Perhaps you've been lured by the promise of "vibrant health, weight loss, a toxin-free body and a kick-start to the metabolism" and you're hoping detoxing will beat festive season indulgence.
But beware, your annual detox may harm you.
Dieticians interviewed say the liver does a perfectly good job of detoxing the body during sleep, making detoxing unnecessary.
Detoxes can harm the kidneys and liver - the very organs used to purify the body. Detoxes can lead to a person consuming too few calories so the body breaks down muscle for energy, they say.
Dietician Monique dos Santos said: "How's this for irony. The breakdown of muscle actually produces toxins which the kidneys then need to work extra hard at clearing. Not only are detox diets ineffective at cleansing, but they can cause more harm than good."
"The traditional detox diet contains too few calories for the body to work well and so it compensates by slowing down its metabolism - and the liver actually becomes fattier than normal. This is due to the body auto-cannibalising its own fat and muscle stores and passing it through the liver to be converted to glucose to keep you alive," said dietician Tabitha Hume.
Drinking fruit juice places strain on the liver because fructose, a fruit sugar, is not easily digested.
"Two fruits at a time can be handled by the liver but a glass of orange juice can consist of up to eight fruit in one go and this can strain the liver," Hume said.
Dietician Ashleigh Tennier said people often embark on detox diets for psychological rather than health reasons, thinking they are cleansing their system.
But, she said: "There is not a single scientific study that shows detoxing diets are effective. The liver cleanses your body every night while you are sleeping and fasting for about eight hours."
Instead of detoxing, the dieticians suggest exercise to increase sweating, a natural way to release toxins. Eating plenty of salads, lean meat and vegetables and drinking enough water is another natural way to flush the body.
Source: The Times
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