs up and share it

[05:03] with your detox-loving friends.

[05:05] Subscribe for more

[05:06] and let me know what you think

[05:07] in the comments.

[05:07] As always,

[05:08] thank you for watching and don’t

[05:09] forget to get your protein!