Cleanse diets: Do they work?

Lisa Money, RDN

Apex Athletic Performance

Claims about diets or supplements that can help remove toxins from your body are everywhere, especially on social media, with celebrities touting them for their increased energy and weight loss. But do these so-called cleanse diets work? Registered dietitian nutritionist Lisa Money explained whether cleanse and detox diets live up to the hype.

What is a cleanse diet, also called a detox diet?

Cleanse and detox diets claim to decrease the amount of pollutants in the body by replacing the food you usually eat throughout the day with a particular juice, tea or smoothie.

“There may be added spices or a particular flavoring that is supposed to shock the body into expelling some of these pollutants,” Money said. “The problem with these diets is there’s very little science that shows they work. They might reduce a few pounds on the scale, but that usually is due to dehydration of the colon.”

Money said the human body does a very good job of eliminating toxins on its own.

“If your liver is healthy, it will filter any type of extra items your body doesn’t need through the kidneys and the intestine.”

Cleanse and detox diets are nothing more than marketing claims that make a person think their body is not healthy or doing its job.

What are some diet tips that can actually help?

“A change in your behavior would be more long lasting as opposed to a quick fix of the detox diet,” Money said.

Here are three simple steps she often recommends to her patients:

• Change from juice to real fruit. It’s better to get the fiber and the potassium from eating real fruit instead of the extra sugar and calories that come from drinking juice. Studies show that Americans only consume about two servings of fruit per day, but three or four servings are recommended for the daily requirement of vitamins and fiber.

• Eat from all the food groups. “A lot of these detox diets use only one food group, which tends to cause cravings later in the day or the week,” Money said. “It’s better to have a healthy supply of fruits and vegetables, fiber, lean protein and whole grain.”

• Balance your eating throughout the day. “I encourage patients to balance what they eat throughout the day, having the majority of their food energy from breakfast and lunchtime and then going lighter in the evening,” Money said.

The final word on cleanse and detox diets

Look to trusted sources for nutritional advice, not online influencers or a business trying to sell supplements or products by using these unproven marketing claims.

“A recent poll from Harvard showed that after the pandemic, people were seeking nutritional advice online more than ever before,” Money said, “The information they followed was from social media, TikTok, famous people and family and friends. They did not get it from research-based evidence from their health care provider or dietitian. We’re here to give you the most evidence-based information available that will help you get the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.”