Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to detoxification.
Mega Clean is a liquid herbal supplement sold by a brand called Detoxify. The product costs $25.25 for a single serving (which is one bottle) which is a shockingly high price. Detoxify claims that their supplement will “help your body naturally cleanse your urinary, circulatory and digestive systems in a delicious, single herbal cleansing drink.”
But can a liquid herb blend actually detoxify the body, or is this just a marketing claim? Does the supplement contain any ingredients proven in medical research to be effective for detoxification? Does it contain any unhealthy additive ingredients.
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in Detoxify Mega Clean based on published medical research, and give our take on whether or not the supplement is likely to be effective.
Mega Clean contains a large number of active ingredients, so we’ll break our ingredient review down into two sections: vitamin & mineral blend, and herbal blend.
Ingredient Review - Vitamin & Mineral Blend
The blend with the largest number of ingredients in Mega Clean is the vitamin and mineral blend. It contains 18 added vitamins and minerals, such as riboflavin, selenium and vitamin B12.
We have not come across any medical evidence that added vitamins and minerals provide detoxification benefits to the body, nor does Detoxify cite any on their product page, so we will consider this entire blend likely ineffective.
Mega Clean contains 42 grams (g) of added sugar. This is nearly twice as much sugar as a regular-sized Coca-Cola and is an absurd amount for a “health” drink to have in our opinion.
We know from decades of medical studies that added sugar consumption is associated with a range of negative health outcomes such as increased diabetes risk, increased obesity risk and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We recommend avoiding added sugar intake entirely if possible (or limiting its consumption as much as possible) so we would recommend avoiding this drink based on this fact alone.
There is not one ingredient in this blend that we consider likely effective for supplemental detoxification. It’s essentially a multivitamin with a significant amount of added sugar.
Ingredient Review - Herbal Blend
Mega Clean does contain some herbal ingredients that have been studied in relation to detoxification.
Milk thistle has been documented in a medical review published in the Phytotherapy Research journal to reduce the effects of liver injury, and its active chemical compound silymarin “may act as a toxin blockade agent” that inhibits toxins from binding to cell membrane receptors in the liver.
Uva ursi leaf extract is an herbal extract derived from an evergreen shrub that may be effective for treating kidney stones, as we detailed in our High Voltage Detox reviews article. However, kidney stones aren’t always caused by toxins and are often caused by poor diet or medical conditions.
Citrus pectin is included in Mega Clean at a dose of 173 milligrams (mg), but our research indicates that this ingredient is a gelling agent, while modified citrus pectin is the fibrous material sourced from citrus plant pulps that’s been studied for detoxification support. A 2006 clinical trial found that intake of 15,000 mg of modified citrus pectin increased urinary excretion of toxic elements.
Our research suggests citrus pectin and modified citrus pectin are different ingredients with different biological effects, so we do not consider citrus pectin likely to be effective. However, we urge Detoxify to clarify whether there is a difference and if so, why they chose to use citrus pectin.
We cannot identify any medical studies suggesting that other herbal ingredients in this blend are effective.
Overall we consider this blend potentially effective for detoxification support, however we cannot recommend it because the ingredients are published in a proprietary “prop” blend which means only the total dose and not the individual ingredient doses are listed.
Consumers require individual ingredient doses to determine if any ingredient in a blend is safe and effectively-dosed, which is why we always recommend avoiding supplements that use a prop blend unless that supplement has been independently studied in clinical trials.
Are Detox Supplements Safe?
We generally recommend that consumers avoid dietary supplements promoted for detoxification, because we haven’t come across much medical research suggesting that healthy adults need supplemental detoxification.
The liver and kidneys detoxify the blood very efficiently (that’s their function), and we don’t consider it logical to treat medical conditions which require detoxification with dietary supplements.
An example of a health condition that may require a medically-assisted, supplemental detoxification protocol is liver disease. We would strongly recommend a patient with liver disease to seek medical assistance rather than take sugary dietary supplements to treat their condition.
Our overall point is that the category of health conditions that require external detoxification tend to be quite serious, and poorly-suited to over-the-counter (OTC) treatments.
In the 3-minute TED talk below, a doctor explains how the body naturally detoxes and why cleanses don’t work:
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of questionable health claims on the Detoxify website.
Detoxify claims that the “formula behind this product has been time tested to help rid your body of toxins at a moment’s notice.” There is no citation for this claim. We cannot find any medical evidence that this specific formula has been tested in clinical trials.
The brand also claims that “Mega Clean is formulated to work indiscriminately on any toxin in your body.” There is no citation for this claim. We consider this to be an unscientific claim given that most clinical research on exogenous detoxification involves a specific type of toxin (like heavy metal, pesticide, etc).
We suggest that consumers entirely disregard health claims made by supplement companies that provide no proof of such claims, and we consider this to be a sign of a low-quality brand.
Detoxify Mega Clean Real Customer Reviews
Mega Clean is sold on Amazon which is a more objective resource for customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion. The detox drink has a 3.8 out of 5 star rating with over 6,000 total reviews.
It receives a “D” grade on Fakespot, which is a software tool that detects potentially fake Amazon reviews. Fakespot’s “Adjusted Rating” is 2 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Zoe Mack” who claims the drink helped her pass a urine test:
“For the test- I waited around 3 hours after drinking before I tested the first time. Tested negative. Waited another hour and a half for the second test and still tested negative. I had my official test today, I quit smoking around 4 weeks ago and still tested positive. Been taking detox pills, which has semi helped (I think).”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Oblivion” who claim the drink was ineffective for passing a urine test:
“Perhaps my weight and diet compromised my results but as it stands, this method of clensing failed to produce any negative test results. I have been off of Delta 9 for 56 days, everyday smoker prior. Have dabled in Delta 12 and 8 about 48 days prior.
I moderatly fasted prior to beginning the clense. 6 pre clense pills taken at varying times the day before clensing along with recommended water intake. I tested throughout the entire process yet no change was detected. Instructions were followed thoroughly but no other dietary changes were made during which may have adversely affected the clensing but should not have been a large factor considering metabolism.”
Research-Backed Liver Support Plant
We don't recommend the use of food products or supplements to "cleanse" or "remove toxins" from the body as stated above. However, there are compounds which can naturally support the body's own detoxification processes for consumers intent on doing so.
The liver and kidneys detoxify the body, and moringa leaf is a plant which has been found in medical research to optimize and enhance the body's innate detoxification pathways.
A clinical trial on animals, published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal, found that moringa leaf reduced liver damage and improved symptoms of liver fibrosis.
A medical review published in 2016 reviewed tens of individual trials on moringa leaf and concluded that the plant may be effective for chemoprevention (reducing risk of cancer development) due to its ability to support natural detoxification pathways.
We are not suggesting that moringa leaf should be used to treat any specific medical condition; we're just highlighting early research suggesting that this plant may be beneficial to organ systems that detoxify the human body, and may be used in a preventative manner. Moringa is a food product and not a supplement.
Apothékary Moringa Powder is the moringa product we recommend, because it has one single ingredient (moringa powder), and no questionable additives. Moringa powder can be added to smoothies, yogurt or just mixed into water or tea.
Interested consumers can check out Apothékary Moringa Powder at this link.
