In this video, certified health coach Victoria S. Dorsano critiques the booming detox and cleanse industry, explaining why commercial detox programs are ineffective and potentially dangerous. She outlines how most detoxes rely on diuretic or laxative effects that merely cause water loss or increased bowel movements, leading to electrolyte imbalances, disrupted gut flora, and even kidney or liver damage—especially when high‑oxalate juices are consumed in large quantities. Dorsano then traces the cultural appeal of detoxes to historical religious fasting practices, noting how modern wellness marketing co‑opts moral and spiritual language to create a sense of moral superiority around “purity.” She argues that there is no scientific evidence supporting detox diets and that the body’s natural detox organs (liver, kidneys, colon) already perform these functions without external flushing. The recommended “best detox diet” is simply a balanced, varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains, combined with basic healthy‑lifestyle habits: adequate hydration, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, and avoidance of excessive alcohol and smoking. She also warns against unregulated supplement products. The video concludes with a call to respect the body’s innate detox capacity and to focus on sustainable, evidence‑based health practices.
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Hello? Hello? Oh yes, hello. Oh, okay. Uh, today I wanted to share with you guys some of the best detox diets out there, like scientifically speaking, that is.
Hey guys, Victoria S. Dorsano here. And for those of you that don't know me, I'm a certified health coach with an evidence-based approach so you don't have to fall for those pesky influencer-fueled fad diets and BS on the internet. So today I want to talk to you guys about the best detox diet out there, and no, it's not the Master Cleanse. But before I get into that, if you guys could take a quick second and hit that like button down below, I'd super appreciate it. Don't worry, I'll wait. Okay, cool. Let's dive in. So traditionally speaking, I cannot stand, cannot stand, cleanses or detoxes, and not because they just absolutely suck the life out of you while you feel like absolute garbage while doing them, but because 99.9% of them are just completely based in this wellness culture, morality-based, influencer-fueled BS, and I can't stand that. Not to mention they can be pretty darn expensive for those kind of cold-pressed, organic, non-GMO juice cleansing things, and that just creates this whole socioeconomic issue around who can even afford to do these things in the first place. Okay, but if you've fallen for one of these types of cleanses or detoxes, I totally get it. The marketing on these campaigns is just insanely good, and they offer promising results that will help you feel more energized, less foggy-headed, lighter, and with glowing bright skin, and will help you drop those last few pesky pounds. Who doesn't want that, right? So these cleanses just basically make it sound like they will flush out all this gunk in our system and leave us back to our pure and untainted state. And most people, they believe this because they don't have the traditional scientific knowledge or background on how our detoxing organs actually work, like the liver, kidneys, and colon. But let me tell you guys, our livers do not need flushing, nor do our kidneys or colons. They themselves are our detoxing organs, and we don't want to be throwing a bunch of weird unregulated herbs and strange concentrations of just pure green juice at them. The body is naturally designed to be able to clear these waste materials such as toxins, chemicals, and old hormones in order to prevent an accumulation of potentially toxic and harmful byproducts building up in our systems. So what most of these detoxes do is they either force your body to lose water, aka they have a diuretic effect, so it seems like you might be magically losing a few pounds during the cleanse, but it's actually water, or they irritate the bowel so much that you end up having this laxative effect and increase your trips to the bathroom, which doesn't necessarily mean that you're removing waste from the body any more effectively than before. You're just sitting on the toilet more times during the day, really. Both these situations can lead to some very serious consequences, like throwing off your electrolytes or disrupting your intestinal flora and bowel function. And some detox supplements and cleanses can even go as far as actually doing damage to your actual kidneys and liver. For example, some juices in those cut-off juice cleanses contain some concentrations of beets and spinach that have a lot of something called oxalates, which is a naturally occurring substance in those foods. But drinking large quantities of high oxalate juice can actually increase the potential risk for kidney problems. So that's actually the opposite of what you're trying to do in the first place. Okay, so that's my first major beef with the whole detox and cleansing world. Put simply, they just don't work, and you spend a bunch of money on something that could actually really do more damage than good to your body. So my second beef with the whole detox and cleansing thing is actually an issue I have with wellness culture as a whole. When you dive deeper into the whole reason why these detoxes and cleanses are so catchy and why so many people feel compelled to to do them, you start to understand that the marketing around them actually has some deep religious roots. Okay, wait, I know, hear me out. I know you probably think that's crazy, but there's a lot of evidence to back this up. There's actually people that have done their entire PhD thesis papers on this topic, believe it or not. Harvey Cox, a professor of divinity at Harvard University, says, quote, "There's a straight line from detox diets to classical religious fasting," end quote. And he goes on to say that detox diets like religious fasting promote this ideology of starting a clean slate and setting yourself on this higher moral ground. For a long time, medicine and religion were deeply intertwined. Powerful religious institutions like the Vatican funded hospitals. Illness was viewed as a sign of sin or evil. Therefore, if you were sick, you were considered unclean, tainted in the soul, and in need of cleansing. This played into the whole humoral theory of health created and practiced by Hippocrates. For centuries, physicians believed that there are 4 humors in the body. That's phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile. Ugh. And when someone was sick, it was because one of these 4 humors was out of balance, usually due to punishment from the gods. This then draws the line again between disease as a punishment and a clean, healthy, and pure body as a means of reparation to the divine powers. So yeah. We've 100% disproven that theory of medicine like hundreds of years ago, but yet wellness culture snuck back in and saw a misunderstanding in the way that people comprehend the body and put some fancy marketing promising every health benefit under the sun and then infiltrated their campaigns with these religious connotations that ascribe morality to your health. That's why detoxes and cleanses are so popular now. Not because they work or because that they're based in any science whatsoever, but because they make people feel like they're standing on this moral higher ground and that they're cleaner and more pure. So with all that, have I made my point clear? Unless you are a drug or alcohol addict and are in need of a medical detox, which is completely different than the detoxes we're talking about today, don't do them. There's no evidence showing that they have ever worked. Nor will they ever. Anything you do to try to adjust your natural system in that kind of way is most likely not good. So what can you do? What's the best detox diet out there? Really, the best detox diet is just getting a balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables and variety and different types of proteins and grains, etc. This is one of the best ways you can really continuously support your detoxing organs like your kidneys, liver, and colon. Some other things you can do to support your detoxing organs that is really just like the basic healthy lifestyle things like avoiding smoking or drinking too much alcohol, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, and drinking water when you're thirsty. And no, it doesn't have to have tons of lemon juice squeezed into it. And just please be careful of what supplements you try as there's so many unregulated ones on the market and they can really contain harmful ingredients. And remember, your body is not dirty or impure or unclean. Your body is amazing, and it's working for you each and every day to keep you clear of harmful chemicals and toxins. So trying to insult your body by trying to throw in oodles of celery juice down there, just, it's not helping. I hope this helped clarify a few things for you guys and saves you from spending money or time on doing detoxes that are overly restrictive and just flat-out dangerous for your health and well-being. So guys, thank you so much for watching, and if you like this video, please make sure to hit that like button down below and subscribe to my channel for more good content like this. Have a great day.
