Can you get sick when detoxing?

Detox pills and diets can use a variety of substances to purge the body of toxins. Laxatives, supplements, and even beneficial bacteria used in some of these products can cause serious gastrointestinal problems.

Can you get sick when detoxing?

Detox pills and diets can use a variety of substances to purge the body of toxins. Laxatives, supplements, and even beneficial bacteria used in some of these products can cause serious gastrointestinal problems. Some people who follow detox and cleanse diets may have problems with diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. In the body, dead bacteria are released, allowing decaying endotoxins to enter the blood and tissues.

It's released too quickly for your body to handle it comfortably, and that's why you get sick during a detox. You'll usually experience symptoms similar to those of the last virus you had. Symptoms may come or go, stay only a couple of hours or even days. Symptoms are usually fatigue, joint or muscle pain, rashes, dizziness, headaches, swollen glands, swelling of the throat, and mild fever.

Sometimes, people experience temporary flu-like symptoms simply by eliminating certain foods. This is often described as a detoxification reaction, but it's more likely to be withdrawal, Carnahan says. Unless you have some kind of deficiency or some kind of poisoning, there is no reason to take supplements. There's no reason to try to detox from anything.

And I think, for the most part, detox teas cause a lot of diarrhea. People can get sick from these things. If people really feel better, they may have changed a little more, such as hydration and fruits and vegetables, in their diet. Probably risking worse results rather than good.

To understand why an extreme detox can make people feel so sick, you first need to understand how detoxification actually works. I was taking a liver supplement with various herbs and vitamins, as well as molybdenum from 150 mcg to 500 mcg a day for 4 to 6 weeks after a disastrous sugar detox followed by probiotics that took me to bed very sick with physical and mental symptoms, anxiety, depression, feeling detached, drug addiction, derealization, etc. Going too hard and too fast in a detox that isn't specifically designed for you could make you sick. In short, I had to stop everything, because in an attempt to improve my health it made me very sick, anxious and depressed.

Janice Montufar
Janice Montufar

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