Detoxes claim to help your body get rid of bad chemicals, or toxins, that you absorb from both the food you eat and the environment. The health claim: Getting rid of these toxins can help to ease health issues such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune diseases. Detoxes also claim to reset your metabolism, so they’re popular for weight loss. Cleanses come in different forms that can be used alone or in combination. Most involve short-term diets, often with fasting first. Some involve juice cleanses, specific nutritional shakes, or certain supplements or herbs. Others focus on cleansing your colon, through the use of laxatives, rectal enemas, or colon hydrotherapy, known as “colonic irrigation.” Wellness detoxes aren’t the same as the medical detoxes used by doctors to eliminate dangerous levels of alcohol, drugs, or poisons from the body. Doctors also use a chemical detoxification known as chelation therapy to remove heavy metals (such as mercury and arsenic) from the body.