Detox - Myth or reality?

Some people, when switching from a standard diet to a whole foods plant based diet, start to experience certain unpleasant symptoms which are referred to as detoxification (or "detox", for short).

Those symptoms may vary from person to person and may include (but are not limited to) dizziness, skin breakouts, fatigue, headaches, digestive problems (such as constipation or diarrhea), etc.

The duration of the symptoms mentioned might last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, until the body adapts to the new diet regimen.

What bothers me is that, especially in the raw food movement, many people justify every single issue as "detox", even when a person has been eating the same way for months, without any change.
I've seen people complaining of major issues like tooth pain, hair loss, fragile nails, etc., and being told that all that is normal and is part of the detoxification process.

The thing is that our body is in constant state of detox, even if we have (what we believe is) the healthiest diet in the world.

It's true that on a SAD diet ("Standard American Diet") or similar, people consume a lot of toxins present in the form of preservatives, additives, etc. in processed foods, BUT we also get many toxins through the polluted air, water, and also through our skins, when we use cosmetic or cleaning products.
Even if we eat a healthy plant based diet we are still, very likely, being exposed to some kinds of pesticides and herbicides present in our foods.

Therefore, as I said before, our body is dealing with toxins and working to get rid of them all the time.

Also, some of the symptoms that we referred to as "detox" are not more than withdrawal symptoms of caffeine, MSG, artificial sweeteners, processed sugar, and other substances previously consumed.

Let's see what Wikipedia says:

• Medical experts state that body cleansing is unnecessary as the human body is naturally capable of maintaining itself, with several organs dedicated to cleansing the blood and the gut. Alan Boobis OBE, a professor and toxicologist at Imperial College London states:

The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile. They have to be, as the natural environment that we evolved in is hostile. It is remarkable that people are prepared to risk seriously disrupting these systems with unproven ‘detox’ diets, which could well do more harm than good.

Personally, I believe that some of the problems that people experience when switching to a vegan diet or along the way may NOT be "detox", but something else, caused by an unbalance in the diet or by a deficiency of some kind.
Not everyone is the same, and not everyone has the same background, so there are many factors to take into account.

It's for that reason that I recommend to anyone who feel that something wrong is going on or is worried about his health, by all means, go to see a doctor, get a checkup, and if necessary, a blood test to rule out a serious illness or deficiency of some sort.

It's always better to be safe than sorry.