Detoxifying shakes, potions, and pills…oh my!

Are our colons and cells seriously all clogged up with years’ worth of disgusting, toxic gunk, and sludge that need to be cleared out so our metabolism can function properly again?

Well…almost all of the well known weight loss companies are peddling slightly different versions of the same detoxifying products, so it must be true…

Have companies like Isagenix (or Herbalife, or Beachbody, or Herbal Magic, or Dr. Berstein, or…the list goes on) finally discovered the life changing product we’ve all been waiting for OR is this whole “detox” thing just the latest fad in a long line of weight loss industry money makers?

Well, let’s start…what the heck is a detox diet and how does it work?

The majority of companies selling the detox philosophy claim to have natural health products that help users lose weight and increase health by detoxifying their bodies. You can read it for yourself here.

Okay now…STOP right there…

Because we’re already at the part where we should all start raising our eyebrows and think long and hard about what we’re being asked to believe.

While I’m sure we can all agree it would be amazing if you could actually lose weight by ‘detoxifying the body’ periodically, in reality this trendy new weight loss method might not carry much weight.

Because…there’s never actually been a single product in the consumer market that has had the ability to detoxify any material from the body beyond what our organs are already doing naturally.

Unless you have an underlying issue with one of your major organs, like the kidney or liver, our bodies are naturally efficient at detoxifying on their own. The Science Based Medicine site talks about this issue a lot.

So, we’re super sorry to be the bearers of bad news but, essentially, the “detox” scam is a marketing strategy designed to take your hard earned money to treat a completely non-existent condition.

This Live Science article actually says that just increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and replacing sweetened beverages with water will go much further in improving your health than any ‘cleanse’ ever will.

So, if the detox products on the market don’t actually remove toxins from the body, do people lose weight taking them?

Well, yes but the first thing that should be noted is that people don’t lose that much weight on these detox programs. Isagenix did a large study, which, by the way, they had to PAY to get published and the average weight loss was 9 lbs over 4 weeks, which is good, but not unique (for example, the control group in the Isagenix study lost almost as much weight as the test group).

The fact is that the same amount of weight loss is common on any and all simple calorie controlled diets…

Now, come on Hybrid, what’s your problem, you might be thinking? You just admitted people can lose weight taking these detox products…

The real issue is that you’re wasting your money (on lies). Plain and simple.

Not to mention that starving yourself and ingesting fake, mystery concoctions is neither good for you or effective long-term.

You’re being told you’re buying a ‘secret weapon’ that helps ‘boost your weight loss potential,’ but in reality you’re losing weight not because of the potent effects of all of the ‘magical’ product ingredients, but simply because you are eating way less calories! 

Don’t believe me? Check out this example example of the 30-day weight loss plan used in the Isagenix study and tell me what you see

That’s right, there are two alternating days:

• Shake days during which you eat only one meal and then some low calorie meal replacements, and
• Cleanse days during which you eat ZERO meals and some of Isagenix’s ‘cleanse’ products.

Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that eating one meal every two days is probably going to lead to weight loss…

So, let’s think logically for a minute here…

What is more likely better for our overall health?

• Eating real food, but just taking in a little bit less, being conscious of the amount of calories you take in each day, or
• Paying a pretty penny to follow a totally unsustainable supplement-based diet in which you eat one meal every two days while replacing most of your caloric intake with pre-packaged shakes and snacks of unknown contents?

We’ll let you answer that for yourselves…

And, isn’t it a bit of a contradiction to push a processed supplement as a detox aid?

Even worse, check out this story of a dietician who ended up in the ER after only a 3 day juice cleanse.

To add insult to injury, if fitness coaches who sell detox products rely on you to starve yourself on these shakes, pills and potions so they can make additional money, doesn’t this fuel the potential for corrupt coaching?

We know, many of these coaches have a positive outlook and good intentions to help others, they may just not have an understanding of the science (or lack thereof) behind detox products. But others of them may just be straight up snake oil salespeople.

So, do we at Hybrid think you need detox potions for weight loss?

Well, if you are looking to lose weight, and you are willing to pay any amount of money, and if you know deep down that the only way you will succeed is to follow an extreme regimen of food protocols that are purchased and then placed in your cupboard, then by all means, give a detox diet a try.

Sure, you probably will lose weight (you’ll probably also gain it back…)

But, be aware, it’s not because your body needed help detoxifying or cleansing anything.

It’s because you barely ate for a month.

However, if you would rather save some of your money and try something more sustainable and proven, simply be more conscious of the foods you eat and your general daily caloric intake.

Our suggestion…take some of your hard earned money and head to the grocery store or local market to pick up some nutritious and healthy foods that nourish your body, rather than starve it.

To your Health,

The Hybrid 360 Team

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