February 6, 2025 • 23 mins
Coaching with Dr. Bobby here
Episode Summary:
Detox programs promise to rid your body of toxins, boost your energy, and restore balance—but is there any credible science behind them? In this episode, we break down the claims, explore the evidence (or lack thereof), and discuss why detox diets and supplements may be more about profit than actual health benefits.
Key Topics Covered:
🔹 The Detox Hype & Marketing Pitch
- Detox cleanses claim to remove toxins like heavy metals, pesticides, and plastics.
- Programs promise benefits like increased energy, improved digestion, and reduced inflammation.
- Many naturopathic practitioners promote detox therapies, despite limited scientific backing (study on detox therapies).
🔹 How Detoxes Are Supposed to Work
- Short-term fasting, juice cleanses, or restrictive diets.
- Addition of "cleansing" foods like coriander and supplements.
- Methods like saunas, enemas, diuretics, and laxatives to "flush out" toxins.
🔹 Does Detoxing Actually Work?
- Your kidneys and liver already detox your body—detox programs claim to enhance this process but lack scientific proof.
- Studies on coriander and citric acid showed toxin reduction—in mice and fish (study on toxin reduction).
- A systematic review found no reliable human trials showing benefits (NIH detox overview).
- A randomized control trial of detox supplements (papaya, peppermint, ginger) showed no difference in GI symptoms or health markers (RCT on detox supplements).
🔹 Can You Sweat Out Toxins?
- A systematic review of 24 studies found metals in sweat—but in minuscule amounts (sweating and detox study).
- Most toxins are removed via the liver and kidneys, not sweat.
🔹 Why Do People Feel Better After a Detox?
- Placebo effect: Expecting to feel better often leads to feeling better.
- Water weight loss: Temporary weight loss can create a sense of improvement.
- Psychological agency: Taking action makes people feel empowered.
🔹 Is Detoxing Safe?
- Short-term detoxing may be harmless, but long-term detoxes can cause nutrient deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, and risks for diabetics or kidney patients.
- The supplement industry is unregulated, making detox products a potential safety concern.
🔹 What Should You Do Instead?
- No strong evidence supports detox cleanses, but if you’re determined to try one, consider an N of 1 trial (self-experimentation). Discuss with your doctor first.
- Measure baseline health markers before and after, and consult your doctor.
- For guidance, check out Episode 27 on how to conduct an N of 1 trial.
Takeaways:
✅ Your liver and kidneys already detox your body—no supplement or cleanse is necessary.
✅ If detoxing makes you feel better, it’s likely due to a placebo effect, temporary water loss, or increased self-awareness of diet.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Does total body detox with fasting or juice cleansing
work?
Well, I don't think so.
There are no credible studiesthat show benefit.
Risks are possible and everyoneis trying to get your money for
supplements, programs and books.
Let's explore the evidencetogether.
(00:24):
Hi, I'm Dr Bobby Du Bois andwelcome to Live Long and Well, a
podcast where we will talkabout what you can do to live as
long as possible and with asmuch energy and figure that you
(00:47):
wish.
Together, we will explore whatpractical and evidence-supported
steps you can take.
Come join me on this veryimportant journey and I hope
that you feel empowered alongthe way.
I'm a physician, ironman,triathlete and have published
several hundred scientificstudies.
(01:09):
I'm honored to be your guide.
Hello, my listeners, andwelcome to episode 29,.
Total Potty Detox Sadly, wherehype outpaces science.
Well, you've probably heardthis Detox your body of toxins.
(01:32):
Do a juice cleanse or a fast,take supplements, sweat and you
will feel better.
Well, there's a whole lot ofclaims, there's a whole lot of
money going after this, but,sadly, no credible evidence that
any of it works.
It may be the world's record ofthe most claims of benefit and
(01:58):
the least amount of evidence tosupport it.
Now I think this is a perfecttime to talk about this topic
because over the last month,we've had a number of episodes
that lead us right here.
Well, we talked about healthheadlines and whether to trust
them, and, of course, there'slots of health headlines on
(02:20):
total body detox.
We talked last week about theplacebo effect and, frankly, I
think where a lot of theseclaims come from may well be the
placebo effect.
And finally, we've talked aboutthe N of 1 testing in yourself,
and this may be something toconsider if you were thinking
(02:43):
about doing a detox cleanse.
If you wish to look at any ofthose prior episodes, listen
away and it might help you getsome further understanding about
today.
Well, in this episode, I want towalk through five questions why
should you detox?
Two, how is it done?
(03:05):
Three, does it work?
Four, is it safe?
And five, what do you do withthis information and can you put
it into perhaps an end-of-oneapproach?
Well, as always, I like tobegin with the story.
As some of you may know, I grewup in Los Angeles and then had
(03:25):
been in Texas for the past 11years or so, but I have family
and friends in LA and waswatching very carefully what was
going on with the fires and allthe devastation and loss that
was associated with that.
And I read this article in theWall Street Journal about social
media influencers and supposedexperts saying that people
(03:49):
exposed to smoke from thosefires should drink lots of
bottled water to flush out thefire toxins.
My reaction to that was well,that sounds interesting, but is
there any evidence that it wouldactually work?
Now I have a sauna and Gail andI use it regularly and I sweat
(04:12):
a lot in the sauna and I'mfeeling like, wow, it's flushing
me of toxins or bad things inthe sauna.
Well, again, interesting theory, but is there any evidence?
And then, finally, my oldestdaughter, rachel, has had a
series of chronic symptoms thatshe hasn't been able to figure
(04:35):
out.
What's the cause, and Westernmedicine really hasn't helped
her solve it.
And so she came to me and saidyou know what about these detox
programs?
Might this help flush outsomething that's in my system
that could be problematic?
I said, look, it's a veryinteresting question, but is
(04:55):
there any evidence?
So down the rabbit hole I went.
What did I find?
What did I learn?
And let's dive in together.
So let's begin with why youmight consider a total body
detox and let's begin with themarketing pitch.
(05:16):
What do those headlines talkabout?
What do the advertising talkabout?
Well, the first is they claimwe live in a world of toxins in
our air, in our food, in ourwater, all around us, and that
can't be a good thing.
Those toxins get inside us.
It could be air pollution, itcould be microplastics in our
(05:39):
foods, it could be heavy metalslike mercury, lead or arsenic
pesticides that may be on ourfoods and in the environment.
This sounds bad and we know inmedicine, in Western medicine,
that there are known toxicsyndromes.
So, for example, we used tohear a fair bit about lead in
(06:02):
paint and little kids chewing onthe paint and having problems
with their mental capabilities.
This was a very known and realissue.
There's a genetic disordercalled Wilson's disease where
your body doesn't handle copper.
Copper is a metal and we knowit causes damage and we know it
(06:22):
can be treated by removing it.
So there's a basis to believethis.
The second is the claim kind ofa broader claim that our
systems are, just frankly, outof balance.
Now that out of balance maycause inflammation or chronic
(06:44):
fatigue, chronic pain,autoimmune diseases, and those
claims would also be that ourgut microbiome is a mess and
those advertising say well,let's do something about that.
And the third, as I wasmentioning earlier about my
daughter Rachel, is that Westernmedicine may not be helping you
(07:07):
.
You may have something that'sbeen going on for years and you
can't find a solution In ourhealth quiz and the five
different types.
One is the hopeful health seeker.
These are folks who'vestruggled with one health
problem or another and haven'tfound relief.
(07:29):
The good news with the hopefulhealth seekers they don't give
up, they keep at it.
But these are folks who mayfeel like maybe a detox cleanse
would work for them.
If you haven't taken the quizjust takes a couple of minutes.
Go to my website.
Haven't taken the quiz, justtakes a couple of minutes.
Go to my website,drbobbylivelongandwellcom and
(07:49):
take it and see if it fits foryou, what your type is.
Also, if you're interested, youcan go to my website.
If you're interested in workingwith me and the six-month
mastermind class is about tokick off in about 10 days, and
there's one slot remaining Again, go to my website if that's of
interest.
All right.
So that's the claims about howyou might benefit, and then
(08:13):
there's all this advertising.
So maybe what you need iswhat's advertised the 10-day
detox program which will resetyour metabolism, restore your
energy, rebalance your hormones,and that's about $500.
You get a guide, you get somesupplements and this will help.
(08:34):
It's claimed brain fog andfatigue and chronic pain, and in
four to five to six days thereare testimonials of people
who've gotten so much better.
Well, maybe it's the 45-daytotal detox restorative program
(08:54):
at a mere $1,400.
And this was created, they say,to detoxify heavy metals and
chemicals and unwanted organismsand it's going to help
eliminate acidity and restorealkaline reserve and so on and
so forth.
And you get with that $1,400,some supplements and a guidebook
(09:16):
and so on and so forth.
Well, there's lots of books oncleanses, lots of books on
cleanses.
Their titles are things likeCleanse to Heal, 10-day Green
Smoothie Cleanse, dr Sebi'sMucus Cleanse, parasite Cleanse,
the Panacea Cleanse, the Liverand Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse
(09:40):
no lack of books.
And then there are supplementsthat are advertised everywhere.
They may cost $10, $40.
They may cost more.
You can get a seven-day detoxcleanse for your whole body with
various pills that might havesenna leaf and vitamin C and
apple cider vinegar and so onand so forth.
(10:02):
And lastly, a lot ofpractitioners are pushing it Now
, not typically Westernpractitioners, but 95% of
naturopathic doctors in a recentsurvey used detox therapies.
So it's a perfect, perfectstorm of compelling theories,
(10:26):
unmet needs where people do haveproblems, and for-profit
incentives.
So that's kind of why it's done.
Now let's explore a little bitabout how it's done.
Now.
These are generally short-termdiet and activities that will
supposedly eliminate toxins.
(10:47):
So there's a couple ofcomponents of a typical detox
cleanse.
The first is take less badstuff in.
So for a period of days maybe aweek or two or more you'll do
either total fasting with justwater it might be a juice fast
or a very restricted diet, soless stuff goes into you that
(11:11):
might be causing you problems.
So that's the first element.
The second element is addinggood stuff, or supposed good
stuff, to your body.
So there may be cleansing foodsand spices like coriander or
citric acid or supplements thatwill help your body.
And then, lastly, many of theseinclude a flushing process,
(11:36):
which could be diuretics topromote kidney flow, laxatives
for your GI tract to flushthings out of your system they
might suggest that you do lotsof sweating in the sauna or
something like that or they mayeven include colonic cleanses
like enemas and laxatives.
So this is what it entails.
(11:59):
And now part three, theall-important question does it
work?
Question does it work?
Well, god created us and gaveus kidneys and livers, and the
kidney and the liver are alreadyin the toxin removal business.
(12:19):
So now the question is do theseadditional programs and
supplements and approaches, doesit add to what our liver and
our kidney already does for it?
So what's the best case thatthis might actually have a role
in helping people feel better?
(12:41):
As I mentioned earlier, thereare known overload diseases iron
overload, arsenic overload,lead overload and there are
medicines called chelatingagents that you take and it
binds to the toxins and thenthat's removed from the body.
Now this is really really trueand very helpful for these very
(13:05):
uncommon situations.
Very helpful for these veryuncommon situations.
If you had a poisoning, maybe adrug overdose or something like
that, we might give youactivated charcoal which you
would take by mouth.
It would bind the toxins inyour gut and excrete it, so your
body didn't absorb it.
And there are really true knownfood intolerances, whether it's
(13:28):
eggs or nuts or something likethat, and removing that from
your diet can actually help youfeel better.
So these situations there is arole for removing toxins, but
those are the rare, rare, rarecircumstances.
The ones that are beingadvertised are really about
everybody else that has fatigueor their brain is not as sharp
(13:54):
as they would like it to be, orthey don't have the energy they
wish, or something like that.
Now is there any evidence thatit works?
These approaches work for themore typical symptoms and I did
find some evidence that it works.
That is, if you're a fish oryou're a mouse.
(14:18):
So one set of studies looked atcoriander and citric acid that
could potentially bind metalsand in fact in rainbow trout it
reduced cadmium levels and inmice it reduced lead.
Again, not in people, insmaller, lesser organisms,
(14:43):
organisms.
There's a study of chlorella,which is a green algae, and it
removed mercury, but removedmercury in mice.
But when we turn to people,which is really what we care
about, we're not necessarilytrying to help our mice or our
(15:12):
trout.
No credible evidence.
Let me repeat that no credibleevidence.
And there's three ways to lookat this.
The first is there was asystematic review Again, this
will be in the show notes ifyou're interested in going and
taking a look at it and theylooked at all the human studies
they could find.
And there were some studies,but they were all highly flawed
and there was no randomizedplacebo-controlled trial that
(15:34):
showed benefit.
So that's the first.
The second is a branch of theNIH which is called the National
Center for Complementary andIntegrative Health came out with
its statement Again, nocredible evidence that any of
this works.
And then, lastly, dr Bobby'sassessment.
(15:54):
I've looked at all thesedocuments, I've looked at
literature.
I have not found crediblecontrolled trials with
scientific rigor and placebos toshow that the benefits they
purport to cause actually happen.
Now, if you have some evidence,by all means send it to me.
(16:15):
I would always want to learnand do better.
Now there was a rare studywhere they did a randomized
trial with placebo of asupplement packet that had
papaya and peppermint andfenugreek and ginger and
cinnamon and folks took it forfour weeks.
(16:37):
There was also a placebocontrol and these are folks that
had some GI problems, tummyproblems.
They also looked at bloodmarkers and body composition.
What happened?
There was no difference.
So the one study that waspublished that I could find that
was done in a rigorous fashionshowed no benefit.
So that's where I am.
(16:59):
But what about sweating?
I'm in my sauna, sweat's comingoff of me.
Maybe bad stuff is coming outof my body into my sweat.
Well, there was a systematicreview of 24 studies and it
turns out your sweat doescontain certain metals, but it's
(17:25):
in tiny, tiny amounts.
That won't accomplish the goalof removing large amounts from
our body.
And those studies had a lot offlaws.
They didn't just take sweatthat dripped off you.
As you might anticipate, youwould need to kind of scrape
your skin and get the sweat andput it in a little container and
(17:48):
then measure things.
But when you do that, you'reactually scraping your skin
cells as well as just having thesweat.
So there's a lot ofcontamination and it's not clear
what's going on.
But in any event, it was a verysmall amount and it doesn't
look like you can sweat your way.
(18:13):
People say to me well, but, drBobby, I read about how people
said it worked and how they feltso much better, so quickly, and
the rubber meets the road.
What is truth here?
Well, I am guessing that youhave an inkling, if you've
(18:35):
listened to my prior episodes,about where some of those
testimonials are coming from,and I'm assuming that these are
genuine patient experiences.
Well, the first is the placeboeffect.
These are individuals who feellike it's going to help them and
they feel better.
Again, the scientific studiesdon't show objective improvement
(18:59):
, but people feel better and itmay well be the placebo effect.
Do take a look, a listen to mylast episode.
The other thing that happenswith these cleanses is you may
lose water, weight, because,again, you're not eating very
much for some number of days,and so when that happens you
(19:19):
might feel skinnier, feellighter and feel better.
That's not because of thecleanse per se, it's just
because you've lost a little bitof weight, water or otherwise,
and you temporarily feel better.
Of course, when you starteating again, you temporarily
feel better.
Of course, when you starteating again, that weight may be
(19:40):
back in a couple of days andthen the symptoms return.
And finally, doing somethinglike this gives us agency.
It feels like we're beingproactive, we're doing something
and we always feel better, orwe may feel better when we feel
like we're taking charge of ourhealth.
So to sum up that section, Idon't feel there's evidence that
(20:03):
supports the claims.
Now, is it safe?
Because, dr Bobby, what have Igot to lose Now?
Generally these are safe, butit's not without risks.
This industry with supplementsand claims about cleanses, it's
not regulated.
So there's really not much outthere about safety.
(20:25):
We don't really know.
Now, for a short term a coupleof days it sure seems okay.
Now, of course, you should talkto your doctor.
But if you do something likethis for a long period of time
10 days, two weeks, three weeksyou could get nutritional
deficiencies because you're noteating your normal diet.
(20:48):
You might get some proteindeficiencies, which will help
hurt in terms of your muscles,and you might get vitamin
deficiencies.
And that's where some of thesupplements are touted to kind
of support that.
If you're a diabetic and yourblood sugar is up and down and
you basically stop eating normalfoods and you're still on your
(21:11):
diabetic medications, that cancause real problems for your
blood sugar.
So for a diabetic it can be aproblem.
And if you have kidney diseaseand you're not managing your
fluids and electrolytes as wellas you could, again this could
be problematic.
And anytime you use diureticsor laxatives for a prolonged
(21:33):
period of time, yes, you can getinto some electrolyte
imbalances.
Okay, so what do we do with thisinformation?
Well, I don't find credibleevidence that total body detox
works and I want to save you, asalways, time, money and
(21:53):
potential side effects If youfeel like you really have
nothing else to try and you wantto try a detox cleanse, okay,
but maybe do it in the settingof an N of 1 trial, where you're
very careful about measuringyour baseline with something
objective.
You try it, you then measure itagain, you then go back to your
(22:16):
prior diet, et cetera, andrepeat that as often as you wish
, but, of course, always talk toyour doctor before.
And if you're interested in theN of 1 approach, go to episode
27 of mine or on my website youcan find an article about N of 1
and how to approach it and howit might be helpful for you.
(22:40):
So, to wrap things up, we allwant to live long and well.
I don't, however, find evidenceto support detox cleanses as
the solution.
By all means, let me know othertopics you're interested in and
for now, goodbye.
(23:03):
Thanks so much for listening toLive Long and Well with Dr Bobby
.
If you liked this episode,please provide a review on Apple
or Spotify or wherever youlisten.
If you want to continue thisjourney or want to receive my
newsletter on practical andscientific ways to improve your
health and longevity, pleasevisit me at
(23:27):
drbobbilivelongandwellcom.
That's, doctor, as in D-R Bobby.
Live long and wellcom.
Does total body detox with fasting or juice cleansing
work?
Well, I don't think so.
There are no credible studiesthat show benefit.
Risks are possible and everyoneis trying to get your money for
supplements, programs and books.
Let's explore the evidencetogether.
(00:24):
Hi, I'm Dr Bobby Du Bois andwelcome to Live Long and Well, a
podcast where we will talkabout what you can do to live as
long as possible and with asmuch energy and figure that you
(00:47):
wish.
Together, we will explore whatpractical and evidence-supported
steps you can take.
Come join me on this veryimportant journey and I hope
that you feel empowered alongthe way.
I'm a physician, ironman,triathlete and have published
several hundred scientificstudies.
(01:09):
I'm honored to be your guide.
Hello, my listeners, andwelcome to episode 29,.
Total Potty Detox Sadly, wherehype outpaces science.
Well, you've probably heardthis Detox your body of toxins.
(01:32):
Do a juice cleanse or a fast,take supplements, sweat and you
will feel better.
Well, there's a whole lot ofclaims, there's a whole lot of
money going after this, but,sadly, no credible evidence that
any of it works.
It may be the world's record ofthe most claims of benefit and
(01:58):
the least amount of evidence tosupport it.
Now I think this is a perfecttime to talk about this topic
because over the last month,we've had a number of episodes
that lead us right here.
Well, we talked about healthheadlines and whether to trust
them, and, of course, there'slots of health headlines on
(02:20):
total body detox.
We talked last week about theplacebo effect and, frankly, I
think where a lot of theseclaims come from may well be the
placebo effect.
And finally, we've talked aboutthe N of 1 testing in yourself,
and this may be something toconsider if you were thinking
(02:43):
about doing a detox cleanse.
If you wish to look at any ofthose prior episodes, listen
away and it might help you getsome further understanding about
today.
Well, in this episode, I want towalk through five questions why
should you detox?
Two, how is it done?
(03:05):
Three, does it work?
Four, is it safe?
And five, what do you do withthis information and can you put
it into perhaps an end-of-oneapproach?
Well, as always, I like tobegin with the story.
As some of you may know, I grewup in Los Angeles and then had
(03:25):
been in Texas for the past 11years or so, but I have family
and friends in LA and waswatching very carefully what was
going on with the fires and allthe devastation and loss that
was associated with that.
And I read this article in theWall Street Journal about social
media influencers and supposedexperts saying that people
(03:49):
exposed to smoke from thosefires should drink lots of
bottled water to flush out thefire toxins.
My reaction to that was well,that sounds interesting, but is
there any evidence that it wouldactually work?
Now I have a sauna and Gail andI use it regularly and I sweat
(04:12):
a lot in the sauna and I'mfeeling like, wow, it's flushing
me of toxins or bad things inthe sauna.
Well, again, interesting theory, but is there any evidence?
And then, finally, my oldestdaughter, rachel, has had a
series of chronic symptoms thatshe hasn't been able to figure
(04:35):
out.
What's the cause, and Westernmedicine really hasn't helped
her solve it.
And so she came to me and saidyou know what about these detox
programs?
Might this help flush outsomething that's in my system
that could be problematic?
I said, look, it's a veryinteresting question, but is
(04:55):
there any evidence?
So down the rabbit hole I went.
What did I find?
What did I learn?
And let's dive in together.
So let's begin with why youmight consider a total body
detox and let's begin with themarketing pitch.
(05:16):
What do those headlines talkabout?
What do the advertising talkabout?
Well, the first is they claimwe live in a world of toxins in
our air, in our food, in ourwater, all around us, and that
can't be a good thing.
Those toxins get inside us.
It could be air pollution, itcould be microplastics in our
(05:39):
foods, it could be heavy metalslike mercury, lead or arsenic
pesticides that may be on ourfoods and in the environment.
This sounds bad and we know inmedicine, in Western medicine,
that there are known toxicsyndromes.
So, for example, we used tohear a fair bit about lead in
(06:02):
paint and little kids chewing onthe paint and having problems
with their mental capabilities.
This was a very known and realissue.
There's a genetic disordercalled Wilson's disease where
your body doesn't handle copper.
Copper is a metal and we knowit causes damage and we know it
(06:22):
can be treated by removing it.
So there's a basis to believethis.
The second is the claim kind ofa broader claim that our
systems are, just frankly, outof balance.
Now that out of balance maycause inflammation or chronic
(06:44):
fatigue, chronic pain,autoimmune diseases, and those
claims would also be that ourgut microbiome is a mess and
those advertising say well,let's do something about that.
And the third, as I wasmentioning earlier about my
daughter Rachel, is that Westernmedicine may not be helping you
(07:07):
.
You may have something that'sbeen going on for years and you
can't find a solution In ourhealth quiz and the five
different types.
One is the hopeful health seeker.
These are folks who'vestruggled with one health
problem or another and haven'tfound relief.
(07:29):
The good news with the hopefulhealth seekers they don't give
up, they keep at it.
But these are folks who mayfeel like maybe a detox cleanse
would work for them.
If you haven't taken the quizjust takes a couple of minutes.
Go to my website.
Haven't taken the quiz, justtakes a couple of minutes.
Go to my website,drbobbylivelongandwellcom and
(07:49):
take it and see if it fits foryou, what your type is.
Also, if you're interested, youcan go to my website.
If you're interested in workingwith me and the six-month
mastermind class is about tokick off in about 10 days, and
there's one slot remaining Again, go to my website if that's of
interest.
All right.
So that's the claims about howyou might benefit, and then
(08:13):
there's all this advertising.
So maybe what you need iswhat's advertised the 10-day
detox program which will resetyour metabolism, restore your
energy, rebalance your hormones,and that's about $500.
You get a guide, you get somesupplements and this will help.
(08:34):
It's claimed brain fog andfatigue and chronic pain, and in
four to five to six days thereare testimonials of people
who've gotten so much better.
Well, maybe it's the 45-daytotal detox restorative program
(08:54):
at a mere $1,400.
And this was created, they say,to detoxify heavy metals and
chemicals and unwanted organismsand it's going to help
eliminate acidity and restorealkaline reserve and so on and
so forth.
And you get with that $1,400,some supplements and a guidebook
(09:16):
and so on and so forth.
Well, there's lots of books oncleanses, lots of books on
cleanses.
Their titles are things likeCleanse to Heal, 10-day Green
Smoothie Cleanse, dr Sebi'sMucus Cleanse, parasite Cleanse,
the Panacea Cleanse, the Liverand Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse
(09:40):
no lack of books.
And then there are supplementsthat are advertised everywhere.
They may cost $10, $40.
They may cost more.
You can get a seven-day detoxcleanse for your whole body with
various pills that might havesenna leaf and vitamin C and
apple cider vinegar and so onand so forth.
(10:02):
And lastly, a lot ofpractitioners are pushing it Now
, not typically Westernpractitioners, but 95% of
naturopathic doctors in a recentsurvey used detox therapies.
So it's a perfect, perfectstorm of compelling theories,
(10:26):
unmet needs where people do haveproblems, and for-profit
incentives.
So that's kind of why it's done.
Now let's explore a little bitabout how it's done.
Now.
These are generally short-termdiet and activities that will
supposedly eliminate toxins.
(10:47):
So there's a couple ofcomponents of a typical detox
cleanse.
The first is take less badstuff in.
So for a period of days maybe aweek or two or more you'll do
either total fasting with justwater it might be a juice fast
or a very restricted diet, soless stuff goes into you that
(11:11):
might be causing you problems.
So that's the first element.
The second element is addinggood stuff, or supposed good
stuff, to your body.
So there may be cleansing foodsand spices like coriander or
citric acid or supplements thatwill help your body.
And then, lastly, many of theseinclude a flushing process,
(11:36):
which could be diuretics topromote kidney flow, laxatives
for your GI tract to flushthings out of your system they
might suggest that you do lotsof sweating in the sauna or
something like that or they mayeven include colonic cleanses
like enemas and laxatives.
So this is what it entails.
(11:59):
And now part three, theall-important question does it
work?
Question does it work?
Well, god created us and gaveus kidneys and livers, and the
kidney and the liver are alreadyin the toxin removal business.
(12:19):
So now the question is do theseadditional programs and
supplements and approaches, doesit add to what our liver and
our kidney already does for it?
So what's the best case thatthis might actually have a role
in helping people feel better?
(12:41):
As I mentioned earlier, thereare known overload diseases iron
overload, arsenic overload,lead overload and there are
medicines called chelatingagents that you take and it
binds to the toxins and thenthat's removed from the body.
Now this is really really trueand very helpful for these very
(13:05):
uncommon situations.
Very helpful for these veryuncommon situations.
If you had a poisoning, maybe adrug overdose or something like
that, we might give youactivated charcoal which you
would take by mouth.
It would bind the toxins inyour gut and excrete it, so your
body didn't absorb it.
And there are really true knownfood intolerances, whether it's
(13:28):
eggs or nuts or something likethat, and removing that from
your diet can actually help youfeel better.
So these situations there is arole for removing toxins, but
those are the rare, rare, rarecircumstances.
The ones that are beingadvertised are really about
everybody else that has fatigueor their brain is not as sharp
(13:54):
as they would like it to be, orthey don't have the energy they
wish, or something like that.
Now is there any evidence thatit works?
These approaches work for themore typical symptoms and I did
find some evidence that it works.
That is, if you're a fish oryou're a mouse.
(14:18):
So one set of studies looked atcoriander and citric acid that
could potentially bind metalsand in fact in rainbow trout it
reduced cadmium levels and inmice it reduced lead.
Again, not in people, insmaller, lesser organisms,
(14:43):
organisms.
There's a study of chlorella,which is a green algae, and it
removed mercury, but removedmercury in mice.
But when we turn to people,which is really what we care
about, we're not necessarilytrying to help our mice or our
(15:12):
trout.
No credible evidence.
Let me repeat that no credibleevidence.
And there's three ways to lookat this.
The first is there was asystematic review Again, this
will be in the show notes ifyou're interested in going and
taking a look at it and theylooked at all the human studies
they could find.
And there were some studies,but they were all highly flawed
and there was no randomizedplacebo-controlled trial that
(15:34):
showed benefit.
So that's the first.
The second is a branch of theNIH which is called the National
Center for Complementary andIntegrative Health came out with
its statement Again, nocredible evidence that any of
this works.
And then, lastly, dr Bobby'sassessment.
(15:54):
I've looked at all thesedocuments, I've looked at
literature.
I have not found crediblecontrolled trials with
scientific rigor and placebos toshow that the benefits they
purport to cause actually happen.
Now, if you have some evidence,by all means send it to me.
(16:15):
I would always want to learnand do better.
Now there was a rare studywhere they did a randomized
trial with placebo of asupplement packet that had
papaya and peppermint andfenugreek and ginger and
cinnamon and folks took it forfour weeks.
(16:37):
There was also a placebocontrol and these are folks that
had some GI problems, tummyproblems.
They also looked at bloodmarkers and body composition.
What happened?
There was no difference.
So the one study that waspublished that I could find that
was done in a rigorous fashionshowed no benefit.
So that's where I am.
(16:59):
But what about sweating?
I'm in my sauna, sweat's comingoff of me.
Maybe bad stuff is coming outof my body into my sweat.
Well, there was a systematicreview of 24 studies and it
turns out your sweat doescontain certain metals, but it's
(17:25):
in tiny, tiny amounts.
That won't accomplish the goalof removing large amounts from
our body.
And those studies had a lot offlaws.
They didn't just take sweatthat dripped off you.
As you might anticipate, youwould need to kind of scrape
your skin and get the sweat andput it in a little container and
(17:48):
then measure things.
But when you do that, you'reactually scraping your skin
cells as well as just having thesweat.
So there's a lot ofcontamination and it's not clear
what's going on.
But in any event, it was a verysmall amount and it doesn't
look like you can sweat your way.
(18:13):
People say to me well, but, drBobby, I read about how people
said it worked and how they feltso much better, so quickly, and
the rubber meets the road.
What is truth here?
Well, I am guessing that youhave an inkling, if you've
(18:35):
listened to my prior episodes,about where some of those
testimonials are coming from,and I'm assuming that these are
genuine patient experiences.
Well, the first is the placeboeffect.
These are individuals who feellike it's going to help them and
they feel better.
Again, the scientific studiesdon't show objective improvement
(18:59):
, but people feel better and itmay well be the placebo effect.
Do take a look, a listen to mylast episode.
The other thing that happenswith these cleanses is you may
lose water, weight, because,again, you're not eating very
much for some number of days,and so when that happens you
(19:19):
might feel skinnier, feellighter and feel better.
That's not because of thecleanse per se, it's just
because you've lost a little bitof weight, water or otherwise,
and you temporarily feel better.
Of course, when you starteating again, you temporarily
feel better.
Of course, when you starteating again, that weight may be
(19:40):
back in a couple of days andthen the symptoms return.
And finally, doing somethinglike this gives us agency.
It feels like we're beingproactive, we're doing something
and we always feel better, orwe may feel better when we feel
like we're taking charge of ourhealth.
So to sum up that section, Idon't feel there's evidence that
(20:03):
supports the claims.
Now, is it safe?
Because, dr Bobby, what have Igot to lose Now?
Generally these are safe, butit's not without risks.
This industry with supplementsand claims about cleanses, it's
not regulated.
So there's really not much outthere about safety.
(20:25):
We don't really know.
Now, for a short term a coupleof days it sure seems okay.
Now, of course, you should talkto your doctor.
But if you do something likethis for a long period of time
10 days, two weeks, three weeksyou could get nutritional
deficiencies because you're noteating your normal diet.
(20:48):
You might get some proteindeficiencies, which will help
hurt in terms of your muscles,and you might get vitamin
deficiencies.
And that's where some of thesupplements are touted to kind
of support that.
If you're a diabetic and yourblood sugar is up and down and
you basically stop eating normalfoods and you're still on your
(21:11):
diabetic medications, that cancause real problems for your
blood sugar.
So for a diabetic it can be aproblem.
And if you have kidney diseaseand you're not managing your
fluids and electrolytes as wellas you could, again this could
be problematic.
And anytime you use diureticsor laxatives for a prolonged
(21:33):
period of time, yes, you can getinto some electrolyte
imbalances.
Okay, so what do we do with thisinformation?
Well, I don't find credibleevidence that total body detox
works and I want to save you, asalways, time, money and
(21:53):
potential side effects If youfeel like you really have
nothing else to try and you wantto try a detox cleanse, okay,
but maybe do it in the settingof an N of 1 trial, where you're
very careful about measuringyour baseline with something
objective.
You try it, you then measure itagain, you then go back to your
(22:16):
prior diet, et cetera, andrepeat that as often as you wish
, but, of course, always talk toyour doctor before.
And if you're interested in theN of 1 approach, go to episode
27 of mine or on my website youcan find an article about N of 1
and how to approach it and howit might be helpful for you.
(22:40):
So, to wrap things up, we allwant to live long and well.
I don't, however, find evidenceto support detox cleanses as
the solution.
By all means, let me know othertopics you're interested in and
for now, goodbye.
(23:03):
Thanks so much for listening toLive Long and Well with Dr Bobby
.
If you liked this episode,please provide a review on Apple
or Spotify or wherever youlisten.
If you want to continue thisjourney or want to receive my
newsletter on practical andscientific ways to improve your
health and longevity, pleasevisit me at
(23:27):
drbobbilivelongandwellcom.
That's, doctor, as in D-R Bobby.
Live long and wellcom.
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