Detox – healthy answer or myth?

There was an interesting article recently in one of the national papers suggesting that detox is a myth, as there is no scientific evidence of the toxins within the body or that the organs are damaged by them. The article was, in particular, questioning the benefits of detox products which are growing in number and perhaps especially in the New Year.

According to the article, while we all love the idea of being squeaky clean, there is (at present?) no scientific proof that this can actually physically happen.

On the other side of course are the many thousands of personal stories from people who have cleaned up their diet and lifestyle and changed their health often including cleanses and detox programmes and products.

Natural answers
At Harvest we think this is a beautiful example of how natural health gets confusing.

Is a detox really about some exotic ingredient recipe that with a magic wand can undo the last six days/weeks/months/years/decades of fast living with a wave of its wand and five days later there is a new you?

We can look at detox as another word for bringing balance (homeostasis) back to our body. This may mean after the holiday period we stop or take a break from foods and drinks that leave us out of balance i.e. hangovers, skin eruptions, weight gain, not sleeping and low energy. This might include reducing common holiday indulgences of binge alcohol drinking to eating half a box of chocolates in a day! Simply stopping them could be termed a detox and after five days we could feel much better.

Food for thought
Of course what we put in our body is as important as what we leave out. Very few people think of food in terms of fuel and how it makes our body function; it tends to be more about what we enjoy to eat in the moment. Our advice is to combine the two!

Science tends to look at each of us as the same working machine blueprint and looking at the averages for evidence. But actually those small but crucial differences, making each of us unique, are worth finding out when it comes to natural health. Armed with this knowledge you can then choose the correct foods (fuel) for your body. The internet is now home to thousands of food bloggers who freely or through inspiring books share their own recipes for making foods (fuel) taste good at every meal. Harvest magazine is delighted to share some of these inspirational recipes and resources with you; in issue two we have delicious winter soup recipes and some tasty uses for current superfood king – kale.

Detox is also about improving the elimination channels of the body. Again scientific evidence may not show that actual material toxins build up but speak to anyone who is constipated and they are not feeling great inside. Dehydration (lack of fluids) is often the oh so simple answer to many common health symptoms and is part of the elimination process of the kidneys. The body has several important in-built elimination channels for a reason and it makes logical sense to ensure these are working well. There are many natural products that encourage elimination often under the general term of 'detox'.

Lastly natural healing looks at the whole person. How you move, think, feel and what makes your heart sing. A detox should include reducing stress, resting, moving and working in balance and creating more joy in your heart and life.

New year, new you
So, as we start another new year perhaps consider what improvements we want to make to our physical and mental wellbeing. Here at Harvest we refer to these as ‘upgrades’ rather than a detox. Our approach is to upgrade the support and nourishment we give to ourselves on every level. You may include and explore detox products always looking for signs of change and improvement. Or you may wish to simply create new lifestyle changes that you explore such as including a new food.

Just like the changing seasons we find that our health is constantly changing in response to life and so with our upgrades we don’t follow any hard and fast rules; we simply assess where we are right now and what we can improve.

So what do you think – do you use and benefit from detox products? Or do you agree with the scientists and suspect it is all hype?