While detox cleanses claim to rid the body of toxins, human bodies are natural, beautiful machines that can already regulate and eliminate toxins without risking our physical health by feeding into the toxicity and empty promises behind diet culture. In today’s world of modern technology, social media has exacerbated the spread of detox culture and the health trend has taken the world by storm. While detoxification diets have become increasingly popular because they promise to cleanse the body of toxins, there is no scientific evidence to support detox cleanses. Instead, recent studies have highlighted these trends’ potential physical and mental health risks. 

Typically, detox diets are designed as short-term diets that claim to eliminate toxins by drinking only specific liquids, fasting, eliminating most solid foods and exercising regularly. By taking these actions, detox diets promise to rest your organs, support the immune system with healthy nutrients and flush the liver of toxins. However, despite the rigorous steps and diet restrictions involved with these detox diets, they rarely specify which toxins they will eliminate. Furthermore, this raises the question: “Why are we going to such extreme measures when we don’t even know what we are trying to eliminate?”

Given that most detox cleanses involve severe calorie restriction, there is a plethora of different adverse health effects that come with these cleanses. For instance, short-term fasting frequently causes extreme fatigue, irritability and chemical imbalances. Moreover, the more dangerous effects of short-term fasting and consistently being deprived of vitamins and minerals can be long-term electrolyte imbalances or even death. Additionally, since many detox diets involve supplements and laxatives, there is an increased risk of overdosing on these laxatives and diuretics. In many cases, there is little to no detail on the ingredient labels of detox products, which can result in very serious and sometimes fatal effects. While many detox cultures promise to cleanse the kidneys and flush out any toxins, studies have shown that they do quite the opposite. In fact, there is a high risk of developing kidney issues because many detox trends require consuming excess greens. But many vegetables, such as spinach, are high in oxalate, which can cause kidney stones. 

While it is essential to be aware of the negative health effects of detox cleanses, it is also important to remind ourselves that our bodies naturally work to detox and cleanse ourselves of these “toxins.” By participating in these harmful detox diets, individuals are going to  extreme, dangerous and unnecessary measures,  as our bodies can regulate and flush out toxins naturally through the liver, feces, urine and sweat. 

Equally as important as acknowledging the potential health risks of detox culture is breaking down the negative ideas that feed into the toxicity of diet culture. The need to “cleanse the body” of toxins and lose weight is rooted in a diet culture that can be incredibly dangerous to  mental health. Furthermore, the belief behind detox culture — that we need to lose weight and change our bodies through regulating food intake— feeds into unattainable beauty standards. As a society, rather than prioritizing thinness and promoting weight loss, we should embrace all body types and promote self-love. Regardless of our flaws or how the media portrays certain standards, we should accept and appreciate ourselves. Detox culture promotes calorie restriction and limits our food intake, both of which are part of a vicious cycle that can spiral out of control and take the form of an eating disorder. Rather than depriving ourselves of certain foods and putting ourselves through detrimental, dangerous conditions that detox trends require, we should nourish and admire our bodies for the beautiful vehicles that they are.

Notably, however, a few potential health benefits come with detox culture: exercising and sweating regularly, avoiding processed foods and drinking more water. Even so, the common thread between these health effects is that they can all be accomplished without detox culture. All of these actions can be implemented into our daily lives without restriction, excessive exercise or other rigorous steps. Any given individual can increase their water consumption and implement more exercise into their daily routine. Rather than risking the negative health effects of participating in detox culture, a safer alternative to improving health is incorporating natural movement and consuming all foods in moderation. 

Alaina Stanisci, GSB ’26, is a marketing major from Mountain Lakes, N. J.