“Try this 3-day cleanse and detox!” “Do THIS every morning to eliminate all the toxins in your body.” “Purify and detox your body from head to toe!” “Try these snacks to help you detox naturally!”

Celebrities, health coaches, and newspaper columnists everywhere are lauding the seemingly magical properties of “detoxing”. It’s fashionable to talk about detoxing, and entrepreneurs, health coaches, and celebrities are making wads of money off the detox pretense.

It makes sense that detoxing took the wellness world by storm. In a culture where fast food and alcohol steal the show, it’s an alluring thought to be able to wash all the “bad stuff” out of your body.

But is there any proof that detox diets work?

“Although the detox industry is booming, there is very little clinical evidence to support the use of these diets,” says A.V. Klein, Faculty of Medicine and Health Services at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, “A handful of clinical studies have shown that commercial detox diets enhance liver detoxification and eliminate persistent organic pollutants from the body, although these studies are hampered by flawed methodologies and small sample sizes. There is preliminary evidence to suggest that certain foods such as coriander, nori and olestra have detoxification properties, although the majority of these studies have been performed in animals. To the best of our knowledge, no randomised controlled trials have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of commercial detox diets in humans. This is an area that deserves attention so that consumers can be informed of the potential benefits and risks of detox programmes.”

In the words of Dara Mohammadi, former medical researcher and freelance health and science journalist who has written for the likes of New Scientist and The Guardian, “There’s something you should know: detoxing – the idea that you can flush your system of impurities and leave your organs squeaky clean and raring to go – is a scam. It’s a pseudo-medical concept designed to sell you things.”

These are strong words from medical researchers indeed.

What Toxins Are We Talking About Here?

Celebrities like Gweneth Paltrow and Oprah are leading the detox revolution by claiming that there are certain foods that can “detoxify” your body and can leave you cleansed and healthier.

But what toxins are they talking about? The celebrities rarely specify.

The human body already has a system to eliminate toxins from the body. The human body is naturally able to dispose of pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, and processed foods -- all of which negatively affect health.

Is There Evidence that Detox Diets Work to Eliminate Toxins and Aid in Weight Loss?

One study, conducted by the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at the University of Louisville, reviewed four popular weight loss strategies: juicing, detoxification diets, intermittent fasting, the paleo diet, and high intensity training.

“Juicing or detoxification diets tend to work because they lead to extremely low caloric intake for short periods of time,” say the study researchers," “However, [these diets] tend to lead to weight gain once a normal diet is resumed.”

In essence, cleanse diets aid in short-term weight loss, but won’t do much in the way of cleansing your body of toxins.

The truth: there is no green smoothie, drink, or diet that can detoxify your body. Only your liver can detox you.

How to REALLY Support Detoxification in Your Health Coaching Clients

The human body gets rid of toxins on its own. Your lungs, liver, kidneys, and large intestine are all designed to eliminate toxins.

After your digestive tract absorbs nutrients from food, your large intestine gets to work cleansing your body of the toxins that remain. Your liver filters your blood of potentially harmful substances.

“Whether you eat it, put it on your skin, or inhale it -- however something gets in your bloodstream, the liver is going to process it,” Nancy Reau, MD, a hepatologist (liver specialist) tells Rush University Medical Center. Your kidneys also cleanse your blood, flushing byproducts from digestion out of your body through urine.

This means that the best way to support detoxification in your clients is to support these body systems that cleanse the body naturally. Try these evidence-based tactics:

Encourage your clients to cut back on the booze.

It’s no secret that alcohol puts stress on the liver. A wide body of evidence shows that heavy drinking can cause fat buildup, scarring, and inflammation in the liver, which stunts its ability to properly filter waste and other toxins. Encourage your male clients to drink no more than two alcoholic drinks per day, and your female clients to not exceed one drink per day.

Add antioxidant-rich foods to your client’s meal plans.

Antioxidants are protectors and healers of damaged cells. Molecules called free radicals cause oxidative stress, which damages our cells and cause diseases like dementia, heart disease, liver disease, asthma, and cancer. Encouraging your clients to eat a diet rich in antioxidants protects their cells from oxidative stress, and helps them live a disease-free life.

Foods that are high in antioxidants include berries, fatty fish, leafy greens, beans, onions, and bright-colored vegetables such as tomatoes and beets. (Oh, and tell your clients not to feel bad about indulging in a daily dose of dark chocolate!)

Encourage your clients to get enough sleep.

When we’re asleep, our brains work like a washing machine, cleansing us of the toxins that build up during the day. According to a 2013 study conducted by the Panorama Research Institute and Regenerative Sciences Institute in Sunnyvale, California, our bodies cleanse itself of the protein beta-amyloid, which contributes to the development of Alzeimer’s disease.

If your clients don’t get enough sleep, their bodies don’t have the chance to cleanse toxins from the day, which can lead to added stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Remind your clients to drink plenty of water.

Move over Gweneth Paltrow, water is the true detox star.

Drinking plenty of water allows our bodies to flush out waste products through breathing, urination, and sweating.

Get your clients on a regular exercise regimen.

A study published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology reports that sweat samples contain pesticides. This suggests sweating might be a great way to flush toxins and pollutants from the body.

It’s hard to exaggerate the benefits of regular exercise -- one benefit being decreased inflammation -- freeing up organs to naturally detox your body while protecting against disease.

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