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Detox diets ‘a waste of time and money’: All you need is a glass of water and a good sleep

  • Detoxing is a waste of cash – have a glass of water and sleep eight hours
  • ‘Our body is perfectly capable of protecting itself,’ says myth-busting guide
  • Detoxing dismissed as ‘a marketing myth’ and a ‘silly concept’

By
Fiona Macrae


Published:

17:39 EST, 19 May 2014

|
Updated:

02:20 EST, 20 May 2014

You’ve taken the pills and potions, followed the special eating plan and sweltered in the body wraps.

Now you’re simply going to lie back and let your detox diet work its magic.

Or are you? Not if the latest report by a group of scientists is to be believed.

Don’t spend your greens: Detox diets, such as the trendy juice fasting, is nothing but a waste of time and money, scientists claim

According to them, detox diets are a waste of time and money – and the only thing lost on them is your cash, they said last night.

They say that instead of subsisting on raw fruit and vegetables and shunning sugar and caffeine to cleanse the body of chemicals, all we need is a glass of water and a good night’s sleep.

A myth-busting guide on the chemicals that form part of our everyday lives states that our body is perfectly capable of protecting itself from life’s excesses.

And it is a myth that the process can be speeded by special diets, body wraps or pills.

The gut stops many potential  poisons getting into our system in the first place. And the liver deals with those that do.

Clever body: Subsisting on raw fruit and vegetables and shunning sugar and caffeine to cleanse the body of chemicals is not more effective than hydrating and sleeping well

The Making Sense Of Chemical Stories guide states: ‘This process does not occur any more effectively as a result of taking “detox” tablets, wearing “detox” socks, having a “detox” body wrap, eating nettle root extract, drinking herbal  infusions, following a special “detox” diet or using any of the other products and rituals that are promoted.’

It adds: ‘Save your money: Have a glass of tap water and a good night’s sleep.’

Although detoxing is particularly common at New Year, it is still popular at other times among those who feel they have over-indulged.

Cheap alternative: No need to detox – just have some water

They hope that by avoiding ‘poisons’ such as sugar and caffeine and purifying their systems, they will lose weight and gain energy.

Television presenter Carol  Vorderman has written a book about a 28-day diet plan and  Hollywood actress Gwyneth  Paltrow has extolled the virtues of a £50 hot chocolate.

But Alan Boobis, a toxicologist at Imperial College London, who  contributed to the guide, said: ‘The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile.

‘They have to be, as the natural environment that we evolved in is hostile.’

Others experts were more blunt. Dr John Hoskins, an independent consultant toxicologist, said: ‘The only thing that loses weight on a detox diet is your wallet.’

John Emsley, a chemical scientist and popular science writer, dismissed the idea of taking herbal teas or ‘fancy’ bottled waters as ‘nonsense’.

Catherine Collins, an NHS dietician, described detoxing as ‘a marketing myth’ and a ‘silly concept’.

The guide, which was compiled by the charity Sense About  Science, also urges people not to automatically assume that because something is a chemical it is dangerous.

It says that everything is made of chemicals – and that apples are made up of many more compounds than some brightly coloured  children’s sweets.

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Comments (147)

what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

Skippy,

SF Bay Area,

39 minutes ago

A preponderance of LATE NIGHT infomercials beg to differ … now who are you going to “believe”

drmwvr,

Denton,

3 hours ago

Make mine stirred not shaken!

djh1975,

Telford,

4 hours ago

All diets,gyms and books on the subject are a waste of money. Eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep and I don’t work at Nasa either.

Sharrhan,

Cambridge, United States,

4 hours ago

Oh, this is SO UNTRUE! I am 65 and in extremely good health (having never had to have any procedure or take any medicine, I might add) and people tell me I look 45. The reason is that because I was unhealthy as a child (from terribly destructive chemo treatments) I learned at an early age to start taking care of MYSELF, which entailed a lot of cleanses, juice fasts and water fasts. I healed myself and have continued to take measures from time to time to keep my blood stream and intestines clean so that I can continue to have optimal health. I continue to be very healthy to this day because I also do intermittent fasting, eating one healthy meal a day, and basically fasting the rest of the day. This article does NO ONE any good.

Joe from Miami,

MIAMI, United States,

53 minutes ago

I know a lot of people who take all these cleanes, detox, green juices and look worse than I do and they are usually art leas 10 years younger than me.

TJ,

Out and About,

6 hours ago

My mother does a detox with juicing about once a year. She has done it since she was mid 30?s. Otherwise she eats normally and drinks alcohol. Her health is very good for her age. She had an internal exam about 4 years ago and the Dr’s said her insides were that of a 45 year old. She has been questioned several times about using a Pensioner card for travel discounts as people are surprised she is a pensioner. Never had botox or any facelifts. I can tell you I believe it is because she juices and then lives normally. Now there is so much crap in the air and food it is harder and harder for the body to cope. I am lazy I only detoxed 3 times but I can hope I will be as strong and healthy as her.

Flowersarepretty,

Taunton, United Kingdom,

6 hours ago

Oh dear! What’s next? Don’t breath you might die.

dangermouse,

South West England, United Kingdom,

7 hours ago

I am wearing my ‘detox socks’, sipping herbal tea, whilst wrapped in a ‘detox wrap’ even as I write this. And, BTW, after drinking our tap water, you need to detox.

donsimon,

Stockport, United Kingdom,

6 hours ago

I’m wearing Xmas cotton socks, slurping sugar-free energy drink, tucking in to a Maccy D’s chicken wrap as I write this. So now what, who wins?

Frank,

Detroit – Michigan – USA, United States,

7 hours ago

I wake-up in the morning, open the bathroom window, release flatulence that pleases my neighbors, sit on the throne, drop my detox, flush, shower and I am off for the day.

JC,

North Staffordshire, United Kingdom,

6 hours ago

Why does it please your neighbours? Do they use the sound as an alarm clock?

drmwvr,

Denton,

2 hours ago

Best advice in the world. All trains should run on time. Those bad ol toxins take the “7 AM Express” out of there each morning! All aboard.

Daenerys,

Iron Throne, United Kingdom,

7 hours ago

Ask the typical person on a detoxing diet what they’re trying to get rid of? They’ll say ‘toxins’. Which toxins? They end up stumped. ‘Detox’ is a marketing gimmick. However, with that said, I don’t agree with some of the advice in this article either! There really is a big difference between eating raw fruit and veg and a diet high in caffeine and sugar. A raw fruit and veg based diet will be more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals, and will usually contain fewer calories.

Joe from Miami,

MIAMI, United States,

51 minutes ago

Don’t forget lean protein. The wilder the better. Animals raised in captivity are loaded with chemicals. I try and harvest my own every year.

Italktoomuch,

Where I dont want to be.., United Kingdom,

8 hours ago

Im detoxing at the moment and seen a change so whatevs!

2 of 4 replies

SMR,

London, United Kingdom,

6 hours ago

You forgot your full stop. How is Penfold by the way DM???

Max53,

Liverpool, United Kingdom,

4 hours ago

The full stop isn’t my issue, which is made redundant by the exclamation mark; it’s the contraction of whatever, and then adding salt to the wound with the addition of an s at the end. Perhaps she should have spent less time worried about the ‘toxins’ in her body and more time absorbing grammar.

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