Detox diets to kick-start the New Year are a 'total waste of money' say experts

By Beth Hale for the Daily Mail and Fiona Macrae for the Daily Mail
Updated:

Left to its own devices, the body is capable of getting rid of most toxins it takes in, say scientists

Left to its own devices, the body is capable of getting rid of most toxins it takes in, say scientists

Detox diets being used by tens of thousands to kick-start their new year are a waste of money, according to scientists.

It is reckoned that almost three-quarters of the population resolved to begin 2009 with some kind of diet, and many of those will have chosen a detox plan.

Others are using myriad health and beauty products with a detox label. But experts who collaborated for a study warn that in many cases consumers are being misled into believing they actually work.

Marketing men have ensured that 'detox' is applied to products as diverse as body brushes, facial washes and smoothies.

The scientists, however, say the term detox has no meaning outside the treatment for drug addiction or poisoning and the body is capable of looking after itself.

Anyone wanting to counter the effects of festive over-indulgence would be better off relying on a few age-old remedies - easing off the alcohol, eating sensibly, exercising and getting a good night's sleep.

Left to its own devices the skin, kidneys, liver and lymphatic system combine to make the body capable of getting rid of most toxins it takes in.

Sir Colin Berry, a professor of pathology at Queen Mary, University of London, said: 'It's easy to detox: just let your body use the great systems it has evolved over thousands of years to get rid of whatever is harming you.'

A panel of biologists, chemists and physicists from Voice of Young Science - an organisation representing young scientists - investigated products marketed using the word detox.

They found that not only did no two companies use the same definition of the word, manufacturers using the term to promote everything from foot patches to shampoo were unable to provide reliable evidence or consistent explanations of what the detox process means.

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In some cases firms were simply adding the label to items long-used for cleaning without the tag.

Products under the microscope included Boots Detox 5 Day Plan, which contains fruit- flavoured drinks and tablets said to 'leave you feeling revitalised' along with a simple £4.40 body brush, labelled a 'Detox Body Brush'.

Report author Harriet Ball, a biologist, said: 'Detox is marketed as the idea that modern living fills us with invisible nasties our bodies can't cope with unless we buy the latest jargon-filled remedy. Our investigation has convinced us there is little or no proof these products work.'

Charity Sense About Science, which published the report, is launching a Debunking Detox leaflet to help consumers.


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