Healthy Organic Weight Loss Detox

Overview

Detoxification diets are designed to help each internal organ remove waste so that it functions more efficiently. Elson Haas, MD, author of "The New Detox Diet," has recommended juice fasting for detox programs and also eating foods that are in season as ways to do this. Eating organic foods supports detoxification; inorganic foods are grown with pesticides and insecticides. To lose weight, eat whole foods, keeping daily fat consumption to below 30 percent and saturated fats to below 10 percent and maintaining a regular exercise program for permanent weight loss.

Function

Organic detox diets cleanse each internal organ to speed weight loss and to help improve digestion and elimination.

Carrie L'Esperance, author of "The Seasonal Detox Diet," discusses targeted detox regimens to cleanse the large intestine, liver, kidney, lungs and skin. She provides detailed recipes for these detox programs.

If you are in good health, you can probably lose weight doing a short juice fast using organic fruits and vegetables and drinking herbal teas including senna, cascara sagrada, burdock root, red clover, dandelion root and sarsaparilla. Or sip one of the many commercial detox teas that contain several herbs that encourage cleansing.

Time Frame

Detoxification programs have been performed by many different cultures according to the seasons. For example, spring equinox, March 21, is a popular time to undergo a detox. Eating heavier foods during winter, it was common to eat bitter or astringent green vegetables such as dandelion greens, lacinto or dinosaur kale and other leafy green vegetables to encourage cleansing. These vegetables provide vitamin C and help move waste from the colon and encourage the gallbladder to produce bile. Choose spring, summer, fall or winter equinox as a time to do a detox cleanse to prepare yourself for a new season and to shed a few pounds.

Dr. Hass and L'Esperance discuss the importance of eating foods in season: it is a way to help the internal organs perform optimally and to also eat fruits, vegetables and grains that are at their best.

For example, eating apples of all types during fall months and cherries and watermelon in summer is taking advantage of what is plentiful during different seasons.

Considerations

A healthy organic weight loss detox program is one that is appropriate for your age, body type and the kind of mental and physical demands you have in your daily schedule. For example, for a man in his 30s in excellent health, he could follow an organic juice fast for up to 10 days or longer, gradually transitioning to solid foods.

A woman who has just given birth and may be nursing is probably better served following an organic detox diet as described by Dr. Haas that emphasizes seasonal fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, non-saturated fats and teas for gentle detox, such as buckthorn root.

For a man who is 58, more than 20 pounds overweight, who has high blood pressure and has been sedentary, a detox diet that includes a short juice fast directed by a nutritionist or doctor, followed by a whole foods detox diet, is probably best.

Function

Every detox diet is designed to clear the bowel (large intestine) of waste first. This is necessary before undergoing a more directed, long-term detox. Once the internal organs begin to detox, those toxins will be moved through the kidney, liver and colon. If you are irregular (have fewer than one daily bowel movement), cleansing the colon is wise.

For weight loss, many spa detox programs begin with several days of an organic juice fast, with herbal detox teas included. Dry skin brushing is a way to encourage the skin, the body's largest organ, to help assist detoxification. Use a special natural boar bristle brush and drag over the skin, without water. This removes dead skin cells.

After juice fasting for a few days, transition to a whole foods diet and retool your way of eating for life. The U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture features a My Food Pyramid in many versions to provide dietary guidelines for all stages of life.

A detox program will remove waste from the internal organs to improve digestion, assimilation and elimination. People report after a detox to eat less and a more varied diet.

Misconceptions

The biggest misconception is that everyone should endure a water fast for several days. This is too harsh and not medically advised. Doing so places the body into an artificial famine state, where the body lowers it metabolism, so that you burn fewer
calories. The body actually begins to metabolize lean muscle tissue. To lose weight, you must preserve lean muscle tissue--as it has higher calories needs and helps you lose weight.

Consult your doctor or a nutritionist to determine what type of detox program is appropriate for you. Think of a long-term approach that will allow you to lose up to 2 pounds per week for permanent weight loss.