# What's the Straight Dope on Detox Diets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432 "2012-01-04T22:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/1 "2012-01-04T22:24:54Z")
I’ve been hearing from friends and looking at stuff on the internet that states when starting a diet, the body first needs to “detox.” Basically for 7 to 10 days you eat nothing but fruits and veggies an drink water so as to “cleanse” your system before starting a lower calorie diet. Any truth to this, or is it all bullshit? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/2 "2012-01-04T22:27:19Z")
It’s total bullshit. Ask your friends what the toxins are that need cleaning out. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/3 "2012-01-04T22:53:48Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > It’s total bullshit. > > Ask your friends what the toxins are that need cleaning out. Well, I have to specify that this is not for a drug test or anything of the sort. I’ve seen those links as I research and have no need or interest in that. Basically what I have been told is that processed food and whatnot contains “chemicals” which do “something.” It sounded like nonsense, so I posted here. But it does make sense from a common sense standpoint (I don’t know why).. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/4 "2012-01-04T23:04:30Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It sounded like nonsense, so I posted here. But it does make sense from a common sense standpoint (I don’t know why).. Commons sense tells you there are toxins in the body? Toxins? Really? Name them. Tell us where they are and how they got there and why they are bad. You can’t. The body doesn’t contain toxins. So no detox is possible. 100% bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/5 "2012-01-04T23:05:42Z")
Detox is the latest fad diet scam. How it is done depends on what the pusher is pushing. It’s bullshit from end to end. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/6 "2012-01-04T23:07:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Commons sense tells you there are toxins in the body? Toxins? Really? Name them. Tell us where they are and how they got there and why they are bad. > > You can’t. The body doesn’t contain toxins. So no detox is possible. 100% bullshit. Ignorance fought. So there is no left over hops and (possible) bong resin from years ago or months ago? All of the stuff that I put in my body less than XXX hours ago is gone and never to be seen again? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/7 "2012-01-04T23:15:02Z")
> **[detoxification therapies - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com](https://www.skepdic.com/detox.html)** > [@](#): > > The idea of the colon being a reservoir of toxins is not based on scientific knowledge, yet it is a mainstay among alternative health advisers. For example, a review of a leading colon cleanser by a leading promoter of detoxification doesn’t name a single toxin that the colon allegedly retains or that the product allegedly removes. The review repeatedly says that the product “cleanses” or “purifies” but provides no evidence that it does either. In fact, it doesn’t even provide a sense of what it means to cleanse or purify an organ. Nor, of course, does it provide any evidence that organs need cleansing or purification. > [@](#): > > Even more absurd than the claim that there is a general need to detoxify the colon is the claim that the whole body needs to be detoxified. If our bodies were full of toxins we’d be very sick or dead. That fact has not stopped the inventiveness of entrepreneurs with magic detoxification purges, lotions, or machine. > [@](#): > > Fasting is also a popular recommendation among detox fanatics. Some claim juice fasting is the key to detoxification. Others claim a raw food or vegetarian diet is the best detox therapy. Some swear by enemas; others by ozone therapy, acupuncture, and massage. Others swear by mega-vitamins and antioxidants. Some swear you shouldn’t eat anything but fruit until noon so the body can detox properly. Again, none of the proponents of these methods name a single toxin that is removed, in what quantity, or with what specific benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/8 "2012-01-04T23:23:42Z")
[Furthermore:](http://www.skepdic.com/detox.html) > [@](#): > > Thus, while detoxification therapies abound, there doesn’t seem to be any compelling reason the average person should consider using any of them. They are not based on solid scientific evidence. They are sold to the general public mainly by appealing to fear (of being poisoned by our foods, water, air, and general modern environment) and hope (of good health, feeling better or less tired, and the like). Worst of all, the word ‘detoxification’ when used by the sellers of foods, drinks, herbs, and machines, is almost always so vague, ambiguous, or obscure as to be meaningless. The purveyors of these products fancy themselves to be offering a progressive response to the modern world with its many sources of pollutants that find their way into our bodies. > > In reality, these snake oil hucksters are akin to the pre-scientific physicians and barbers who used bloodletting to remove ‘bad humors’ and poisons in an effort to cleanse their patients. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/9 "2012-01-04T23:49:02Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Ignorance fought. So there is no left over hops and (possible) bong resin from years ago or months ago? All of the stuff that I put in my body less than XXX hours ago is gone and never to be seen again? If you really want to be sure, ask your physician to schedule a colonoscopy. I’ve never had one, but my understanding is that the preparation cleans out your system about as well as anything. And then you have pictures to prove that you’re clean. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/10 "2012-01-05T00:06:12Z")
For completeness, I should add as others usually chime in with that we have an extensive and very effective (absent some other disorder) system for getting rid of unhelpful substances and chemicals – the entire excretory system, the liver, the lymphatic system . . . . Unless you really do have some specific toxin like heavy metal buildup, which generally does not occur from merely eating “processed foods,” and which no fruit cleanse could remove anyhow, there’s no reason to think there’s anything in you that’s harmful and that a fruit cleanse could get out. Even cheaper than scheduling a colonoscopy – take a couple of healthy doses of psyllium powder one evening (Metamucil). Then take a bottle of magnesium citrate solution the next morning. The psyllium, which is partly gelatinous and partly still a bit abrasive, will glop together with whatever it encounters and also (I imagine) has a scrubbing effect on the GI canal as it goes through. The magnesium citrate (don’t do this on a day when you have anything to do for the next few hours) will then release the bolus of scrubbed material in most convincing fashion. You will know confidently by the time things taper off that there’s nothing left in any of your gut except water, maybe some mucus, and some lonely healthy bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/11 "2012-01-05T00:06:20Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It’s bullshit from end to end. I see what you did there! ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/12 "2012-01-05T00:12:23Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Well, I have to specify that this is not for a drug test or anything of the sort. I’ve seen those links as I research and have no need or interest in that. Basically what I have been told is that processed food and whatnot contains “chemicals” which do “something.” > > It sounded like nonsense, so I posted here. But it does make sense from a common sense standpoint (I don’t know why).. Everything that you eat is made up of chemicals, whether it’s a Cyanide McGrease Burger or a glass of pure rainwater. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/13 "2012-01-05T00:13:50Z")
Talk to someone who has done the colonoscopy purge, and they’ll tell you that the “clean out” was excruciating. You don’t feel like starting any diet after that torture. I wanted to hit every fast food place, restaurant and 7-11 on the way home. Beware of the enema/laxative blather, too. These “theories” have been around since the beginning of time. If they REALLY worked, don’t you think that conventional medicine would be sending everyone off to the holistic spa? Alternative practitioners also like to hawk a “gall bladder cleanse.” After fasting for however long, you are told to take the following at bedtime: a mega dose of Epsom salts, juice from one lemon, and a half cup of olive oil. MMMMMM, delicious! The next morning, you’ll be in the bathroom emptying out your bowels. The contents of the toilet will contain a BUNCH of foul little marbles. The alternative practitioner says that those are “gallstones.” Hah. I dare you to fish one out and break it apart. I bet it squishes to flatness at the touch of a (gloved) finger. If it were a gallstone, it’d be a hard rock. Those little marbles are something known as “fecal soap balls.” It’s what happens when your guts churn together Epsom salts, lemon juice, and olive oil. Add fiber to your diet, drink LOTS of water. That does more for bowel health than any other regimen prescribed by a clerk in a health food store. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/14 "2012-01-05T00:23:45Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Ignorance fought. So there is no left over hops and (possible) bong resin from years ago or months ago? All of the stuff that I put in my body less than XXX hours ago is gone and never to be seen again? Of all places in the body where residues may be found, the lungs are the most likely. [Coal miners are all too aware of this](http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio202/Respiratory/AnthracosisB.htm). Yet lungs are also impossible to cleanse in any way. If you get enough water in your lungs to wash away bong residue hope that you’ve left a proper will for your loved ones. Obviously lung particulates have nothing whatsoever to do with the toxins the faddists talk about. You can accumulate arsenic and various metals in the body as well. Heck, there may be ounces of lead sitting in old bullet wounds. Doesn’t matter. The toxins being talked about are nebulous Evil Chemicals the Man poisons our food supply with, not the actual mundane horrors that reality can serve up. BTW, I’ve had four colonoscopies. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/15 "2012-01-05T01:15:58Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I see what you did there! Glad to see someone noticed. 😉 [Scientists dismiss ‘detox myth’:](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7808348.stm) > [@](#): > > There is no evidence that products widely promoted to help the body “detox” work, scientists warn. [The Detox Scam:](http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-detox-scam/) > [@](#): > > Recently “detox” is all the rage. The basic concept is nothing new – potential customers are scared with the notion that their bodies are being harmed by invading toxins. This triggers our disgust emotion – an evolved defense against eating spoiled, contaminated or dangerous food. There is something deeply satisfying about the idea of getting bad things out of our bodies. It also is an appealing notion that symptoms we may be having are not a problem with our body itself, but is the result of something foreign that can be purged. > > The word “detox” tries to capture all that. It’s an effective marketing slogan. It is also (as used in such marketing) utterly meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/16 "2012-01-05T03:35:43Z")
One of the things I find fascinating about the detox stuff is how unflappable many adherents are. The whole “bad food leaves bad STUFF in your body, and juice and aloe vera cleans it out!” concept apparently seems so intuitive that some folks just can’t shake it, no amount of evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. My sister and parents are absolutely convinced that our bodies are just full of nasty Big Mac residue. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/17 "2012-01-05T12:28:44Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > It’s total bullshit. > > Ask your friends what the toxins are that need cleaning out. My family and friends will vouch for the fact that something very toxic has taken up residence the last week or so !! Seriously, I’ve been thinking that a 24 hour pre-colonoscopy-like purge is warranted. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/18 "2012-01-05T13:05:39Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I’ve been hearing from friends and looking at stuff on the internet that states when starting a diet, the body first needs to “detox.” Basically for 7 to 10 days you eat nothing but fruits and veggies an drink water so as to “cleanse” your system before starting a lower calorie diet. The ‘toxin’ in question is basically salt, and maybe sugar. The way to eliminate it is to reduce salt and abstain from sugar. This is a good idea anytime, but for pre-dieting it is more about establishing a good starting baseline before starting to cut calories. It’s both for the sake of measurement and to avoid being uncomfortably hungry right out of the gate. Dumb people call it ‘detox’ because they don’t understand nutrition, although it can result in an abrupt change in how you look and feel. For that purpose, fruits, veggies, and water obviously are good, but it’s never good to try to cut out one category of wholesome foods entirely. I mean obviously if you have a desk job then you need to watch your carbs like a hawk, but not eliminate them entirely. If you want to prepare for a diet, just spend a week eating a balanced died of whole foods, enough to satisfy yourself, and see how that looks on your plate and feels in your body. You’ll probably dump 5 pounds of water just from eliminating sodium. Eliminating refined sugar will get your hormones in shape to reduce calories without completely freaking out. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/19 "2012-01-05T18:32:44Z")
What the diet you describe will do is lower your body salt content. When I get back from vacation where I eat out a lot and fill up on salt and then revert to my normal low salt diet, I lose five pounds over a few days. But that is just five pounds of water, released when the salt goes. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432/20 "2012-01-05T18:38:21Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > My sister and parents are absolutely convinced that our bodies are just full of nasty Big Mac residue. Well, they are: it’s called “fat”. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-detox-diets/608432.md?page=2)