If I see one more influencer claiming their juice cleanse "flushed out 20 years of toxins" or that parasites are secretly ruining your life, I'm not going to need a coffee enema.
You're scrolling through your feed, seeing before-and-after transformations, and searching for the thing that’s going to work for you in 2026. Maybe this is the year a 7-day detox will finally fix everything. Your bloating. Your brain fog. Afternoon energy slumps.
Meanwhile, you're ignoring the basic things your body needs: to honour its inbuilt circadian rhythms and look after the energy system that powers everything.
But deep down you know what's actually happening: you're being sold things that will lead you right back to square one in a month, if not make your metabolism worse.
Every January, the wellness industry repackages the same promises with different packaging. One year it's microplastics detox protocols and 15-day gut cleanses. Another it’s parasite purges and liver flushes. The names change, the fear tactics evolve, but the underlying scam remains identical: convince you that your body is broken, that toxins are accumulating, and that their product is the only thing standing between you and health.
—whole unprocessed foods and stable blood glucose.
Let me show you why these detoxes are metabolic disasters, and what actually works instead.
The Instagram wellness fad industrial complex
Some of things I’ve seen on Instagram in the last 6 days:
Juice cleanses: The OG detox that refuses to die. Despite zero scientific evidence supporting their detoxification claims, the juice cleanse market continues growing, with influencers promising weight loss, glowing skin, and cellular renewal through 3-7 days of liquid-only nutrition.
Parasite cleanses: Thanks to viral TikTok videos from self-proclaimed "Worm Queens," millions are now convinced they're harbouring hidden parasites causing everything from fatigue to brain fog. The solution? Unregulated herbal supplements, enemas, and restrictive diets. Even celebrities like Heidi Klum have jumped on this trend.
Microplastics detox protocols: The newest fear-based marketing. Whilst microplastics in our bodies are a legitimate concern for researchers, wellness entrepreneurs have created entire product lines of binders, supplements, and sauna protocols claiming to remove them—despite no validated clinical methods to do so.
15-day gut cleanses: Viral TikTok challenges where people document excessive bathroom trips, attribute brown eyes to retained waste, and claim to feel "20 pounds lighter" after days of induced diarrhoea.
What do all these have in common? They exploit anxiety, promise quick fixes, and completely ignore how your body actually works.
What actually happens when you juice cleanse
Let's use juice cleanses as our case study, because they perfectly illustrate everything wrong with detox culture—and everything important about metabolic health.
The blood sugar rollercoaster
Nature pairs sugar with fibre in fruits. This slows down the rate at which you absorb sugar molecules. When you strip fibre from fruits and vegetables to make juice, you're creating a natural sugar drink. Ask a Nico member what happens to their energy curve when they drink fruit juice. They see a huge surge.
Research shows that juices cause rapid blood glucose spikes followed by crashes, leading to:
- Dizziness and fatigue
- Headaches (not from "toxins leaving your body"—from blood sugar swings)
- Irritability and brain fog
- Increased hunger and cravings
The fibre disaster
Fibre does three critical things:
- Slows glucose absorption, preventing blood sugar spikes
- Feeds your gut microbiome, supporting metabolic function
- Adds bulk to help your digestive system work properly
Juicing removes all of it. A 2025 Northwestern University study found that just three days of juice-only cleansing caused harmful gut bacteria changes linked to inflammation, whilst those eating whole plant foods saw beneficial microbiome shifts.
The "detox" myth
Every medical professional agrees on this: Your liver and kidneys detoxify your body continuously, without juice. As one gastroenterologist stated bluntly: "If we were holding onto toxins, we wouldn't be alive."
Detoxification isn't something you do for three days in January. It's an ongoing process your organs handle automatically when you support them properly—with adequate sleep, varied nutrition, regular movement, and yes, stable blood glucose.
Why this matters for your metabolism
These wellness fads share a fatal flaw: they treat your body like it's broken and needs fixing through extreme interventions. In reality, the body is extraordinarily good at self-regulation when properly supported.
But what truly undermines that regulation is constant blood sugar spikes and crashes.
When you consume juice without fibre, eat processed foods loaded with hidden sugars, or follow restrictive cleanses that swing your glucose wildly, you're creating metabolic chaos:
- Insulin resistance develops as your cells stop responding properly to glucose signals
- Energy crashes become your new normal
- Cravings intensify as your body desperately tries to stabilise
- Fat storage increases as excess glucose gets converted and stored
- Inflammation rises as your system stays in constant stress mode
The irony? The "detox" is creating the exact metabolic dysfunction people are trying to escape.
What actually works: making your metabolism visible
You don't need a cleanse. You need to understand what's actually happening inside your body.
This is where using an energy sensor to monitor glucose changes everything. When you can see in real-time how different foods affect your blood sugar, you stop guessing and start knowing. That green juice spiking your glucose? You can see it. That protein-rich meal keeping your glucose stable for hours? The data is right there.
Making metabolism visible transforms your relationship with food from restrictive rules and cleanses to personalised insight.
The real metabolic reset:
Instead of juice cleanses and parasite protocols, focus on:
- Whole, unprocessed foods - Eat the apple, don't juice it. The fibre, nutrients, and physical structure all work together to support stable glucose.
- Protein-led eating - Protein slows glucose absorption and preserves muscle mass, which is essential for metabolic health.
- Understanding your personal glucose response - Not everyone responds the same way to foods. And even you won’t respond to the same foods in the same way every day. Use data, not Instagram influencers, to guide your choices.
- Building sustainable habits - 30 days of metabolic awareness beats 3 days of juice cleansing, every single time.
- Adequate sleep, movement, and stress management - These support your body's natural detoxification systems better than any supplement ever could.
The bottom line
The wellness industry profits from your fear that your body is failing you. Detoxes, cleanses, and extreme protocols promise control and certainty in an uncertain world. A "hack" feels easier than consistency.
But your body isn't broken. It doesn't need flushing, purging, or resetting through extreme measures. It needs support—real food, stable energy, and the data to make informed choices.
This January, instead of another doomed detox that sabotages your metabolism, try something radical: Make your metabolism visible. Learn what actually works for your body. Build habits that last beyond the first week of the year.
Because sustainable metabolic health isn't found in a juice bottle or a TikTok trend. It's found in understanding your body well enough to support it properly.
That's not sexy. It's not a quick fix. But unlike every wellness fad flooding your feed right now, it actually works.
Want to optimise your metabolism without the detox drama? Learn how continuous glucose monitoring can help you understand your unique metabolic response and build sustainable energy habits that last with Nico
References
Gorski, D. (2026). Detox 2026: What Big Wellness Wants You to Believe. Science-Based Medicine. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/detox-2026-what-big-wellness-wants-you-to-believe/
Ring, M. (2025). Juice Cleanses Likely Good for Nothing, Bad for Much. Medscape Medical News. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/juice-cleanses-likely-good-nothing-bad-much-2025a1000dgz
Northwestern University (2025). Juicing may harm your health in just 3 days, new study finds. ScienceDaily.https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/02/juicing-may-harm-your-health-in-just-3-days-new-study-finds/
Makkapati, S., D'Agati, V.D., Balsam, L. (2017). "Green smoothie cleanse" causing acute oxalate nephropathy. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 70(2), pp.281-286.
University of Rochester Medical Center (2025). Do Juice Cleanses Detox the Body? URMC Newsroom. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/publications/health-matters/do-juice-cleanses-detox-the-body
Murphy, M.M., Barraj, L.M., Herman, D., Bi, X., Cheatham, R., Randolph, R.K. (2017). 100% fruit juice and measures of glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Nutrition, 117(12), pp.1700-1714.
Wen, L. (2025). Do you need to cleanse your body of parasites? A doctor explains the social media fad. CNN Health.https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/06/health/parasite-worm-detox-cleanse-wellness