Detox Tea is Overrated—Here’s How You Truly Naturally Detox

Supporting Your Body’s Natural Detox Function

By Jenny Smith Mattfeldt

Published January 13, 2025

It’s that time of year when we naturally start thinking about our health goals. How we want to feel in our bodies, what we want more or less of, and how to reset after the holidays. It’s also the time of year when a million detox products are about to be marketed to you.

Teas, powders, shakes, and three-day cleanses promise to flush out “toxins” and give you a brand-new body by next week. Here’s the thing: a tea, a shake, or even a juice cleanse does not detox you. Your body is already doing that constantly and efficiently without needing permission from a label.

Your liver, kidneys, gut, lymphatic system, lungs, and skin are working around the clock to process, filter, neutralize, and eliminate waste. Detox isn’t something you switch on in January. It’s a natural function of a supported body.

What matters is how well these systems are functioning and whether your lifestyle helps or hinders them. You can support your body’s natural detox pathways in ways that leave you feeling lighter, clearer, less bloated, and more energized without starving yourself or relying on extreme measures.

Why you might feel like you need a detox.

That feeling of sluggishness, brain fog, or bloating often signals that your body’s systems need support. Dehydration slows digestion and lymph flow, a sluggish lymphatic system leaves you feeling heavy, and everyday environmental and product-based “toxins” can quietly overload your liver and gut. Simple support (hydration, movement, and nutrient-rich foods) can give you the reset extreme cleanses promise without the crash.

Juicing: think adding, not replacing.

Fresh juice is a such simple way to flood your body with nutrients without taxing digestion and I know it's probably all over your Pinterest right now. Drinking juice alongside meals (rather than in place of) gives your body concentrated hydration, minerals, and micronutrients it can easily use. I'm the biggest fan because when I consistently added fresh juice into my day, the whites of my eyes become so noticeably white, makes you feel like a wellness guru. That glow is a quiet signal that your systems are supported.

One vegetable-forward juice a day can enhance hydration, liver function, and digestion. Think of juice as a supplement, not a replacement. Additions, not restriction.

Shop Kitchenaid Juicer Attachment

Bitters, stomach acid, and hydration.

Digestive bitters wake up your digestion. They signal that food is coming, stimulating saliva, stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and bile flow so meals break down efficiently instead of sitting heavy. Strong stomach acid allows nutrients to be absorbed and digestion to flow. To avoid diluting it we want to skip drinking large amounts of water right before or during meals.

Ways to add support:

• Digestive bitters before meals or bitter foods like arugula, dandelion greens, chicory, grapefruit, or lemon zest

• Eating slowly and chewing properly

• Apple cider vinegar before meals, enzyme-rich foods like pineapple, papaya, or kimchi

Shop Digestive Bitters

Bile flow (wellness is so sexy.)

Bile is essential for moving waste, breaking down fats, and keeping digestion smooth. When bile flow is healthy, meals feel lighter, digestion is easier, and you may notice clearer skin and brighter eyes. Support it by eating bitter foods, healthy fats like olive oil or avocado, keeping meals regular, and limiting alcohol.

Lymphatic drainage, my love language.

The lymphatic system carries away waste and unhelpful cells, but it doesn't have a pump of its own. Movement, exercise, staying hydrated, and getting lymphatic massage help keep it moving. Supporting lymph drainage can give you that dramatic 'reset' feeling people chase with cleanses, leaving you lighter, energized, and clear.

Ways to support lymph flow:

• Walking or low-impact movement

• Booking a lymphatic drainage massage (call me)

• Sweating through exercise or sauna

• Dry brushing

Shop Vibrational Plate

Supporting your body, not forcing it.

Your body already knows how to take care of itself. That’s why we don’t recommend laxative teas, extreme fasting, living on liquids, or any products designed to force elimination. Anything that leaves you depleted, shaky, or anxious works against your body is no for us this year.

Real detox is simpler. It looks like nourishment, smooth digestion, and systems allowed to do their jobs. Supporting your liver, gut, and digestion with nutrients, movement, and flow produces natural results. It may not feel flashy, but it’s sustainable and leaves you feeling clear, grounded, and genuinely well long after January ends.

---