If you follow current dietary trends, you probably have heard about the “Detox Cleanse”, “48-Hour Weekend Cleanser” and many other detox regimens. Trained as a medical researcher, I always like to weigh how effective these regiments actually are? What are the mechanisms behind each? What are the potential adverse effects? And most importantly, is detox itself even necessary? I am sure many savvy consumers also have similar questions.
So do we really need to detox our body? Based on the traditional Eastern medical practice belief, detox is actually important to maintain a healthy state. The fundamental belief is that toxins build up in our body through both daily exposure to environmental toxins as well as those produced via our body’s natural metabolism. In addition, the modern life styles exposes our body to many toxins that are manmade. The CDC has conducted several studies on human exposure to environmental chemicals1. Not surprisingly, the average person in the US has more than 200 toxic chemicals detected in his body at any given time! Our body has ways of detoxing naturally, via our kidney, liver, lungs, skin as well as the immune system. However, when we are constantly exposed to toxins these organs can be overburdened and eventually fail to do their job. Detoxing therefore becomes vital to anti-aging.
Ancient Wisdom encourages people to detox regularly by consuming certain food and herbal remedies. For example, mung beans and mung bean sprouts have been used for centuries as a potent detox tonic. A very famous ancient Chinese doctor and pharmacologist, Li Shi Zhen (1518-1593), stated in his book Ben Cao Gang Mu that “mung beans are highly recommended not only as a rich source of nutrients but also as a medicine”. He illuminated that mung beans can help to clear heat and toxins from the body, balance the organs and skin, and tonify Qi2, yet they are also gentle enough even young kids to consume and rarely cause stomach irritations like many other detox products on the market do. Modern medical research has corroborated the benefits of mung beans at the molecular level. It has been shown mung beans contain two natural compounds, vitexin and isovitexin which exhibit strong antistress and antioxidant effects that can alleviate heat and toxins (especially heavy metals) and mitigate stress onset3. The proteins, tannins and flavonoids in mung beans are considered effective for binding to and neutralizing pesticides and heavy metals like mercury and lead from our body4. In addition, nutrition analysis shows that mung beans are a high source of nutrients including manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc, and various B vitamins5. Even further, it is worthwhile to point out that mung bean sprouts are especially enrich in Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) 6. Recent research studies have demonstrated that NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), the biologically active coenzyme form of vitamin B3, is extremely important in natural aging7,8. Many consider NAD to be the most effective natural antidote to Aging!
Now you may understand why we chose mung bean sprouts as the base ingredient in Karviva Detox Whole Plant Juice. In addition, the very potent antioxidants found in Aronia Berries further strengthens the detox benefits see Karviva Products. It is also worthwhile to point out that most of the mung bean sprouts found on the markets are treated with chemicals themselves, since sprouts are prone to spoilage. For that reason, we grow our own bean sprouts hydroponically with just filtered water, as it makes no sense to use chemically contaminated ingredients for a detox drink. You can try grow your own sprouts at home too! Just remember to add a strong antioxidant from a natural source, like the organic aronia berries that can be found in Karviva Detox Juice. Stay healthy and happy!
SOURCES –
1.- National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2018: https://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/index.html
2.- Mung beans can clear heat, reduce acne and detox the body, Pingming Health, 2016, https://www.pingminghealth.com/article/281/mung-beans-can-clear-heat-reduce-acne-and-detox-the-body/
3.- Antioxidant properties of the mung bean flavonoids on alleviating heat stress, 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3112222/
4.- A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiate), Chemistry Central Journal, 2014, https://ccj.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/1752-153X-8-4
5.- Mung beans nutrition & Its big benefits, 2018, Dr. Axe Food As Medicine, https://draxe.com/mung-beans-nutrition/
6.- An in-depth analysis of the nutritional value of mung beans, https://nutrineat.com/mung-beans-nutritional-value#index
7.- Scientists may have discovered the antidote to aging, 2018, https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/finally-scientists-may-have-discovered-the-antidote-to-aging/ar-AAvwF8r?ocid=spartanntp
8.- NAD (Coenzume B-3) FAQs, 2016, https://www.nowfoods.com/now/nowledge/nad-coenzyme-b-3-faqs
