Reset, Renew, Refresh with a New Year’s Detox
Reset, Renew, Refresh with a New Year’s Detox
While the holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate, relax, and enjoy time with loved ones, it can also leave us feeling foggy-headed, sluggish, and bloated; tell-tale signs that our bodies could use a detox. Kick off the New Year right by prioritizing your physical and mental health. A detox can help support energy, digestion, mood, and mental clarity post-holidays, setting you up for a year of good health and success.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the benefits of a detox and how to distinguish between fad ‘cleanses’ and a real, worthwhile detoxification program. If you want to start the New Year feeling renewed, reinvigorated, and ready to tackle your goals, a detox can help you get there!
Why Should You Consider a Detox?
Detoxification, or “detox” for short, is the process of removing toxins from the body. A toxin is a substance that’s foreign to the body and can be harmful to your health. For example, toxins can disrupt hormone balance and be proinflammatory impacting multiple body systems.
Every day, you may be exposed to an overwhelming number of man-made toxins (at least 140,000!) from your environment and have been shown to be dangerous to your health. The U.S. alone produces an astonishing (and, frankly, quite frightening!) 1,500 new chemicals annually that your body must handle. (Source)
Thankfully, your body has a built-in detoxification system, and is constantly at work to remove toxins via the liver, gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract, kidneys, and skin. However, the body’s detoxification mechanisms can struggle to keep up with the onslaught of toxins in the modern world. In addition, toxicity can create dysfunction in your detox organ systems (liver, gut, kidneys, and even your skin), impairing the body’s natural detox capabilities. This is exactly why actively detoxifying the body from time to time can be beneficial and the New Year is a particularly good time to implement a detox!
Why Focus on Detox in the New Year?
For most people, the New Year represents a time to hit “refresh” on health and wellness goals; you may already be contemplating a new nutrition plan or workout regimen. Did you know that a New Year’s detox works synergistically with nutrition and exercise to help up-level your health and supercharge feeling your best? For inspiration, invite your friends and family to join you on your health and wellness goals for a built-in support system!
Unfortunately, your body is exposed to more toxic substances during the holiday season. These common toxins include persistent organic pollutants, alcohol, and refined sugar.
Persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, are chemicals that can’t be easily broken down and detoxified by the body, harming your health and the environment. Examples of POPs include the plastic chemicals BPA and phthalates and many pesticides and herbicides. A fascinating study found that a single holiday dinner may contain 38 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – yikes! If this is the average exposure to toxins that occurs with one meal, just think about what your body may be exposed to over the course of the holiday season. (Source)
Many of us forget that alcohol is a toxin! A heavy intake of alcohol during the holiday season can strain your liver, compromising its ability to metabolize other important toxins.
Finally, while sugar isn’t a toxin per se, it can have toxin-like effects on your liver, gut microbiome, and inflammation levels, which can compromise detox pathways in the body. (Source)
Furthermore, excessive eating and less physical activity around the holidays cause many people to gain body fat, which can become a repository for fat-soluble toxins. (Source, Source)
As toxins build up in your body over time, you may feel sluggish, fatigued, foggy-headed, and moody. Struggling with these feelings can make it challenging to harness the motivation needed to achieve your New Year’s goals. A New Year’s detox can help clear your body of accumulated toxins, helping give the energy, mental clarity, and motivation you need to reach your goals.
Around the New Year, your social media feed and email inbox may become saturated with advertisements for “detoxes.” Catchy ads for everything from juice cleanses to “bone broth fasts” can make detox confusing. It’s important to know that not all “detoxes” are created equal! In fact, many “detoxes” on the market have little to no scientific evidence behind them and may do little to detox your body. If you want to put your hard-earned money to good use on a detox that will work, you need to understand the differences between fad detoxes and a real, evidence-based detox.
How to Distinguish Fad Detoxes from a Real Detox
Juice cleanses, bone broth fasts, a vegan diet, and prolonged water fasts – these are just a few examples of “detoxes” that people may try in the New Year. Are these evidence-based ways to detox your body? To answer this question, let’s start by briefly exploring how your body detoxifies itself.
The 3 Stages of Detox
Your body processes toxins in three steps: Phases I, II, and III of detoxification. In Phase I, your body “activates” toxins and prepares them for phase II – the process of linking specific antioxidant molecules to the toxin for safe elimination from the body. Reactive compounds called “free radicals” are created in Phase I. If these free radicals aren’t quenched in phase II with antioxidants, uncomfortable detox symptoms can occur.
In Phase III of detoxification, tiny transporters in cells in the liver and gut move toxins out of cells and into your bile (an important digestive and detoxification fluid) and kidneys so the toxins can be eliminated via your stool and urine, respectively.
As you can see, detox is a complex process! Most fad cleanses and detoxes completely ignore the phases of detoxification; this could potentially cause major problems. For example, antioxidant insufficiency could cause Phase I reactants and inflammation to build up inside your body, making you feel worse rather than better! Ignoring elements of Phase III detox, such as not taking binders during your detox (more on this soon) can cause toxins to recirculate in the body rather than be eliminated.
For the best results (and the best use of your hard-earned money) you should watch out for fad detox “red flags” and understand the key features that indicate an effective detox program.
Red Flags for Ineffective Detoxes and What to Look for Instead
There are several red flags to watch out for that may indicate you’re looking at a fad detox rather than a real, effective detox:
- “Detox” diets that are overly restrictive (such as those that only allow the consumption of juices or broth)
- Detoxes that promise BIG results in a short time span
- Detoxes that promise rapid weight loss
Red Flag #1: Beware of Detox Diets That Are Overly Restrictive
Beware of overly simplistic and restrictive diets that claim to “detox” your body, such as juice cleanses, bone broth fasts, and strict vegan diets. In many cases, these diets don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to supporting detoxification!
In the case of a juice cleanse or bone broth fast, these diets lack nutrients your body needs for detoxification, such as fiber and adequate protein. With a strict vegan diet, you may come short on amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that support the production of key detox compounds, such as glutathione, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc.
Eating a balanced diet centered around whole, organic foods with plenty of nutritious proteins, fibrous vegetables, healthy fats, and filtered water is a far better option for supporting detoxification than a restrictive fad diet. (Source)
You may be wondering, what about fasting? It is true that fasting can assist detoxification by upregulating a process called “autophagy.” Autophagy is essentially your body’s cellular housekeeping process; it breaks down and eliminates old, dysfunctional cellular components to make room for new ones. (Source)
However, fasting alone, without the strategic use of evidence-based detoxification ingredients, may not be enough to properly eliminate toxins and correct the multi-system dysfunction caused by toxins. Intermittent fasting can certainly be a part of your detox strategy (be sure to check with your healthcare provider before implementing any type of fasting!) but it should not be your sole detox strategy.
Red Flag #2: Be Careful with Detoxes That Promise Results in a Short Span of Time
Toxins build up in the body over the course of weeks, months, and years. As a result, it takes some time to effectively detox your body. Be wary of detoxes that claim dramatic results in just a few days, as it is very unlikely that these short-lived “detoxes” will deliver on those promises! It’s better to try a gentler but more prolonged detox so your body can eliminate toxins over time.
Red Flag #3: Watch Out for Detoxes That Promise Rapid Weight Loss
“Detoxes” that cause rapid weight loss over the course of a few days or weeks are most likely causing your body to lose water, not fat, and may be doing little to support detox!
Losing body fat (the type of “weight” loss that most people strive for) takes time. Expecting to lose many lbs. of body fat quickly is not only unrealistic, but potentially harmful as rapid fat loss can release toxins from fat tissue into your blood stream, acutely increasing the toxic load in your blood. Rapid fat loss may also slow down your body’s basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the number of calories your body burns carrying out basic functions such as heart and brain function. A reduced BMR can damage your metabolism and ultimately promote weight regain and weight loss resistance. Slow and steady fat loss is what you should strive for when detoxing.
Now that you understand the three red flags of fad detoxes, look instead for the following features that indicate an evidence-based, effective detox program:
- Uses evidence-based ingredients.
- Supports detox based on the phases of detoxification.
- Guides you through a structured detox rather than a haphazard detox plan.
Use a Science Backed Detox Program that Supports your Detox Biology
Earlier, we discussed the three phases of detoxification. Each phase requires specific nutrients for optimal function. For a “detox” to truly work, it should include ingredients that support each of the detox phases. For example, glutathione, the body’s master detoxifying molecule, supports Phases I and II of detoxification and can bind to various toxins, such as mercury and POPs, enabling them to be eliminated safely. (Source)
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), a sulfur-based compound that functions as an antioxidant, is a crucial part of Phase II detoxification. For phase II detoxification to be successful, a protein in the body called Nrf2 needs to be switched on and ALA supports the activation of Nrf2. ALA also helps regulate inflammation triggered by toxins. Milk thistle, an herb with a long history of use in traditional Western herbalism for supporting the liver, can also help support Phase II detox through Nrf2 activation. (Source, Source)
Bitter herbs link Phase II and Phase III detoxification, supporting Nrf2 and promoting bile flow, a key component of toxin elimination in Phase III. For example, the bitter herb dandelion (yes, the same one that grows on your lawn!) enhances bile flow and upregulates the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway. Myrrh, a resinous substance derived from the Commiphora mukul tree native to India, supports healthy bile flow by increasing the expression of the human bile salt export pump (involved in bile formation) and enhances Nrf2 expression. (Source, Source, Source)
Toxin binders are supplements that uniquely support phase III detoxification by "mopping up" toxins in your gut so they can be eliminated when you have a bowel movement instead of recirculating through your body. Natural toxin binders include activated charcoal, bentonite clay, and zeolite. For example, activated charcoal can detoxify gut-derived bacterial toxins, pesticides, and mycotoxins. (Source, Source, Source).
Chances are a juice cleanse, bone broth fast, or strict vegan diet can’t address each of the three phases of detox and certainly won’t provide all of the nutrients needed to optimally support each phase.
Look for a Structured Detox Program
Your body works through detoxification in order, moving each toxin through Phase I, Phase, II, and then Phase III. An effective detoxification program considers your body’s detox biology and provides a staged detox approach whereby specific ingredients are taken at specific times to produce an effective detox result. A staged detox will ensure that toxins are being mobilized, transformed, and eliminated at a healthy rate that won’t overwhelm your body.
The Bottom Line on Doing a New Year’s Detox
Detox is a powerful tool to renew, reset, and refresh in the New Year. Make the most of your New Year wellness goals by saying “no” to fad detoxes and instead choosing the right detox program for you.
Cheers to a healthier, happier, rejuvenated you in the New Year!
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