What Is a Detox Drip?
What Detox Really Means

A detox drip is an IV drip of antioxidants and vitamins, typically glutathione, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), alpha lipoic acid and vitamin C, given in a saline bag. The name suggests it flushes toxins out of the body, but that is a marketing idea rather than a medical one. Your liver and kidneys clear waste around the clock, and there is very little clinical evidence that any detox product, diet or drip helps them work better in healthy people. What the ingredients do have is a clear normal role in the body: glutathione is the body’s main antioxidant, NAC supplies the building block cells use to make glutathione, and alpha lipoic acid helps mitochondria produce energy. This guide explains what the liver and kidneys do, what each ingredient is, what the evidence does and does not show, and what is in our Detox Guru (R1,550). A registered nurse gives every drip after a medical screening questionnaire.

This guide was written under the medical direction of Dr Chris van Zyl (registered as M.C. van Zyl, HPCSA MP0287067), mobivIVe’s medical director. Our IV drips are given by registered nurses after a medical screening questionnaire.

What is a detox drip?

A detox drip is a saline-based IV drip that combines antioxidants such as glutathione, NAC and alpha lipoic acid with vitamins, usually over about 45 minutes. The word “detox” describes the idea behind the formula, not a proven effect. Injectable vitamins and glutathione are Schedule 3 medicines in South Africa, so a detox drip should only be given under medical oversight, never at a salon. At mobivIVe our version is The Detox Guru, also called our Detox IV Therapy. People choose it as an antioxidant and vitamin top-up after a busy or indulgent stretch, for example after the festive season or a run of late nights. We do not claim that it removes toxins or treats any condition.

How does the body remove toxins on its own?

Your liver and kidneys do this work every minute of the day, without any special product. Cleveland Clinic describes the liver as performing more than 500 functions, with its biggest job being to filter harmful substances and waste from the blood and break down toxins so they leave the body in urine and stool. The kidneys then filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine, and filter about 150 quarts (roughly 140 litres) of blood a day (US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). Looking after these organs means drinking water, eating well and limiting alcohol.

Why is “detox” a marketing word?

Because detox products rarely name the toxin they remove or show that they remove it, and good studies are almost absent. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that only a small number of studies on detox programmes have been done in people, mostly with design problems or few participants. A 2015 critical review found very little clinical evidence for detox diets and no randomised controlled trials of commercial detox diets in humans (Klein and Kiat, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2015). In medicine, detoxification means treating a specific poisoning or overdose, which is a hospital matter, not a wellness drip.

What is glutathione?

Glutathione is a small molecule made of three amino acids that your own cells produce, and it is the most abundant antioxidant the body makes. Inside cells it neutralises reactive molecules, helps recycle other antioxidants such as vitamin C, and is involved in how the liver processes many substances. That last role is why it appears in so many detox formulas. Glutathione is also the key ingredient in our glow drip, The Light Switch, and in many of our other drips. We cover how it works, how IV and oral forms compare and the safety points in detail in What is a glutathione drip?.

What is N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)?

NAC is a form of the amino acid cysteine, the building block that usually limits how much glutathione the body can make. A 2021 review describes NAC as a glutathione precursor and notes that its use as an antidote for paracetamol overdose, where it restores the liver’s glutathione levels, is well established (Schwalfenberg, Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2021). That hospital use is a specific emergency treatment for one poisoning, and it is not evidence that NAC in a wellness drip improves liver function in healthy people. In our drips NAC is included for its normal role in supplying cysteine for the body’s own glutathione.

What is alpha lipoic acid?

Alpha lipoic acid is a natural sulphur-containing compound that the body makes itself and uses to help mitochondria turn food into energy. The Linus Pauling Institute describes it as an essential cofactor for several mitochondrial enzyme complexes and a direct antioxidant, although any rise in antioxidant activity in the body is probably short-lived. In the test tube it can regenerate other antioxidants, including vitamin C and glutathione, but whether it does so in the body is unclear. The Institute also warns that it can lower blood sugar in people taking insulin or diabetes tablets, so tell us if you have diabetes.

What does the evidence show for detox drips?

There is no good evidence that a detox drip removes toxins or improves liver or kidney function in healthy people. What is established is narrower: each ingredient has a normal role in the body, and nutrients given intravenously reach higher blood levels than the same nutrients taken by mouth. Cleveland Clinic notes that there is limited scientific evidence of a direct general wellness benefit from IV vitamins. We present The Detox Guru honestly, as an antioxidant and vitamin top-up that many people enjoy as part of a reset, alongside sleep, water, good food and less alcohol, not as a cleanse or a medical treatment.

What is in the Detox Guru?

The Detox Guru contains alpha lipoic acid, glutathione, the Myers cocktail, vitamin C, vitamin B12, B complex and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and costs R1,550 for about 45 minutes. The Myers cocktail is a classic mix of B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and calcium (see What is a Myers cocktail?). Vitamin C is an antioxidant the body needs to make collagen, and B vitamins help the body turn food into energy. Amounts are set by our medical protocols. The price includes a 200ml or 1000ml saline bag; a 1000ml bag with dextrose is R200 extra, and extra vitamins can be added. Read more on our detox drip page.

Who should check with us before a detox drip?

Anyone with a heart, kidney or liver condition, anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone on chronic medication must tell us before booking. The vitamin C in The Detox Guru means people with G6PD deficiency or a history of kidney stones need to check first, and the alpha lipoic acid matters for anyone on insulin or diabetes tablets. If you have a liver condition, a detox drip is not a substitute for care from your own doctor. A registered nurse gives every drip after a medical screening questionnaire, under the protocols of our medical director, Dr Chris van Zyl. If you have a heart, kidney or liver condition, are pregnant, or take chronic medication, tell us before you book. To go ahead, book online or WhatsApp us on 061 509 6038.