Sometime around 2010 (or earlier if you move in particularly health-centric or woo-woo circles), the idea that our bodies are riddled with toxins and that we need to take radical measures to rid ourselves of them took hold. With the rise of wellness culture, people have really embraced the idea of having “control” over their physical selves, from the chemicals they’re exposed to, to how long they live, Janice Dada, MPH, RDN, a registered dietitian and intuitive eating counselor, tells SELF.
To be clear, the basic concept of “detoxing” is hardly new. Certain “traditional medicine systems also include cleansing practices in various forms,” Desiree Nielsen, RD, a recipe developer with a focus on plant-based nutrition, tells SELF. Native American sweat lodge ceremonies are one example, as is acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine and panchakarma in ayurveda.
Yet because we live in a capitalist society, modern detoxing has taken on a distinctly commercial tinge that sets it apart from previous iterations. Clogging store shelves, e-commerce sites, and TikTok Shops, products and manuals that promise to help you eliminate harmful substances are everywhere, leveraging fear to make sales.
Understandably, people have a knee-jerk reaction to the term “toxin,” Dada says: “The word sounds scary.” But do you actually need to “detox” in the first place, or could the cure be worse than the disease? Read on for our full analysis.
What does a detox entail?
“Commercially available detoxes run the gamut, from elimination diets and juice cleanses to bottles of supplements or even enemas,” Nielsen says. While ingredients can vary from item to item, some crop up again and again: “Milk thistle is a popular herb in detox supplements, as it has been traditionally used to support liver function,” she notes. Meanwhile, “some supplements or detox kits may include laxatives or diuretics.”
Whatever the methodology, detoxing is meant to flush out a wide range of contaminants both in- and extrinsic: allergens (like mold, dust, and pollen), pathogens (like bacteria, viruses, and parasites), chemicals (like pesticides and herbicides), heavy metals (like mercury, arsenic, and lead), certain food ingredients (like trans fats, caffeine, alcohol, and high fructose corn syrup), chemical byproducts (like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, bile, urea, and stool), and excess or superfluous medication. With these bad actors banished, the thinking goes, your health—physical and emotional—will improve: You might notice positive changes in sleep, digestion, concentration, energy, and mood, to name a few areas.
