Are detox diets safe? The harmful side effects of fad diets can outweigh the risks associated with toxic chemicals in the body.
Overweight people often turn to potentially harmful detox diets to boost their initial weight loss to cope with a weight loss plateau. Wanting to lose weight fast, an overweight person is vulnerable and wants to believe that one or more fad diets will be the one to work for them to help them lose weight once and for all.
Purpose of a Detox Diet
Detox diets are used to cleanse toxic chemicals from the body. While some detox diets include the use of special drinks, most of these fad diets require that you give up sweets, carbs and protein for a defined length of time, usually between 1 and 10 days. Once your body is cleansed you can gradually add back these foods in limited quantities.
The focus of detox diets is to drink a lot and eat very little to cleanse the body and rid toxins to lose weight more quickly.
Toxins in the Body
Toxic chemicals can be harmful to your health and detrimental to weight loss efforts. Toxins are unnatural elements in the body. Though some toxins enter the body through pollutants in the environment, most chemicals are ingested. The things we choose to eat, drink and inhale are toxic chemicals that make people sick and prevent them from losing weight.
Smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking caffeine and eating too many prepackaged and over-processed foods all have a toxic effect on the body. Avoiding these items and eating naturally is the first step in riding your body of these harmful toxins to allow yourself to lose weight.
Problems with Detox Diets
Fad diets are never a good idea for long-term health and well-being. Detox diets are no exception. There is no scientific proof that detox diets work to help you lose weight over a long period of time. Typically what happens is you lose water weight while on a detox diet. The initial weight loss is encouraging for some dieters and it is a good way to kick start their diet and motivates them to continue to lose weight.
The problem with detox diets is they make you feel sick. Common complaints from overweight people on a detox diets include:
Detox diets are especially harmful for people with eating disorders. Extreme calorie reduction can be detrimental to weight loss goals. Feeling deprived often leads to binge eating and yoyo dieting. It is important to deal with the underlying issues that caused the eating disorder before taking any extreme measures like following a detox diet.
Are Detox Diets Necessary?
There is no reason to put yourself through an extreme calorie reduced diet to rid your body of toxins. You can get the same effect by sweating them out naturally through physical exercise and eating a high-fiber diet.
Talk to your doctor before starting a detox diet or if you feel sluggish. He can help you create a healthy lifestyle plan that you can stick with to lose weight safely.
The copyright of the article Detox Diets and Weight Loss in Diet Trends is owned by Tracy Rose. Permission to republish Detox Diets and Weight Loss must be granted by the author in writing.
I wanted to comment on some of the views expressed in your recent article about "detox diets." While I agree that "detox diets" can be problematic for people who are on them exclusively to lose weight, cleansing does have benefits (one of which is usually weight loss) WHEN DONE CORRECTLY.
In my experience, people who experience the symptoms you describe, or who fall into anorexic behavior or yoyo dieting after/during cleansing, are not cleansing correctly for their bodies. Under these circumstances, a cleanse can be harmful. This is why I always recommend supervision by a naturopath or holistic therapist during a cleanse.
You said, "these fad diets require that you give up sweets, carbs and protein for a defined length of time, usually between 1 and 10 days."
In fact, some of the most successful cleanses at removing toxins from the body don't require a substantial change in your diet - see my recent article <a href="http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/cleansing_with_supplements">Cleansing with Supplements</a>.
You also said, "The focus of detox diets is to drink a lot and eat very little to cleanse the body and rid toxins to lose weight more quickly."
Again, this is a false belief based on a very few real cleanses (as opposed to fad diets promoting themselves as cleanses) that are conducted this way. Most cleanses involve eating a slightly modified diet - or your usual diet - while working with herbs, supplements, and treatments that gradually and gently help the body to release toxins.
People who are overweight need to be especially careful while cleansing, and should almost never go on the kind of extreme detox you describe. I believe education about the various types and aspects of cleansing is important so that people can find the cleanse that will be of most benefit to them - and so people realize that cleansing is a solution for some, but not ideal for everyone.
For more on cleansing, see <a href="http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_cleansing">What is Cleansing?</a>
May 10, 2007 9:58 AM
Tracy Rose
:
Victoria,
Thank you for the detailed post about natural and effective ways to detox. As you pointed out, I am referring to the fad diets that require extreme calorie reduction that comes close to fasting.
Most often an overweight person will not talk to their doctor about doing it because they know they won't get the approval for it. The typical response from a doctor is to exercise more and follow a low-fat diet. They will often recommend a diet based on the food pyramid or one used for those with Diabetes.
Perhaps with the help of a holistic therapist, a detox cleanse is a healthier way to go, but I would not advise a detox diet for an overweight person who is trying it at home after reading the latest fad diet book.
May 10, 2007 6:41 PM
Victoria Anisman-Reiner
:
Tracey,
I very much appreciate your thoughtful response.
There has been a lot of recent media backlash against cleansing, so I felt I had to comment when I saw your article. I absolutely agree that anyone attempting to cleanse for the first time should do so under supervision of a health care practitioner.
I believe this is the case whether or not the person in question is overweight. Regardless of health or level of fitness, a book can never tell you all you need to know to do a cleanse for the first time!
