Detox - Do you need one?

With so much talk about detoxifying one's body lately, I could not help but seek proffessional advice on it. Thus, I wrote in to health promotion board's nutrition department. Here's the answer thay gave me.

Dear Emmanuelle Tok

There are many diets that promotes cleansing and detoxification in the market. Usually, it will include one or few product from a particular company. The truth is human body has its own natural mechanism of detoxification. Your kidney and liver do the job of cleansing and detoxifying. Only if any of these organs fail to function, you may face the possibility of having toxin accumulated in your body. So, you don’t need a detoxification diet to cleanse your system.

In fact, if you are taking enough fruits and vegetables, you don’t have to take the recommended supplement as it only gives you fiber which you easily obtain from your daily fruit and vegetables consumption.

Regarding your question if the body absorbs the food when it’s empty, Your body actually absorbs food all the time, not only when it’s empty. It is a myth.

Your body needs a balanced and varied diet to ensure that you have all the nutrients in sufficient amount. When you fast two weeks with only fruit juices, you are not getting enough nutrients from the other food groups like rice/meat and alternatives. Apart from that, going on a very low calorie diet like this can also cause your metabolism to slow down, making it harder for you to lose weight or maintain your weight in the future.

Regards,
Nutritionist,
Health Promotion Board

Thought I'd share it with all who are interested. We only have one body to last us a lifetime, so let's take care of it. Cheers!