Life nowadays can be incredibly stressful. Family demands, work pressure, financial worries and more are often daily realities.
Add toxic food choices, exposure to chemical-laden household and cosmetic products, and environmental toxins, and your body is very likely struggling to function as it should.
A good detox program can help you reset. It paves the way for lifelong healthy changes to help you better handle these stressors.
Below we’ve listed the pros and cons of several common detox methods. We’ll also explain what goes into designing smart and effective nutrition and lifestyle programs.
Why is a Whole-Body Detox Program Important?
When it comes to detox and nutritional programs, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Your unique biochemistry, lifestyle, stress and energetics call for specific detoxing methods.
Unfortunately, many popular nutritional weight and wellness programs cause more harm than good for most people. Juice cleanses, fasts and detox or fad diets that entail heavily processed foods and nutritional supplements online deprive your body of essential nutrients that are critical for supporting detoxification pathways.
On the flip side, a well-designed, comprehensive and science-based detox and personalized nutrition plan can help you to naturally rid the body of toxins and set the stage for a whole body reset.
You might consider pressing the reset button with a whole-body detoxification program if you struggle with the following:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Weight gain or an inability to lose weight
- Increased cravings
- Bloating, gas, and other digestive symptoms
- Poor sleep
- Problems concentrating
- Hormone imbalances
- Bad breath
- Joint or muscle pain
- Skin problems
It’s important to understand the pros and cons of different detoxing and personalized nutrition and health strategies in order to understand which ones are right for you, and which likely aren’t appropriate.
Phase II FocusedÂ
You might recall from this article that phase I detoxification includes transforming the structure of toxins to help get them ready to leave your body. Phase II is where they are excreted out of the body.
While phase I is a natural and necessary process, it produces free radicals, which can wreak havoc on the body.
If you focus on stimulating phase I pathways without enough attention on phase II, you end up with a dangerous combination of too many free radicals and no way to neutralize them. Therefore, a detox plan that is heavily focused on phase II detox is necessary.
Essentially, if phase II is slower than phase I, you end up with highly reactive substances that are even more harmful to the body than the original toxins, and no way to move them out.
A balance of support for all detoxification phases is essential. While particular focus on phase II is imperative, we recommend that you think twice about any detox program or method that does not take this into account.
Pros
- Helps clear out free radicals in the body produced during phase IÂ
Cons
- Not a balanced program as it places emphasis on one detox phase more than the other
Glutathione
Glutathione is often called the master antioxidant. All good detox methods should include foods and nutrients that boost its natural production.
Both detox phases I and II depend on glutathione to carry out various functions. When the body is over-exposed to toxins, glutathione can be exhausted in phase I, leaving phase II without adequate supply.
Again, this can create a scenario where phase IÂ becomes overactive while phase II becomes sluggish, leading to high levels of free radicals and oxidative stress.
Pros
- Provides the body with a high-quality antioxidant to eliminate toxins
Cons
- May lead to an overproduction of free radicals in the body and an imbalance between the two detox phases
Chelation Therapy for Heavy Metals
Some people use chelation therapy to remove excessive build-up of metals like mercury, aluminum, arsenic and lead, among others. This therapy is very powerful, and without proper preparation and guidance, you can become extremely ill.
Chelators form bonds with heavy metals and escort them out of the body, or you might use an adsorbent supplement, like activated charcoal.
Gentle support for natural heavy metal detox with chelating foods is a safer method that most people can do on their own. It includes eating foods such as spirulina, chlorella, sea vegetables like dulse, cilantro, and fermented foods, like raw sauerkraut.
Pros
- Provides a forceful detox of very dangerous heavy metals
ConsÂ
- Must be done under the supervision of a healthcare provider
Ketosis for Weight Loss and Detox
One particular trend that has become extremely popular for both weight loss and detox is the ketogenic diet.
While this very high fat/ low-carb diet model has been well-studied for its use in treatment of childhood epilepsy and might be promising down the road for cancer and neurodegenerative conditions, no studies have looked at ketosis’s ability to reduce toxins.
Some people find success with using a ketogenic diet for weight loss, but studies are also lacking around this diet’s long-term health consequences.
Particularly for women, such high fat/ low-carb diet model have the potential to over-stress the body and lead to hormonal imbalances.
Proceed with caution if you’re considering keto. Using it as a short-term catalyst for weight loss instead of a long-term plan is best.
Pros
- Has been proven to assist with weight loss
Cons
- Has not been shown to remove toxins
Juice Cleansing
Raw fruits and vegetables contain certain nutrients and compounds that are lost in the cooking process, such as glutathione.
For those who realistically aren’t going to eat many whole fruits and vegetables, juicing is an alternative that is certainly better than skipping out on these foods altogether.
However, juicing comes with some serious cause for concern. First, even juices that are freshly pressed are high in sugar, which can be toxic to the body.
Especially for those with diabetes, a poor microbiome, candida, metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance, juicing is counterproductive.
Juicing a lot of raw vegetables can also potentially be problematic for the thyroid. Many green veggies contain goitrogens, which are substances that interfere with thyroid function.
Eating fruits and vegetables in their whole form is superior to juicing, assuming you have no major digestive issues.
Multiple studies have shown that in order to reap the full benefit of plant foods, it is best to eat the fiber content.
And it’s not just fiber found in the solid matter; there are also antioxidants bound to the fiber that are also lost in the juicing process.
Pros
- Provides antioxidants from fruits and vegetables that can help remove toxins
Cons
- Contains large amounts of sugar and may be problematic for thyroid health
Fasting
Water fasting is a form of detox that has been used throughout history for religious, spiritual and health purposes. Weight loss programs such as these can be dangerous.
While extended water fasting lasting beyond one day can provide benefits, it becomes very tricky and potentially dangerous in our fast-paced modern society.
Forcing your body to continually work while depriving it of nutrients can be very harmful. Women tend to be more vulnerable to this type of stress and its resulting health consequences.
If you are interested in using fasting for detox, it’s best to work with a functional medicine provider or naturopathic doctor.
Pros
- Can provide weight loss benefits if done for more than one day
Cons
- Can be a very dangerous way to detox, especially for women
SOLFUEL Clear Cleansing System
At Solaris Whole Health, we strongly value working with our clients to work smarter, not harder. This same rule applies to detox, as a fundamental part of any detox plan is how feasible it fits in your daily routines.
Specializing in chronic stress, we understand that life is hectic enough, and undergoing a detox shouldn’t be another source of stress.
While detoxing with a whole foods diet and smart dietary nutritional supplements is certainly possible, many people find that the time it takes to prepare such a specific combination of foods is unrealistic.
The SOLFUEL Clear Cleansing System®  was our response to this dilemma, and is a ready-made nutritional program designed to provide effective detoxification. This detox plan was created with the understanding that food is information for the body.
The functional food powder is a specific combination of macro and micronutrients that boost detoxification without sacrificing muscle mass. It is paired with a phase II support-specific dietary supplements and an enzyme for optimal protein digestion.
Pros
- Includes everything you need for a nutritionally complete 14-day detox in ready-made packets and capsules
- Includes enzymes, vitamins, and minerals from whole foods to stimulate phase II detoxification
- Combines all great detox methods into one on-the-go program
Cons
- You won’t want to return to your old habits!
Conclusion
A detox can help reset your mind, body, and spirit. However, it can be hard to find the best program for you.
Whatever detox method you choose, be open to the possibility that finding the right detox method for you might be a process of trial and error.
Our bodies require different strategies to thrive, and the process of getting to know your body and tuning into its cues will benefit you for a lifetime.
For more information about our SOLFUEL Clear Cleansing System® , click here!