Should I Do a Cleanse?

Cleanses and detoxes have become popular ways for people to “reset” their health, a catalyst for a healthier phase in life, and to remove “harmful toxins.”

Admittedly, the appeal is understandable – who wouldn’t want to flush out “toxins”, potentially lose weight, and feel refreshed in just a few days? We’ve all seen celebrities and influencers touting cleanses and commercials pushing enticing claims.

And some cleanses do seem to provide short-term benefits like reduced bloating, more energy, and a sense of control over health.

But how are they achieving these results?

And are cleanses really deserving of the hype and popularity they’ve seen recently?

In this article, we’ll explore the realities behind cleanses, their potential upsides and downsides, and a smarter path forward. The goal is to help you make informed decisions to achieve lasting health, energy and weight loss the right way.

The Tempting Promise of Cleansing

Part of the seductive appeal of cleanses and detox diets is they offer a rapid reset button to erase poor dietary habits. After a weekend of overindulging in treats like pizza, donuts and cocktails, a juice cleanse seems like a quick path to redemption.

Similarly, embarking on a New Year’s cleanse provides a sense of a fresh start and control over your health. It’s an appealing ritual to symbolically wash away old vices and start anew.

People also turn to cleanses when they feel sluggish, bloated, and low on energy. The promise of renewed vibrance in just a few days is enticing.

Spending several days drinking only cold-pressed juices, plant-based smoothies or lemon water may temporarily relieve some symptoms of bloat and toxicity, but reasons that are different than you may think.

Additionally, severely limiting your intake to liquid nutrition allows the body to halt digestion of complex foods. This can provide a feeling of lightness and reduced inflammation short-term.

Also, there is great psychological satisfaction in feeling like you are proactively taking control of your health. Choosing to undergo a strict cleansing protocol gives a sense of agency and self-care. It provides hope that you can quickly atone for periods of indulgence and neglect.

Cleansing often means completely avoiding foods considered unhealthy, like processed snacks, fast food and alcohol. Eliminating inflammatory triggers, even temporarily, can lead to rapid health benefits. You may experience boosted energy, improved digestion, clearer skin and less brain fog after just a brief cleanse abstaining from alcohol, refined carbs or other common “toxins.”

Of course, these fleeting improvements are hard to sustain long-term through periodic cleansing alone.

The key is that while cleanses promise a seductive quick fix, we need to understand how the body actually cleanses and detoxes.

Your Body’s Natural Detoxification System

Cleansing presumes that toxins accumulate in the body because our natural detoxification systems are inefficient.

In reality, the body has its own complex and effective processes for metabolizing toxins, waste, and harmful substances.

The Liver

For example, the liver uses enzymes to modify toxic substances like medications, alcohol, and environmental chemicals into harmless byproducts that can be safely excreted.

The Kidneys

The kidneys filter the blood to remove wastes and produce urine.

Both the liver and kidneys are part of a multi-organ detoxification system that is highly effective when operating optimally.

However, its capacity can become overwhelmed by chronic exposure to toxins through poor diet, lack of exercise, excessive stress, or disease.

Other Crucial Detoxification Organs

While the liver and kidneys are primarily responsible for detoxification, other organs also play important roles in the body’s natural detoxification systems:

• The lungs enable the exhalation of volatile compounds and carbon dioxide. Chronic restrictive breathing patterns can impair this removal.
• The skin, our largest organ, sweats out toxins in perspiration. Impaired sweating from dehydration or lack of exercise.
• The gastrointestinal tract excretes waste and metabolites, prevents toxin absorption, and metabolizes harmful compounds through gut bacteria.
• The immune system captures toxins in the lymphatic fluid to transport them to the liver and kidneys. Impaired immune function reduces toxin mobilization.
• The endocrine system regulates detoxification pathways. Imbalanced hormones from chronic stress or endocrine disruptors impair detoxification.

A short cleanse alone cannot address all the potential disruptions across these interconnected systems. Lasting improvements require consistent healthy lifestyle habits over time.

Cleanses as a Stop Gap

For many people drawn to “cleanses,” the primary driver of their unhealthy sensations is often voluntary lifestyle choices – too many late nights, rich takeout meals, alcohol-fueled social events, inadequate sleep and sedentary days.

While an occasional indulgence may be well-tolerated, weeks or months of continued insult from voluntary unhealthy behaviors accumulate into feelings of sluggishness, brain fog, puffiness and toxicity.

The solution is not to periodically “cleanse” but rather to consistently support your body’s natural detoxification ability through healthy lifestyle habits. With balanced nutrition, activity, stress relief and rest, your body’s innate detox capacity can function smoothly long-term.

Other Crucial Detoxification Organs

While the liver and kidneys are primarily responsible for detoxification, other organs also play important roles in the body’s natural detoxification systems:

• The lungs enable the exhalation of volatile compounds and carbon dioxide. Chronic restrictive breathing patterns can impair this removal.
• The skin, our largest organ, sweats out toxins in perspiration. Impaired sweating from dehydration or lack of exercise.
• The gastrointestinal tract excretes waste and metabolites, prevents toxin absorption, and metabolizes harmful compounds through gut bacteria.
• The immune system captures toxins in the lymphatic fluid to transport them to the liver and kidneys. Impaired immune function reduces toxin mobilization.
• The endocrine system regulates detoxification pathways. Imbalanced hormones from chronic stress or endocrine disruptors impair detoxification.

A short cleanse alone cannot address all the potential disruptions across these interconnected systems. Lasting improvements require consistent healthy lifestyle habits over time.

Nutrients for Detoxification

For detox systems to work properly, they need a constant supply of nutrients. However, restrictive cleanses often deprive the body of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants necessary for metabolism and detoxification.

For example, glutathione, an antioxidant produced in the liver, is essential for neutralizing toxins. Glutathione synthesis depends on adequate protein intake. Cleanses that restrict protein can impair the liver’s ability to make glutathione.

B vitamins like riboflavin, niacin, folate and B12 are required cofactors in Phase I detoxification, which uses oxidative enzymes to modify toxic compounds. Low carb and very low calorie cleanses may provide inadequate B vitamins for supporting Phase I pathways.

Each step of the detoxification process requires micronutrients, from initial toxin breakdown to final excretion. Restoring nutrient status after a cleanse can take time. Nutrient deficiencies can persist, potentially reducing the effectiveness of detoxification systems.

The Risks of Cleansing

While cleanses promise to eliminate toxins, they can actually generate harmful effects in the body. Extreme calorie restriction, nutrient deficiencies, and elimination of entire food groups during cleansing can lead to concerning consequences.

Even cleanses centered around seemingly healthy foods like fruit, vegetables or spinach can backfire.

For example, a man attempting a spinach cleanse recently suffered severe kidney damage and dialysis from excess oxalates in spinach consumed in extreme excess for days.

Other potential risks include:

• Severely restricting protein causes the body to break down its own muscle tissue to meet amino acid requirements. Muscle loss slows metabolism and weakens the muscles used for detoxification.
• Fluid-only fasts flush out essential electrolytes like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Deficits in these minerals can cause fatigue, muscle cramps, heart palpitations, and impaired kidney function.
• Endocrine disruptions can occur when cleanses impose severe calorie restriction, fasting, or inadequate protein and fat. This can lead to plunging insulin, leptin, thyroid and reproductive hormones – slowing metabolism, lowering bone density, reducing libido and disrupting menstrual cycles.

In essence, many cleanses disturb the same body systems and organs needed for healthy ongoing detoxification. They can also prompt rebound overeating of inflammatory foods once the cleanse ends. For lasting nutrition and health, the body needs consistent intake of a wide spectrum of nutrients within a balanced diet personalized to your needs.

The Benefits of Eliminating Insults

One legitimate benefit of cleansing is the temporary elimination of dietary and lifestyle “insults” that tax the body. Avoiding processed foods, added sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, and other irritants for a few days lets the body rest and recover briefly.

However, these benefits are temporary and quickly evaporate once the old habits resume. Limiting unhealthy behaviors long-term is ultimately more beneficial than a short cleanse.

Elimination Isn’t Necessary

But let’s be honest, complete abstinence from all indulgences is unrealistic for most people and in most cases unnecessary. Instead, a more sustainable approach is planned indulgences within a larger healthier lifestyle approach. This type of approach allows the body to recover from occasional insults while still receiving consistent nourishment.

Transitioning to healthy habits requires self-awareness and a customized approach. Work with an experienced coach to identify strategies that fit seamlessly into your lifestyle. Together, craft a flexible nutrition plan that aligns with your goals while still honoring your natural inclinations. This type of inclusive, personalized approach is far more sustainable than rigid, short-term cleansing protocols that completely eliminate entire food groups.

The key is balancing planned indulgences with consistency in healthy habits the majority of the time. This reduces the need for extreme short-term cleanses while still allowing you to consciously enjoy foods you love in moderation.

Adopting Sustainable Healthy Habits

Rather than periodic cleanses, focus on adopting long-term healthy lifestyle habits that support your body’s detoxification systems. The basics like daily exercise, adequate sleep, stress management, and a nutritious food intake go a long way. Address any nutritional deficiencies or insults that may be impairing detoxification.

Smarter Approach

Implementing all of this sustainably can admittedly be challenging. It takes knowledge, discipline and ongoing support to truly transition towards consistent healthier behaviors long-term.

Rather than periodic cleanses, the most effective path is adopting lifestyle habits that nourish your body’s innate detoxification abilities day-to-day. Focus on the basics like daily exercise, adequate sleep, stress management, and a nutritious diet. Address any nutritional deficiencies or insults that may be impairing your natural detox processes.

At the Healthy Behavior Institute, we created the Behavior Science-Powered Coaching certification to teach health and fitness professionals proven strategies to help clients implement sustainable lifestyle changes. Our graduates become skilled at optimizing health through incremental habit formation versus extreme interventions. You can discover more about our approach here.

In summary, periodic cleanses are an unreliable shortcut. Your body already has its own sophisticated detoxification system when supported by healthy lifestyle habits. Avoid nutrient deficiencies, hydrate, get active, sleep, and reduce dietary irritants most of the time. Be balanced and compassionate with yourself through the ongoing process of improving your health. With this mindset, you can achieve lasting wellness that no quick cleanse could ever deliver.