Do you even Teatox?

We all live busy lives, and looking for a quick and easy fix is understandably attractive to us all. With the promise of dropping significant pounds, burning fat and supressing appetite, it’s easy to see why we’d be tempted.

There are so many products out there, books, boxes or bottles, with some combination of “detox”, “cleanse” or “flush” in the product name. Supplements, tea, coffee enemas all promise detoxification and the health benefits alongside it. But is it legit? I immediately think to my number 1 rule… If it seems too good to be true, it more than likely is.

The word “detox” is a medical term for removing REAL toxins from patients that have very threatening conditions. The term has been used by clever marketing companies to justify a product to treat a non-existent condition, while confusing customers into thinking they’re actually science based. Do we really build up “toxins” in our body through eating too much meat/protein/gluten/dairy/GMOs/pesticides/or too many beers on a Saturday night? If we were to believe that, we’d need to know what “toxins” these were and how they’re removed.

That’s one of the clever parts of marketing, look at almost all of these products and they will not tell you what toxins they’re removing. The language is vague, but sounds logical or plausible, but still not-specific. They will often advise you of all the illnesses and symptoms that occur from the build-up of these toxins, usually common like headaches, fatigue, insomnia, hunger etc but again, how and what toxin is not explained. Despite the range of toxins that are causing these illnesses, they will uniformly fail to link specific toxins to specific symptoms or illnesses.

The reality is that we are constantly being exposed to a huge variety of natural and synthetic chemicals (for anyone that remembers that far back, basic chemistry at school will tell you that everything is made up of a chemical, even water!). The presence of any chemical in the body does not mean that it is doing harm. Many natural substances can be incredibly toxic (even water when consumed in high enough doses). Consequently, we have evolved a remarkable system to defend against, and remove, unwanted substances. Mainly the liver and kidneys, but also the skin, lymphatic system, and our gastrointestinal system make up our a complex and sophisticated intrinsic detoxification system. Again, more often the poison is in the dosage, again water can kill you if too much is consumed as an example.

The liver and kidneys are like filters, but they self-cleanse. The liver breaks down substances which are removed from the body in bile and kidneys in urine. Marketing companies avoid this fact when claiming you need to “detox”, telling you that these toxins hang around.

Google “clinical studies of detox” and you won’t find anything. There is no credible evidence out there which suggests that detox kits or products do anything. If anyone wants to do some research and show me some, I’ll happily change my thoughts, but until then I’d stick to me original rule, if it’s too good….

So how come there are all these photos online and reviews from people claiming detoxes are the best thing since low carb diets (note - low carb diets actually suck)? There are some studies (1) that show the use of teas such as oolong and green tea leaves may increase metabolic rate and help people maintain a lower body fat rate. However “any beneficial effect would only be realised if the effect was sustained upon chronic consumption of tea and the individual did not compensate with greater food intake in response to tea consumption.”. It’s also minimal, 3% increase in this study, and would not attribute for the sorts of results these people claim. Caffeine (2) has also been shown it may lead to a small reduction in long-term weight gain, but as previously said it would not be noticeable in isolation, but may have a powerful accumulated effect when paired with an increase in energy output and good, calorie controlled diet. There are studies (3) that some of the other common ingredients, such as Senna leaves, cause diuretic and laxative effects which might contribute to explain the acute effects, such as rapid weight loss and feeling leaner. Essentially you are dehydrating the body which will make you feel less puffy, as well as weigh less on the scales. As always too, correlation abnd causation are two very different things. Just being mindful of being on a "detox" may cause you to eat better and be more conscious, which might be the real reason for improvement in condition and health. Again, causation and correlation are not the same. But all this is only short term, and will resume as soon as you go back to your usual lifestyle.

What these companies play down are the potential side effects. Because of the laxative effects of most, they’re known to cause irritation in the bowels, resulting in pain and cramping, bowel pain and in more advanced cases, bowel disorders. Extensive usage of may lead to dehydration, urinating more regularly.

Overall verdict – If it’s too good…

Most of these detox products contains stimulants which do have clinical studies suggesting possible weight loss properties, albeit very small, especailly in isolation. However, the detox aspect is unhealthy and an unproductive activity, and does not have any clinical links with weight loss.

If you want to spend your hard earned cash on a pseudo solution that doesn’t deliver, this might be for you. However, I’d advise not to be fooled by the clever marketing and stop looking for short term, magical pill solutions. The real solution is in a long term diet that is strict, but not restricted (ahem, flexible dieting for the win) and having realistic expectations. You didn’t get out of shape in 14 days, so don’t think you’ll get back into it in 14 days.

If you wnat to know how we can help you, please get in contact via email at Evolvepffit@gmail.com or via Facebook/Twitter.

Thanks

Brett

Adapt. Evolve. Become.

(1) http://jn.nutrition.org/content/131/11/2848.long - Oolong Tea Increases Metabolic Rate and Fat Oxidation in Men

(2) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/3/674.full - Changes in caffeine intake and long-term weight change in men and women

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8219947 - Chronic constipation in long stay elderly patients: a comparison of lactulose and a senna-fibre combination