Detox Diets

What are detox diets?
The basic idea behind detox diets is to temporarily give up certain kinds of foods that are thought to contain toxins. The idea is to purify and purge the body of all the "bad" stuff.It neutralizes and eliminates toxic compounds in the body that come from the environment - tobacco, alcohol, pesticides, metals such as mercury, food additives, oral contraceptives and drugs. The idea of a good detox diet is to eat pure and natural foods that will aid the function of the lymph, kidneys, and liver. Detoxification or detox diets are touted by many as a way to remove "toxins" from the body.

What these detox diets do ?
During a detoxification programme you are encouraged to adhere to a cleansing diet consisting mainly of fruit and vegetables and to abstain from items such as wheat, meat, dairy products, salt, alcohol, caffeine, fried foods, spices and foods containing artificial additives, preservatives, sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Benefits from a detox diet
1. Improved digestion, better elimination, less constipation, gas, bloating and indigestion.
2. Freedom to breathe more deeply.
3. Less allergic or reactive responses to foods. You will likely experience less mucus and congestion and a clearing of sniffles and coughs.
4. More energy, better nutrient absorption, overall improved health.
5. Balanced pH; improved alkalinity, less acidic.
6. Weight loss and the realization that you can enjoy a lighter style of eating.
7. Sense of satisfaction, greater vitality and a desire to choose better foods and develop better eating habits, permanently.
8. A deeper understanding of how to take care of yourself with these new found skills.

Are they healthy ?
There's no evidence that this is true or that detox diets have any health benefits. Also, in some cases, detox diets can have harmful side effects.

Most detox programs will avoid the following:
Alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drugs;
Processed and refined foods;
Certain supplements (due to the amount of additives).

But do detox diets help you lose weight?
Certainly, this is unsurprising because calorie intakes are usually extremely low. Getting off major groups of foods such as dairy products, meat and wheat-based foods means you'll slash the amount of calories you have and only replace a few of these calories with the extra fruit and veg you eat. The weight you can expect to lose will depend on the severity of the dietary restriction as more food restrictions are there, more will be the wieght loss you expect.

What should you watch out for ?
Before going on detox diets, there are a number of things to keep in mind. For starters, detox diets are intended for short-term purposes only. And these diets are usually recommended not as a way to lose weight, but to help "clean out the system."

Because normal teenagers need lots of nutritional goodies, like enough calories and protein to support rapid growth and development, diets that involve fasting and severe restriction of food are not a good idea. For teens who are involved in sports and physical activities that require ample food, fasting does not provide enough fuel to support these activities. For these reasons, detox diets can be especially risky for teenagers.

It is not recommended that people with diabetes, low blood sugar, or eating disorders go on detox diets.

You should also know that this type of diet can be addicting. That's because there's a certain feeling that comes from going without food or having an enema almost like the high other people get from nicotine or alcohol. This can become a dangerous addiction that leads to health problems, including serious eating disorders and even death.In addition, many of the supplements used during detox diets are actually laxatives, which are designed to make people go to the bathroom more often. Laxative supplements are never a good idea because they can cause dehydration, mineral imbalances, and problems with the digestive system.

Finally, people who fast for several days may drop pounds, but most of it will be water and some of it may be muscle. Fasting for longer periods can also slow down a person's metabolism, making it harder to keep the weight off or to lose weight later.