Detox, a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances. But what exactly are these unhealthy toxic substances that hinder our bodies? It varies, in the modern age it could be pesticides, processed food, drugs and many more. Our bodies are yet to adjust to this phenomenon, so you need to give it a helping hand by doing a detox. BUT….and this is a big but….. I often hear people talking about detoxing to lose weight. I never really understood why someone would think just by drinking tea they would cleanse their system and lose weight, it’s weird to me but when something is marketed well, it makes sense even though it shouldn’t make sense. Look at me, I simply can’t see myself drinking any alcoholic beverage but Hennessy but really there is no difference between Hennessy or any other brand out there, you’re still going to get a buzz from a different brand but because of how its market, I’ve been CAPTURED!
Back to detoxing…. In order to understand how detoxing works in the body, we first need to understand the functions of the liver. The liver is responsible for dealing with harmful substances (alcohol, drugs, lipophilic compounds etc) that enter our body. When we consume a harmful substance, let’s say alcohol, it passes through our liver and gets broken down in 3 steps until it is converted to water and carbon dioxide, which our bodies can easily handle. From there the liver will store whatever nutrients are valuable to the body and get rid of everything else through urine. When you drink a ‘fat-loss’ tea, the same EXACT process occurs, the liver keeps whatever nutrients are useful from the tea and gets rid of everything else. There is no magical reaction where the compounds in the tea end up burning unwanted fat/toxins.
But what about the people that have lost weight? I would argue and say it’s because they’re not eating as much because they’ve replaced their meals with tea. At best, these individuals will shed a kilo here and there, but the risk is one can end up starving themselves leading to nutrient deprivation.
The best way to cleanse your system is to understand what your body likes and what it does not like and that comes through watching your diet and introducing certain foods while eliminating other foods that do not benefit you.
Now I’m not saying that detoxes/cleanses do not work, they date back hundreds of years so they must work. But the wellness industry has used the word ‘detox’ to somehow convince people that just by consuming their products, they will cleanse their system and get rid of all the bad toxins, I say BS. The one thing I can confidently say is, it will empty your wallet. Take the time to learn about your body, eat clean, stay hydrated and get some sleep. That is the best cleanse.
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