Cleanses have become a relatively popular procedure among online wellness influencers and some holistic health care practitioners. Each person has their go-to cleanse/detox formula or procedure that they tout the benefits of. People who go through a cleanse will often report feeling better – at least for a short time after the fact. During the cleanse/detox they might not feel so great. But is a cleanse even really necessary to stay healthy?

I think it’s important to make a distinction from a general-purpose cleanse and going through a detox of a particular toxin, such as a heavy metal like mercury, or detoxing from alcohol or drug abuse. If there’s a known toxin in substantial amounts circulating in the body, it’s important to get it out of the system as much as possible and to give the liver and other organs of detoxification and elimination a break to heal and recover. Those types of detox are best done under the supervision of a health care professional, as they can trigger some really unpleasant and even potentially dangerous side-effects that you may need help to deal with.

In the case of more general cleanses for the purpose of improved health, enhanced energy, etc., I think using some mixture of supplements to supposedly heal the liver and clean out your colon may be overrated, and potentially even counterproductive in many cases. Actual research on the effects of various “liver cleanses” is sorely lacking. Most cleanses do increase fecal elimination, but let’s be clear – pooping your guts out in response to an herbal laxative is not necessarily healthy! Yes, it will clear out your colon, but that can leave the intestinal tract irritated for much longer than you’d like.

Although you probably won’t see changes as dramatic as you would with a cleanse, simply making a point to eat healthier if you diet has been bad for an extended period of time will probably do you more good in the long run. While not as bad as the extreme toxic situations mentioned above, chronic, low-level toxicity from poor diet can place undue stress on the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. But does this necessitate a cleanse or detox regimen?

The body’s detoxification systems are normally very good at what they do - if you don’t overload them. They usually do just fine without a cleanse or detox if you simply cut down on the toxins they have to deal with!

I think in most cases, while it may feel virtuous to do a cleanse, a better long-term result comes from actually changing one’s eating and lifestyle habits – I know, that’s just crazy talk!

Taking simple steps like getting appropriate amounts of fiber and water, avoiding heavily processed foods, and minimizing alcohol intake are not as exciting as doing the “ultimate” cleanse recommended by some health guru, but I think the overall effects are better, if less noticeable because they occur more gradually.

If you like how you feel after a cleanse/detox regimen, there’s probably no harm in it, but in most cases detoxifying your body is most easily accomplished by just not consuming so many toxins.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.