By: Elise Cooper

Health kicks are a constant topic of conversation. A very popular one at the moment is juice detoxes. Whether using it to flush your body of toxins or to lose a few pounds, the question is, are they healthy?

A detox can last for as little as a day or as long as a few weeks, depending on if the user cleaning out their system or using it to lose some weight.

“The problem when you do any kind of cleanse like that it’s possible that you can destroy or cause an imbalance in your healthy bacteria in your intestinal tract as well as the unhealthy bacteria. We have good bacteria which breaks down food. If you don’t have good bacteria, you not only can’t break down food, but then its difficult for your body to absorb the nutrients in the food because you don’t have the good bacteria that does that job,” said health teacher Pat Latus.

“I feel like there are some that are probably healthier than others depending on which one you go with,” said Mariah Crandall ‘16.

Detoxes usually are meant to clean the body of toxins, yet society has taken a different stand on them.

“What’s happening from what I’ve seen and heard is that a lot of people are doing these cleanses to lose weight, but they are destroying the colon and the intestinal tract and because of the severe weight loss you can’t maintain it over time and you shouldn’t because your body will go into starvation mode. In the long run it is more likely that it will lead to more weight gain. No diet like that can be sustained,” says Latus.

“I feel like there are better ways to go about weight loss. I feel like there are better options,” said Crandall.

Each detox is different. The main goal is to cleanse your body. The choices are endless. You can make your own from a recipe or order one through the mail. One very popular choice these days is Fit Tea.

“Fit Tea is a detoxifying tea blend of certified organic herbs which are formulated to enhance your weight management program as part of a healthy diet and exercise regimen,” states fittea.com.

Fit Tea has a 14 day detox and a 28 day detox you can order. They also have a variety of supplements you can take to help control weight, suppress your appetite, control cravings and other things. Fit Tea also has a page on their website that highlights what ingredients can be found in their products.  The only problem is not every company tells you exactly what’s in their juice or you may find things in your juice you’ve never even heard of.

“I always say to people if you can’t pronounce it you probably shouldn’t be eating it. If its tri-poly-ura-metha-blah-blah-blah then it’s probably synthetic and god knows what it’s doing in your body,” says Latus.

Healthy or not, juice detoxes aren’t going away anytime soon. Health kicks have been around for a while and continue to be.

“Keep in mind that fad diets aren’t a good long-term solution. For lasting results, your best bet is to eat a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean sources of protein,” according to the Mayo Clinic.