Is there such a thing as a healthier Diet Coke? What about aloe vera juice being used as kind of an internal shower? You might have heard about some trending drinks that have been touted as healthy on social media. But are they really?
The appeal of these drinks is that they seem to offer quick fixes to health issues, whether that is losing weight or clearing up skin, says Shanthi Appelö, registered dietitian for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
“These things are so simplified, and that’s why they’re so easy to catch onto,” explains Appelö. “It’s like, ‘Yes, if I can drink this one thing, it’s going to be great.’ That’s why a lot of people want to believe in them.”
On this episode of “A Healthier Michigan Podcast,” Chuck Gaidica is joined by Appelö. They discuss the latest health drink trends on social media and whether or not they’re actually healthy for you.
Some of the topics they explore are:
- The reasons are we are drawn to juice cleanses and health drinks.
- What you need to consider before trying a juice cleanse or detox.
- TikTok drink trends, including liquid chlorophyll, “healthy” Coke, internal shower and aloe vera juice.
- What you need to watch out for when trying a health trend found on social media.
“Generally, there are not many benefits to a lot of these detox drinks and juice cleanses,” she said. “If there are any benefits, they’re usually adding nutrients to your diet. It’s not that they detox or cleanse. We have body parts that do that, because our body was designed to do that.”
Another issue to consider is that these products aren’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In some cases, the FDA has even removed some of these products because either they have illegal ingredients, some of their ingredients could be harmful, or they’re making false claims by saying that they can do something medically that they really can’t.
When evaluating these health claims, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of how our body works, adds Appelö.
“The kidneys are really the treasure here in our body and are doing all the work that these detoxes and juice cleanses are claiming to do. They filter our blood and they move all the toxins that need to be removed to our urine, something that I promise these juice cleanses cannot do,” she said.
Listen to the “A Healthier Michigan Podcast” to hear the entire conversation.
