Cancerwise

Detox diets or cleanses have grown in popularity over recent years on social media and in online health forums. The idea is that these detoxes offer your body short-term reset by removing harmful substances called toxins

Marketers of detoxification products, diets and supplements claim they can cleanse your system and provide all kinds of benefits, such as more energy, better digestion, reduced inflammation and weight loss.

But are our bodies really full of toxins? And do we need help to get rid of them?

Medical professionals, including those at UT MD Anderson, say that research largely shows that detox diets do not offer long-lasting benefits while posing various health risks instead.

Here’s the truth behind five detox myths.

Myth: Your body needs help to detox

Fact: Your body does not need a detox program. It’s designed to detoxify itself.

Toxins in your body come in two forms:

• Endotoxins are byproducts your body makes, such as lactic acid, urea and feces.
• Exotoxins are toxins that come from outside your body. These include chemicals from cleaning products and cosmetics, pollutants from the air or water, and pesticides on food.

“Our bodies are designed to detoxify our system, not only through the liver but our kidneys, our lungs — with exhalation of carbon dioxide — and our skin through sweating,” says Meroë Morse, M.D., who works with patients in UT MD Anderson’s Integrative Medicine Center. “We don’t need more help through fad diets or taking in products or supplements.”

You should eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep to take care of your body.

Morse adds that it’s important not to overload your body with substances that make natural detoxification more difficult or disrupt your microbiome. Anything in high quantities can be unhealthy. That obviously includes sugar, alcohol and calories, but also healthy things like water.

“Your body will do the rest,” she adds.

Myth: A detox can restore health

Fact: If you overindulge too often, that can damage your liver over time. And that’s something no detox can repair — but a healthy diet and lifestyle sometimes can.

The liver has a hard time processing fried foods, sugary drinks and alcohol. These force your liver to work harder to turn them into energy or storage. This causes them to become fat in liver cells.

Fat build-up in the liver can lead to inflammation around the liver cells, a condition called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Over time, sustained inflammation may cause fibrosis, which is a build-up of scar tissue in the liver. Eventually, the scar tissue may become permanent (called cirrhosis) and liver failure.

MASLD is now the leading cause of cirrhosis in the U.S., surpassing hepatitis C and alcohol overuse.

Can you detox your liver?

Rather than trying a detox, Morse suggests eating healthy, whole and unprocessed foods, getting regular exercise and enough sleep every night, and taking steps to reduce your stress. All of these may help your body’s natural health recovery system.

At some point, it’s not possible to reverse liver damage, but diet and lifestyle changes may reverse some of its effects, Morse says.

And if you switch to a healthy diet of varied vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins like chicken and fish, you may get the benefits that many detox products claim to offer.

The benefits of a healthy diet include:

• Reduced inflammation
• Balanced blood sugar levels and regulated insulin levels
• Improved digestion
• Increased energy
• Improved immune system function

Additionally, these foods are high in nutrients, fiber and prebiotics that help support your gut microbiome.

Learn more about how diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and lean protein can help reduce your cancer risk in the video below.