8 Detox Claims Californians Should Treat With Skepticism

Would you believe a product could prove your body just cleared out its toxins?

Some marketers say it can.

Federal regulators have already taken multiple wellness marketers to court over claims almost exactly like it.

These are the detox claims Californians, and Americans everywhere, should treat with skepticism.

Note: This is general information, not medical advice. Research on wellness products and practices is subject to change.

1. The Toxin-Flush Juice Cleanse

Detox juice cleanses promise to flush every toxin out of the body in three to seven days, usually by swapping every meal for cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juice.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health, looked into the idea.

A review the agency points to found no compelling evidence that it removes anything the body doesn’t clear on its own.

The marketing ran ahead of the research.

A 2017 review the agency cites found that any weight a juice cleanse strips off during those days comes right back once normal eating starts again.

The loss was water and calories, not stored poison.

Unpasteurized juice adds a risk of foodborne illness.

Juice blends heavy on spinach or beets can also push oxalate levels high enough to help form a kidney stone.

2. Detox Teas Marketed to Melt Fat

Detox teas market themselves as a fat-melting shortcut, usually sold as a milder morning blend and a stronger nighttime one that promises a flatter stomach by morning.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated Teami, a major seller of these blends, and found the company had no reliable science behind its weight-loss and detox claims.

Teami agreed to a $15.2 million judgment in 2020, with all but $1 million suspended.

That’s still a steep bill.

The FTC’s complaint also named the influencers Teami paid to push the tea on Instagram without clearly disclosing the posts were ads, including Cardi B.

Teami never changed its promises, even after the fine.

3. The Water-Browning Foot Bath

Ionic detox foot baths ask you to soak your feet in a tub of warm water while a small device runs a current through the tub.

The water turns brown or orange within minutes.

Sellers call that color proof the pads pulled heavy metals and toxins out through the skin.

It isn’t.

The color comes from electrolysis between the device’s metal electrodes and the minerals already in the water.

It turns just as brown with no feet in the tub at all.

The Federal Trade Commission sued the marketers of Kinoki foot pads over claims the $19.95 pads treated headaches, diabetes, and high blood pressure by drawing out toxins.

A federal court banned them from selling any supplement or medical device again and imposed a $14.5 million judgment, suspended based on the defendants’ inability to pay.

4. Activated Charcoal Drinks Sold as a Cleanse

Activated charcoal drinks show up in juice bars as a jet-black detox cleanse, marketed to soak up toxins after a big weekend.

Charcoal already earns its place in an emergency room, where doctors give it within an hour of a poisoning or overdose to keep the stomach from taking in more.

That’s an established use.

A daily charcoal drink marketed as a cleanse is a different story.

The National Institutes of Health keeps a reference on activated charcoal that draws a hard line between that hospital use and wellness marketing.

The compound also reduces absorption of everyday medications like blood pressure pills and antibiotics.

It isn’t picky about what it binds to, so vitamins and minerals go down the drain right along with anything harmful.

5. Liver and Gallbladder Flushes

Liver and gallbladder flushes send people to bed with a cup of olive oil and lemon juice, chased by a promise of waking up to pass a pile of stones.

Mayo Clinic says there’s no reliable evidence the flush prevents or treats gallstones or any other disease.

The stones people find in the toilet the next morning aren’t stones at all.

They’re clumps of oil, juice, and whatever else was in the stomach, hardened by stomach acid into something that looks the part.

Not a single one is an actual stone.

Mayo Clinic also lists the flush’s risks: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

6. Infrared Saunas Marketed as a Heavy-Metal Detox

Infrared saunas get pitched as a detox sweat-out for heavy metals, mercury and lead included.

The kidneys and liver already handle that filtering, processing waste around the clock whether or not anyone sits in a sauna.

A review of the science by Science Feedback found the claim doesn’t hold up because sweat carries only negligible levels of many pollutants compared with urine.

A researcher who studies how pollutants affect the body measured pollutants in two liters of sweat from intense exercise.

The total came to less than a tenth of a nanogram, a fraction too small to matter.

That’s not detox.

7. Colon Cleanses Sold as Toxin Removal

Colon cleanses claim to scrub out old waste the body can’t clear on its own, usually through a strict liquid diet, herbal capsules, or a hose-and-water colonic.

Mayo Clinic says there’s no evidence colon cleansing removes toxins.

The digestive system already clears waste and bacteria without any help.

Research doesn’t show the body holds onto toxins from a normal diet in the first place.

The risks are well documented.

Cramping, bloating, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances are common side effects.

Mayo Clinic has linked coffee enemas, a more extreme version, to multiple deaths.

8. IV Vitamin Drip Bars Advertised as a Detox

Intravenous (IV) vitamin drip bars set up a lounge chair, a bag of fluids, and a menu of add-ons, all sold as a fast detox and energy reset.

That’s the pitch.

California’s State Board of Pharmacy calls the retail IV hydration industry largely unregulated in the state.

The board says a licensed prescriber has to examine a patient first.

A licensed professional then has to oversee whoever mixes and gives the IV.

Many drip bars skip both steps.

The Federal Trade Commission has already gone after one national chain, iV Bars, for advertising that its $100 to $250 cocktails could treat cancer, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.