24/09/2026
“CLEAN THE LIVER.” AND WHO DECIDED IT WAS DIRTY IN THE FIRST PLACE?
“It’s time to clean the liver.”
I have heard this phrase so many times that one day I decided to stop and think about it literally.
Alright.
What exactly are we cleaning it from?
What kind of “dirt” is there?
Which specific “toxins” have accumulated?
How do we know they are there?
And — what test do we use to check that after a detox there are fewer of them?
This is where the beautiful word detox suddenly starts having difficulties.
The liver really does take part in neutralising and processing a huge number of substances. It metabolises medicines and alcohol, takes part in processing waste products, produces bile, stores nutrients and performs many other vital functions.
In other words, the liver itself is part of the system that is constantly doing what advertising likes to call “cleansing the body”.
And it is not scheduled to do this on Monday after the holidays.
It works around the clock.
Australian Healthdirect states quite clearly: there is no evidence that “liver detox” or “liver cleanse” programmes improve health.
The American National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says roughly the same thing: there is no convincing evidence that detox diets remove some kind of accumulated “toxins” from the body.
A person does not drink alcohol for a week, eats less fatty and sugary food, stops overeating, starts drinking more water and sleeping properly.
A week later they say:
“See! The detox worked. I feel much better.”
It is entirely possible that they really do feel better.
But why did we decide that the reason was that some mysterious toxins had left the liver?
Healthdirect separately notes that feeling better after such programmes may be explained by the fact that a person has reduced alcohol, fatty food or sugar.
So sometimes a “magical liver cleanse” looks suspiciously like a few days of a more normal lifestyle.
“Natural” does not mean “safe for the liver”.
Medicines, herbs and dietary supplements are also processed by the body, and some of them can damage the liver.
The Australian TGA, for example, warns about a rare risk of liver injury from medicinal products and supplements containing turmeric/curcumin. In 2026, the TGA also updated its warning again about a very rare risk of liver injury associated with ashwagandha products.
This creates quite an interesting paradox:
a person may take something “to cleanse the body” without even thinking about the fact that some herbal products and supplements can themselves interact with medicines or, in rare cases, place a burden on the liver.
So I would separate two completely different things.
Supporting liver health — yes.
Less alcohol.
Normal nutrition.
Movement.
Weight control.
Treatment of diabetes and high cholesterol, if they are present.
And medical assessment if tests or symptoms show that something really is wrong with the liver.
But as for “washing toxins out of the liver” with juice, tea, powder or a week-long programme — here I would first like to see an answer to one simple question:
which specific toxin are we removing, and how was it proven that it was there before the “cleanse” and disappeared afterwards?
Because if the liver really does have a disease — for example, fatty liver disease, hepatitis or another form of damage — what it needs is not an herbal bath sponge.
The cause needs to be identified.
So now, when I hear:
“It’s time for me to clean my liver,”
I have only one question:
Who told you it was dirty?
