Your body doesn’t need a detox.
Don’t waste your money on a major juice cleanse. Your body doesn’t need the help.
I was first introduced to the idea of detoxing on (you guessed it) social media. A high school friend posted online about how she was starting a juice cleanse with her mom in order to get rid of all the toxins in their bodies. It was the first time I even thought of my body having toxins in it, and I felt dirty. Like I, too, needed to cleanse my insides.
Then, of course, after I researched juice cleanses, a firestorm of ads hit my computer about all kinds of detoxes. Juice cleanses, flat belly teas, and other types of regiments I could follow in order to detox my body—and to lose some weight, because who wouldn’t want to do that, right?
I never actually did one—it just seemed too hard. But I was always kind of curious about them. Especially around the times when I was about to go to a big event and I wanted to look good, like my wedding day. With just three days of detoxing I could “lose X amount of pounds,” thin out my inflamed body, and look incredible. It was enticing, for sure.
But of course, like every type of toxic tip we hear from diet culture on the Internet, this was yet again another dieting practice pitched with completely false teaching. The idea that you need to detox your body is actually quite absurd—especially when you think about how your body detoxes in the first place.
Your body was already created with a way to naturally detox without your help. It all happens in your liver.
The liver is in charge of converting toxins into waste, cleansing your blood, as well as metabolizing your food and medicine. It doesn’t need a juice cleanse in order to make it work properly after eating “bad” foods or drinking too much alcohol, even though most cleanses are marketed to make you think differently. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, these cleanses aren’t even approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Sure, a detox may give you the illusion that you’ve lost weight. But like most restrictive eating practices, it’s just temporary. You’ll lose some water weight in the process, but your body will gain it right back when you start eating normally again.
Some also say that a detox can help with clearing out your colon, which is good for “optimal health” and digestion. While experts say a colon cleanse can be beneficial for certain medical reasons (like constipation), the science just isn’t there to support a need to cleanse the colon of toxins. Especially with a juice cleanse (because if you really want to cleanse your colon, there are specific medicines that will do it quickly...)
However, it’s good to note that taking care of your liver health is massively important. As you see, your liver is in charge of detoxing your body and taking care of so many bodily functions. While a restrictive juice cleanse won’t cut it, there are other much healthier (and easier) ways to care for your liver for a long time to come.
The first is to drink plenty of water. In my research on detoxing in the past, I have found that the best drink to have when trying to “detox” your body is water. Not to say that water is directly detoxing, but it is just supporting the health and functioning of your kidneys and your liver.
Secondly, eat a well-rounded diet. An overview published in Nutrients shows that eating more plant foods versus animal foods can protect your body from chronic liver disease, as well as a Mediterranean-style of eating, which focuses on foods such as “grains, vegetables, and fruits, olive oil, nuts, fish, white meat, and legumes.”
Another review states that not only does eating a variety of plants benefit liver health, but also getting good sleep and drinking adequate water will help.
Obviously, we can’t skip over the fact that drinking too much alcohol can have a negative effect on your liver—which I think is pretty much common knowledge at this point. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to alcohol liver disease, which causes inflammation in the liver and can lead to scarring and irreversible damage. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t drink—it’s just important to follow the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommends a limit of up to one per day for women, or up to two per day for men.
All in all, if you’re looking to detox your liver, the best thing to do is just take care of yourself. Eat nourishing foods, drink lots of water, and get good sleep.
Around the corner from my apartment back in Chicago was the most divine little breakfast spot. When my friends and I actually had enough money to go (broke college kids and all), we would hop on over and happily wait on the long line at Jam ‘n Honey for brunch on a weekend—or maybe an early morning before class. When we finally got our seats, we tucked into our table, sipped on massive mugs of coffee, enjoyed slices of toast with fresh jam, and feasted on plates of pancakes and eggs like queens.
This place also has a special spot in my heart because it is, quite honestly, the first breakfast spot that actually sold a potato hash that I actually like. I’m kind of a late bloomer when it comes to potatoes. I hated mashed potatoes growing up (the texture, yuck), and unless they were cut into matchsticks and bathed in a pot of oil, I never ordered them.
But on that glorious Saturday at Jam ‘n Honey when I ordered the Eggs Benedict, served with a side of potato hash, my life was changed. I actually...liked...potatoes? Seriously? After all this time?
Cue Troy Bolton, because it was the 🎶 start of something new 🎶 . After that breakfast, I found myself actually ordering potatoes. Cooking potatoes. But never mashing them...I haven’t changed that much.
I still think about that potato hash—a lot. I woke up with a very specific hankering for them one morning and decided to test it out for a late breakfast. And this delicious roasted sweet potato hash was born.
Along with being completely delicious, I love this recipe because of the lack of dishes needed. You’ve likely heard of my dishwasher woes (aka, I don’t have one...), so I try to find ways to use as few dishes as possible when I cook. For this recipe, you just use your skillet. And a plate to eat your meal. Unless you want to be even lazier and eat it out of a hot skillet. I mean, no judgment here. I get it.
Just toss the veggies with some olive oil and spices in your skillet, roast, crack in the eggs for the last five minutes, then serve. Simple, easy, and the perfect brunch to start your weekend.
Unless you’re near Jam ‘n Honey, of course. Because you should just go there instead. And tell them I say hi!
Roasted Sweet Potato Hash
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
1 cup sweet potatoes, cubed small
1/4 cup bell peppers, diced
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
Salt, Pepper, & Paprika
Olive Oil spray
2 eggs
A handful of arugula, or other leafy greens
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a small cast-iron skillet, toss in the sweet potatoes, bell peppers, and yellow onion.
Spray down with olive oil and lightly sprinkle the salt, pepper, and paprika to your liking. I don’t really measure in these circumstances...sorry.
Spread out the hash evenly on the skillet so the veggies aren’t overlapping, then place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
Take the hash out of the oven. Shift the hash around to make two small holes in the skillet, and crack the two eggs into them.
Roast in the oven for another 5 minutes.
Transfer eggs and hash on top of a small bed of arugula. Sprinkle the eggs with extra pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!
I’ve been having fun trying lots of low-sugar candy alternatives lately (there are some really, really good ones out there!) and I’ve become quite the fan of UNREAL. I’ve always loved their Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Butter Cups, but their most recent creation has easily become a new fave: the UNREAL Dark Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bars. They are “fun-sized” and the perfect little sweet treat in the afternoon with a steaming cup of coffee or tea.
What I’m cooking: Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup by Feasting At Home
What I’m watching: Sweet Magnolias, Season 2
Where I’m going: Saketumi in Brooklyn Heights
What I’m listening to: Squares by John Mayer
Going to try the sweet potatoes, peppers, onions and eggs!! Sounds awesome and easy. I like easy. Jan Rolston