Advertisement
For whatever reason, the latest health craze seems to be surrounding the idea that we all need to detox our bodies of harmful toxins... but does it really work like that?
Since the dawn of nightclubs, the trend seems to be to eat healthy, stay hydrated, and sleep well during the week only to go out and binge drink on the weekends (at least for anyone who is still young enough to pull off an all-nighter or in a How I Met Your Mother-like TV show).
When the hangover hits, it can be tempting to think you can get rid of the toxins from your night of binge drinking by sipping on juice and relaxing in the sauna--but that's simply not how it works.
Aside from the fact that our kidneys are the ultimate detox tool (if you have at least one, you're good to go!), "detoxing" is simply a waste of time. It's just another gimmick people are using to sell you juice.
Still, for a while now, there has been a notion that sweating can actually help get rid of toxins in your body. While exercise is, without a doubt, amazing for your health, sweating does not get rid of toxins in your body.
"You can’t sweat it out," says Dee Anna Glaser, a dermatologist in St. Louis who is one of the consulting dermatologists behind SkinBetter. "People get focused on the need to sweat a lot because they think it helps you release toxins from the body, but it doesn't—the kidneys do that."
Alright, so what can you do then if you're, say, hungover? "The best thing for a hangover is rest," says John Brick, the author of The Doctor’s Hangover Handbook (Booklocker). "Losing water at the gym will actually make your hangover worse." Why? "Alcohol depletes the body of electrolytes,” he says. Exercise will just add to that.
Just relax, hydrate, and you'll make it easier for your body to detox itself.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2015 paulineramponneau/Instagram
