The claimEvidence C · limited
Detox juice cleanses 'remove toxins'
The evidence
The liver and kidneys already do this. 'Detox' programs have no human clinical evidence; short-term weight loss is mostly water and bowel contents.
The mechanism, in brief
Among weight-loss supplements, even the best performers only nudge the number on the scale. A serious change in diet plus exercise can take off several times as much, and the prescription drugs that really work go another order of magnitude further.
Sources (3)
- Wilding, J. P. H., Batterham, R. L., Calanna, S., Davies, M., Van Gaal, L. F., Lingvay, I., et al. (2021). Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP-1). New England Journal of Medicine, 384(11), 989-1002. 1961 adults with BMI >= 30 (or >= 27 with a weight-related condition) and no diabetes, randomized 2:1 to semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly or placebo, plus lifestyle intervention, for 68 weeks. Mean body-weight change -14.9% vs -2.4% (difference -12.4 percentage points); >= 15% loss in 50.5% vs 4.9%; -15.3 kg vs -2.6 kg; discontinuation for gastrointestinal events 4.5% vs 0.8%. Funded by Novo Nordisk (abstract, PMID 33567185).
- Jastreboff, A. M., Aronne, L. J., Ahmad, N. N., Wharton, S., Connery, L., Alves, B., Kiyosue, A., Zhang, S., Liu, B., Bunck, M. C., & Stefanski, A. (2022). Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(3), 205–216. 2539 adults with BMI >= 30, or >= 27 with a weight-related complication, people with diabetes excluded; randomized 1:1:1:1 to tirzepatide 5, 10 or 15 mg weekly or placebo for 72 weeks (20-week dose escalation). Mean weight change (treatment-regimen estimand) -15.0%, -19.5% and -20.9% vs -3.1%; >= 20% loss in 50% and 57% on 10 and 15 mg vs 3%. Adverse events led to discontinuation in 4.3%, 7.1% and 6.2% vs 2.6%. Funded by Eli Lilly (abstract, PMID 35658024).
- Jeukendrup, A. E., & Randell, R. (2011). Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism. Obesity Reviews, 12(10), 841-851. Reviews caffeine, carnitine, green tea, conjugated linoleic acid, forskolin, chromium, kelp and fucoxanthin; an acute rise in fat oxidation does not necessarily translate into fat loss.