This usually means following a certain diet or using special products that help rid your body of toxins, thereby improving your health and helping you lose weight.
Your body is well-equipped to eliminate toxins, and it doesn’t require a special diet or expensive supplements to do so.
By doing so, you can improve your body’s natural detoxification system.
This article explains common misconceptions about detoxification and lists nine evidence-based ways to restore your body’s detoxification system.
Common misconceptions about detoxification
Detox diets are believed to flush toxins from your body, improve health, and help you lose weight.
They often consume laxatives and diuretics, vitamins and minerals, teas, and other foods believed to have detoxifying properties.
In the context of a detox diet, the term “toxin” is clearly defined. These include pollutants, synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, and processed foods that can harm your health.
However, popular detox diets rarely identify the specific toxins they aim to eliminate or the mechanisms by which they are eliminated.
Moreover, there is no evidence to support these diets for detoxification or sustainable weight loss ( 1 , 2 Trusted Source ).
Your body has sophisticated ways to eliminate toxins, including your liver, kidneys, digestive system, skin, and lungs.
However, these organs can only effectively remove unwanted substances when they are healthy.
So while a detox diet doesn’t do anything your body can’t do naturally, you can optimize your body’s natural detoxification system.
- Limit alcohol
Your liver metabolizes more than 90 percent of the alcohol you consume ( 3Trusted Source ).
Liver enzymes convert alcohol into acetaldehyde, a carcinogen ( 4Trusted Source , 5Trusted Source ).
Acetaldehyde is recognized as a toxin, and the liver converts it to a non-toxic substance called acetate and removes it from the body ( 3Trusted Source ).
Although observational studies show that moderate to moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial for heart health, excessive drinking can lead to many health problems ( 6Trusted Source , 7Trusted Source , 8Trusted Source ).
Drinking too much can seriously damage the liver by causing fatty deposits, inflammation, and scarring ( 9Trusted Source ).
When this happens, your liver can’t function properly and can’t perform its necessary tasks, such as filtering waste and other toxins from your body.
Limiting or avoiding alcohol is one of the best ways to keep your body’s detoxification system running strong.
Health authorities recommend one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. If you don’t currently drink alcohol, you may not be concerned about the heart benefits associated with light to moderate drinking (102. Pay attention to your sleep).
Getting enough quality sleep each night is essential to support your body’s health and natural detoxification system.
In addition to reorganizing and recharging your brain, sleep allows you to flush out toxins that have built up throughout the day ( 11 , 12Trusted Source ).
One of these waste products is a protein called beta-amyloid, which contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease (13, 14).
When you’re sleep-deprived, your body doesn’t have time to perform these functions, causing toxins to build up and contribute to a number of health problems ( 15Trusted Source ).
Poor sleep is linked to short- and long-term health consequences, including stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity ( 16Trusted Source , 17Trusted Source ).
For optimal health, you need to get 7-9 hours of regular sleep a night ( 18 Trusted Source ).
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, lifestyle changes like keeping a bedtime routine and limiting blue light before bed can help improve sleep (19).
