What is a "Detox?"

They are everywhere: detox diet plans, juice cleanse, herbal therapies....all claiming to have these magical powers to "detox." Most people associate "detoxing" with weight loss or maybe some sort of starvation diet etc. I admit, before I started my fellowship in Functional Medicine, I rolled my eyes at the mere term. My "conventional" training drew me to the conclusion that anything that claimed to clear one out of so-called toxins was just some money making scheme. After careful review, I can now say that if done PROPERLY, this detox thing can be quite beneficial.

So let's start with a few things. What are the GOALS of detox? The primary goal of a detox should NOT be quick weight loss. A seven day juice cleanse puts you into starvation mode and will help you lose water weight. While it is a good way to get in a lot of fruits and veggies, it is actually not doing much for you hormonally and is not going to help you maintain weight in the long run. Plus, it's kind of torture. Weight management is a nice byproduct of a proper detox, but losing 10 pounds in a week should not be the goal. We know now that obesity and weight gain are a function of hormone imbalance, mostly due to insulin resistance. Drinking a week's worth of fruit and vegetable juices - which are usually very high in sugar- will spike your blood sugar and subsequently insulin levels--which will NOT help correct insulin resistance. Green vegetable juices and powders can be very helpful during a detox and on a daily basis as they contain concentrated nutrients and little to no sugar. However, I would advise against commercialized drinks that include a lot of fruit juices. The fiber in fruits helps to offset the sugar load and juicing these just gives you the sugar without the fiber.

The goals of a good detox should really be to assist your organs to clear toxins that have built up in the body that contribute to poor health: excess estrogens (usually environmental xenoestrogens found in plastics and many types of farmed meat), heavy metals, alcohol and other foods, pesticides, and radiation. The 3 main organs of detox are the skin, liver, and kidneys.

Easy natural ways to assist your organs in detox are to exercise and drink plenty of water, preferably with a lemon. Exercise induces sweating which is an easy way to release toxins through the skin. This may be why everyone feels "SO GOOD" after a hot yoga session. This process can be enhanced with infrared saunas but you really do not need to get anything that fancy to reap the benefits of a good sweat. You can achieve benefits from a run, brisk walk, weight training- anything that gets your breathing a little faster and allows you to sweat. Hydration aids in this process and helps your kidneys to do their job. The addition of lemon or lime to your water is an easy way to encourage a more alkaline environment in the body and gives you a boost of vitamin c.

Most detox programs that you find are designed to help the liver with its detoxification process. The liver's job is to clear toxins and undergoes 2 phases of detoxification. Phase 1 breaks down the toxic substances into an intermediate substance. Sometimes these intermediates are more toxic than the primary substance, and if not cleared quickly by phase 2 can make you pretty sick. Phase 2 then involves the conjugation of these substances which will neutralize them and allow them to be cleared. An easy example of the toxic intermediate is the hangover you feel after drinking. A good detox program will provide nutrients for phase 1 and phase 2 to avoid this intermediate effect. Amino acids (from proteins) are CRUCIAL for this as are the nutrients found in cruciferous veggies (kale, spinach, broccoli). This is why you cannot "detox" by drinking a bunch of juice for a week.

One component that is often overlooked in these programs is gut health. Taking a bunch of supplements and eating clean and getting your greens does not do you much good if your gut cannot absorb these nutrients. Our digestive tracts have taken quite a bit of abuse over the years with all of the stress, alcohol, medications/antibiotics, and processed foods and grains that most of us have put into our bodies. At RaJeunir, we have developed a detox program that does include an elimination diet to aid in repairing the gut lining but also includes digestive enzymes that are paired with gut-healing supplements. Many people feel better taking this supplement alone because they are absorbing the maximum amount of nutrients from their food for the first time in a long time.

It is impossible to eat perfect organic unprocessed food all of the time. We live in a busy world and there is something to be said for convenience. You cannot always control what you are exposed to or what food is offered. We recommend a good "formal" detox plan 2-3 times per year as a reset. You will find that your weight, skin, and mood can stabilize when you follow this plan. However, I do recommend a daily "detox regimen" of some sort. Some form of daily exercise is important- even if is just taking the stairs or parking far away if you do not have time for a 'formal" workout that day. Drink filtered water daily (especially with lemon), get adequate protein and veggies in and avoid processed food as much as possible.

#detox #functionalmedicine #hormonebalance