Northern Ireland

Doctors warning over new year detoxes

Despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects the report said
Despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects the report said Despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects the report said

Doctors have issued a warning about new year detoxes after a woman suffered potentially life-threatening complications after taking herbal remedies and drinking lots of fluids.

Medics from Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trusts said the concept of a detox with all-natural products can be "appealing" but they cautioned that people should be alert to the "potential detriment" of such detoxes.

The comments, published in BMJ Case Reports, came after a 47-year-old woman was hospitalised after taking a range of herbal remedies and drinking more fluids than usual.

The previously fit woman had been carrying out the detox over the new year period.

She suffered a brief period of confusion and teeth grinding before collapsing and having a seizure.

The woman was found to have low levels of salt in her blood.

Her family told medics she had increased thirst over the past two to three days before hospital admission - she had been drinking more water and tea as a result, but they did not think it was excessive.

The woman also routinely took herbal remedies for various minor symptoms. She regularly took milk thistle, molkosan, l-theanine, glutamine, vitamin B compound, vervain, sage tea, green tea and valerian root.

The patient reported that she had more recently been under increased stress and suffering with low mood and had been increasingly taking them all together.

After anaylsing the case, the authors of the report concluded: "Patients should be advised of the potential detriment done to their health of undertaking a new year 'detox' especially if it involves consuming excessive amounts of fluid or alternative remedies."

They added: "The complementary medicine market is very popular in the UK and the concept of the new year 'detox' with all-natural products is appealing to those less concerned with evidence-based medicine and more with complementary medicine.

"Excessive water intake as a way of 'purifying and cleansing' the body is also a popular regime with the belief that harmful waste products can thus be washed from the body.

"Despite marketing suggesting otherwise, all-natural products are not without side effects."