What You're Getting Wrong About Detoxing & How To Do It Safely

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When you hear the word “detox,” do you immediately think of celebrities and influencers trying to sell multiday cleanses on social media? If so, it sounds like “detoxification” has become synonymous with fad diets and scams in your mind—and who could blame you, given the multitude of diet-culture-fueled campaigns constantly blasted at you from all directions?

We suggest you clear those social media campaigns from your head and get ready for a massive paradigm shift because true detoxification is a daily physiological process that is 100% natural, intrinsic to our body’s core, and necessary for optimal whole-body health—and we’re going to explain why it’s so vital right here, right now.

The body relies on multiple organs and complex cellular pathways to remove toxins in a natural process called metabolic detoxification. This process is complex and happens all day, every day—whether you realize it or not. 

We have a number of organs (e.g., liver, kidneys, skin) and physiological systems (e.g., respiratory, lymphatic, digestive) that work constantly to flush out toxins and byproducts of the body’s everyday processes. 

Whether these detoxification pathways are more obvious to us—like daily trips to the bathroom to excrete toxins via urine and poop—or occur without much of our attention (e.g., sweating and expiration, aka exhaling carbon dioxide and other toxic gases), they serve a common goal: balancing, cleaning up, and/or casting out unwanted compounds from the body. 

That said, like any facet of health, there are many factors that support (or hinder) the detoxification pathways as they clear out what isn’t needed in the body.

“Our environment is becoming increasingly toxic, and the linkage between environmental toxins and various health concerns continues to expand,” explains Lise Alschuler, N.D., FABNO, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Arizona. “This suggests that ensuring adequate detoxification is important.”

While the body’s built-in systems are designed to promote everyday filtering and removal of toxins, the true challenge is creating daily habits that support these intrinsic detoxification pathways. 

Alschuler notes that detoxification occurs on many levels throughout the body at all times, so fostering healthy detoxification requires a holistic, multifaceted approach. 

“One component is to ensure the proper elimination of waste by supporting bowel regularity by doing activities to generate sweat and remaining hydrated to support urination,” she says. 

In fact, many of the healthy habits we know to support other areas of our well-being—such as exercising, drinking water, and getting good sleep—also promote optimal detoxification. 

Unsurprisingly, nutrition plays a big role in promoting organ and system function for proper detoxification. Alschuler explains that the liver, for example, is considered one of the most important organs of detoxification and that “detoxification pathways in liver cells require adequate vitamins, minerals, as well as natural antioxidant compounds found in plants.”* 

Detoxification pathways are not only important to buffer us against environmental factors, toxins, and stressors but also help us achieve homeostatic antioxidant-versus-oxidant balance (aka redox balance) in the body on a daily basis.

Whether consumed through antioxidant-rich foods or targeted supplements (like mbg’s daily detox+, which features master antioxidant glutathione and synergistic nutrient, botanical, and bioactive ingredients), nourishing our bodies with antioxidants each day helps neutralize free radicals to combat oxidative stress—ultimately promoting positive whole-body benefits.* 

Vital detox pathways are actively working 24/7 to eliminate toxins, so “every-once-and-a-while” cleanses simply don’t make sense when you could support your body’s detoxification process on a daily basis. 

mindbodygreen’s targeted, premium daily detox+ formula features a curated entourage of bioactives (i.e., glutathione, milk thistle, NAC, selenium, and acerola-fruit-derived vitamin C) to promote 360-degree support of whole-body detoxification pathways.*

Detoxification is an all-day, everyday process—not a “sometimes” thing, and your body deserves the support it needs when it needs it.