Celebrities go on them, they encourage you to consume stuff that's good for you—plenty of water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and, of course, everyone knows that anything toxic is bad for you. So a detox diet must be good for you, right? Well, not always. Like many fad or extreme diets, detox diets can have harmful effects and even work against your best weight-loss efforts.
We will be discussing detox diets for the next few blogs to give you a good handle on the safe way to detox.
So, What Is a Detox Diet?
Toxins—chemicals that can come from food or water, used to grow or prepare food, and even come from the air that we breathe—can have harmful effects on our bodies. However, our bodies process those toxins through organs such as the liver and kidneys and eliminate them in the form of sweat, urine, and feces.
Although the beneficial effects of detox diets have not been well studied or scientifically proven, the people who believe in them think that toxins don't always leave our bodies properly during the elimination of waste. Instead, they think toxins are stored in our bodies—in our gastrointestinal and lymphatic systems. Detox diets typically are designed to have you temporarily give up certain foods that are thought to contain toxins and rid the body of all the "bad" stuff you've accumulated.
Some diets involve fasting (giving up food for a couple of days) and then gradually reintroducing certain foods into the diet. Some promote colon cleansing or the intake of special teas or supplements that claim to "cleanse" your body. Many make unproven claims to prevent or cure disease, promote weight loss, and boost energy levels, yet don't warn you of the potential dangers or downsides.
Detox diets that promote the use of laxatives or enemas as a way to rid the body of toxins can lead to dehydration, mineral imbalances, intestinal dependency, and other potential problems.
Detox diets that promote fasting for several days can have a negative impact on metabolism. They can promote muscle breakdown to support the body's energy needs, which in turn slows metabolism or calorie-burning, making weight loss more difficult. And, certainly, the safety of following a detox diet if you have any pre-existing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes should be questioned.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog when we cover how your body detoxifies.
To your health,
Nadia
Your weight loss partner
1-877-405-4471
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