Does Fasting Help Release Toxins?
Fasting is incredibly popular in the health and fitness community.
Not only can it help with weight loss, but fasting has been linked to other health benefits like reduced inflammation, improved blood sugar levels, and improved cholesterol levels.
Because fasting can help you lose weight and may have benefits for your metabolism, some people wonder if fasting can help release toxins from your body.
This article helps answer the question — does fasting help release toxins?
Does fasting help remove toxins?
Your body has a complex system that removes toxins and wastes from the body. It includes several organs like your skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, digestive system, and immune system.
Interestingly, some research suggests fasting may help your body with detoxification.
In particular, these studies show that fasting and restricting calories may boost the productivity of certain enzymes (molecules that control the rate of chemical reactions in your body) that play vital roles in your body’s natural detoxification processes (1, 2, 3).
However, most of the current research on fasting and detoxification comes from animal studies, so it’s unclear how much of a boost fasting may add to your body’s natural detox systems. For this reason, more human-based studies are needed in this fascinating area.
Also, if you’re a healthy adult, all your body needs to detox properly is to live a healthy lifestyle. This means eating a balanced nutrient-rich diet, getting plenty of quality sleep, exercising regularly, watching your alcohol intake, and avoiding smoking.
Summary
Some research suggests that fasting may help remove toxins by boosting the productivity of enzymes involved in detoxification and aiding liver health. That said, your body already has a detoxification system that can get by on simply living a healthy lifestyle.
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Blog written by Ryan Raman MHSC, RD
