Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. If you found your way here through a share or just by accident, you can subscribe for free and get your own issues! If you are a free subscriber, please consider upgrading to paid. Just go into your subscriptions and you can do it from there.
I’ve been seeing them more and more: ads about how we need a liver cleanse or detox to stay healthy. Maybe someone you know sells a detox product – or you’ve tried one yourself. It sounds like it might be a good thing, right? Unless we strictly follow a healthy diet, with no alcohol or anything not completely nutritional (Christmas dinner anyone?), we all consume some things that our bodies don’t need. So what harm is there in following a diet or buying a detox product to make sure we’re as healthy as can be? Well, quite a bit actually.
We have a natural detox – our liver
Our liver is our natural detox system. Its role is to filter out toxins, cleanse the blood, and metabolize nutrients and foreign substances, like medications and supplements. As long as our liver is healthy, it usually does a good job. But detox advocates say that because the liver is doing all that work, we need to detox it to keep it healthy. Is that true? Nope.
They also may argue that regular cleansing or detoxing will help us lose weight, give us more energy, and treat everyday problems like constipation, headaches, or fatigue. True? For the most part, nope.
Liver cleansing products are not regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
According to this Cleveland Clinic article, which says the same as I read in many other articles, “[O]ur bodies naturally detox. Every day, your digestive tract, liver, kidneys and skin break down toxins and eliminate them through your urine, stool and sweat.” So if you drink juices, smoothies, or some other products meant to detox your liver, the best thing that can happen is your wallet takes a hit. The worst thing? You could damage that liver you’re trying to protect.
Cleansing and detox products not regulated
Liver cleansing products are not regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and anyone can set up shop, selling items that they claim help detoxify your liver. Some do contain ingredients that could be helpful, like milk thistle. It seems that milk thistle may decrease inflammation in the liver. But others can be downright dangerous, like this so-called liver detox tea, which caused a 36-year-old to develop acute liver injury.
The problem – other than these things don’t work – is that people are taking something that can be healthy in small or moderate amounts, and consuming them in larger amounts that can cause serious harm.
We all know that green tea can be healthy. It might help reduce the risk of heart disease, protect against some forms of cancer, and even reduce inflammation in the gut. That said, experts recommend that we consume no more than 2 or 3 cups a day and, if possible, it should be caffeine-free.
A popular method for cleansing is using green tea. But we’re not talking about a couple of cups. Most tea diets I found contain way more than a couple of cups. And, according to the Cleveland Clinic, “Green tea is caffeinated, so you want to be careful about not overdoing it…Also, drinking an excessive quantity of green tea or taking high dosages of green tea supplements is linked to upset stomachs, liver disease, bone disorders and other issues.” In addition, if it’s a diet that discourages any other type of intake while following it, “Drinking large quantities of water and herbal tea and not eating any food for days in a row could lead to dangerous electrolyte imbalances.”
So what about juices? They’re good, right?
While juice doesn’t have caffeine, like green tea, the rest holds true. Too much juice and little of anything else can lead to high blood sugar levels, diarrhea, gastro upset, and electrolyte imbalances.
Other concerns
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has other concerns about the use of detox or cleansing products or diets, such as:
Products sold that are not pasteurized or treated in other ways to kill harmful bacteria.
High-oxalate foods, like spinach and beets, are not recommended for people who have kidney problems or are at risk for them. However, some of the juices sold for detox or cleansing are high in oxalate.
Colon cleansing products, which some people prefer over liver cleanses, often contain laxatives. Occasional laxative use is generally safe for most healthy people, but extended use can cause diarrhea and dehydration. And people with gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, kidney disease, or heart disease, could experience serious side effects.
There’s no magic pill
If you’ve been told you have fatty liver disease or signs of it, it can be tempting to see what you can do to reverse or slow down its progress. But detoxes and cleanses are not the answer. The true answer is to take care of your liver. Slow down or stop alcohol intake. Avoid drugs and supplements that are metabolized in the liver. Be physically active. Lose weight if you can. These are helpful steps.
Protect your wallet and your health. Don’t fall for liver detoxes.
What do you think? Leave your comment below. Let’s get a conversation started!
If you are a free subscriber, please consider upgrading. You’ll get the Monday Musings issue and access to audio versions of each newsletter issue. Subscribe for only $5/month or $50/year. If you are a free subscriber and use computer-generated reading to listen due to visual impairment, please send me a message and I’ll arrange for you to get audio versions as well.