Why You Should Do a Detox (+ 3 Benefits of Detoxing)

It's January, which means you're going to be hearing all about fad diets. But there's one thing you need to know about first: the benefits of detoxing!

You see, if you don't rid your body of fat-storing toxins, your scale simply won't budge—no matter what you do. And who wants to put in all that effort and hard work with nothing to show for it?

What if you could spend just a few days and reap the benefits of detoxing before starting a new dietary regimen, knowing it would set you up to see amazing results long term?

Sounds pretty good, right? Keep reading to learn why you should consider doing a detox and how you can start today!

 

Why You Should Do a Detox

Believe it or not, a detox isn’t just a jumpstart for weight loss. There’s actually a lot more that happens behind the scenes when you do a detox.

When you eat detoxifying foods, you’re not only flushing toxins out of your body. By engaging in a short detox, you’re giving your body the break it needs, so that it can actually respond to your continued dietary efforts. But how?

Well, first, we need to take a look at your liver. It has many responsibilities in your body—from cleaning harmful substances from your blood and routing clean blood to other organs for use to aiding in the removal of immune threats to your body, such as viruses or bacteria.

Additionally, it produces bile to help facilitate digestion. When it comes to your bodily processes, there’s actually not much that doesn’t involve your liver.

Now, your liver actually is one of five organs that assist in eliminating toxins from your body. The other four are your skin, lungs, kidneys, and colon. But your liver is uniquely responsible for determining if a substance is harmful. If it is, in fact, deemed harmful, your liver will begin to facilitate its removal via these other four organs.

So, a large part of doing a detox is with the purpose of detoxifying your liver. And when you think about doing a liver detox, you may imagine that you’re simply ridding your liver (and your body) of harmful environmental substances such as drugs, food colorings, preservatives, alcohols, air pollution, and more.

While this is partially true, your liver is also responsible for dealing with the toxins created within your body, such as excess hormones and dead red blood cells.

Your liver will always prioritize tasks with immediate risk. In order to be able to produce energy (and burn fat), your body must first clear itself of potentially harmful substances.

So, if your liver is bogged down with toxins, there’s no way it can create more energy to help you burn off fat and lose weight. See how it’s all connected? (Click here for a great analogy that explains how the liver impacts many other functions in your body.)

Detoxing your liver can actually help to rid your liver of the toxins it stores. And, as a result, your liver is able to work more effectively and support your overall health.

 

Benefits of detoxing - Dr. Pingel

 

How Does a Detox Work?

At this point, you’re probably wondering how a detox works. Fortunately, it’s pretty simple.

By eating foods that give your liver a much-needed break, it’s able to finish filtering out all of those toxins that have been stored. Think of it this way: By eating foods that are naturally easy on your liver, it’s able to focus on the back-up of toxins it wasn’t able to get around to before.

Also, by drinking plenty of water, which is very important when doing a detox, you’re actually flushing toxins from your liver and out of your body through your kidneys.

Click here to learn more about which foods are best for detoxifying your liver.

Now that you know why you should detox and how it works, let’s take a look at the top benefits of detoxing.

3 Benefits of Detoxing

Here are the top three benefits of detoxing.

1. Reduces stubborn belly fat

As we age, we tend to accumulate a little extra fat around our midsection—and it can almost seem immovable. Luckily, one of the major benefits of detoxing is to help rid your body of this stubborn belly fat.

According to a 2017 review, researchers found that toxins actually accumulate in adipose tissue, or connective tissue known to contain large globules of fat, such as stubborn belly fat. [1] But why?

Well, many of the toxins we encounter are fat soluble, meaning you can’t simply eliminate them from your body via your urine output. And if your liver is bogged down and overworked, as we discussed above, it simply can’t start the process of breaking down those toxins.

So, your body stores these toxins in your fat tissue, intending to remove them at a later time. Why? Well, your liver will focus on the immediate needs, which include protecting your organs and blood from the more immediate toxin impacts.

As a result, those toxins end up getting stored long term inside your fat cells, particularly when your body is under stress. This results in inflammation.

By doing a detox, you’re unburdening your liver, freeing it to finally begin working on those toxins inside your belly fat. And when you couple that with exercise, which helps to break down the fat, you can say goodbye to that troublesome area!

2. Supports healthy weight management

You’ve likely heard the saying, “All roads lead to Rome, right?” Well, I have a new saying for you: “All detox efforts lead to weight loss!” That’s right—by ridding your body of the toxins stored in your fat cells, you’re naturally going to shed some weight.

When it comes to the benefits of detoxing, weight loss is usually one of the most attractive. And with good reason—the results are usually pretty phenomenal. And that’s because when you do a detox, you’re cutting out processed foods.

The result? You’re creating less inflammation in your body. And when this inflammation is reduced, you experience less water retention, which results in weight loss. Once you have less inflammation, which can take some time, your dietary efforts can pay off in the form of permanent weight loss.

Another way that a detox benefits your weight is that it’s naturally lower in calories, which has been proven to support weight loss.

According to a 2017 study, obese participants followed a low-calorie diet full of healthy foods for 12 weeks and also incorporated regular exercise. At the end of the 12-week period, they had lost up to 11.1 percent of their body weight. [2]

Moreover, the participants had also reduced their overall body fat by an astonishing 16.8 percent. They’d also increased their relative lean mass by an average of 3.8 percent and improved their mobility.

The researchers concluded that while a very low-calorie diet offers major weight loss benefits for people with obesity, they also noted that prioritizing nutritional status is “of particular benefit.”

3. Prevents or reduces abdominal bloating

Because your liver is part of your digestive system, when it’s bogged down with toxins, your digestion slows. And when your food sits in your digestive system too long, it can cause symptoms such as abdominal bloating and even constipation.

As a result, one of the big benefits of detoxing is that it often helps to reduce or prevent abdominal bloating.

Remember, when your body is collecting toxins from the environment and processed foods, especially in the presence of stress, it results in inflammation and water retention. This can present as a bloated belly that gets even more bloated throughout the day.

Additionally, you’ll often notice sluggish bowels, thinning and/or weak hair and nails, and depressed mood as well.

Your liver is part of your metabolic activity, and when it’s too busy to “empty the garbage” (your toxins) every day, this results in unwanted symptoms.

One of the most drastic results you’ll notice by doing a seven-day detox is the loss of excessive bloat and improved bowel regulation. Another bonus? In addition to losing the belly bloat, you’ll also notice  brighter skin and better nutrient absorption!

Get Started Today!

Don't know where or how to start? Check out my article on liver detoxing and then head on over to get my incredible seven-day detox. It walks you through exactly what to do and when—taking out all the guesswork. Don't wait one more day to take control of your health.

 

Key Takeaways