Can I Eat Avocados On A Detox?

Many health experts believe that a concentrated period of detoxification can boost your body's natural ability to eliminate toxins. However, detox diets remain a controversial topic. Many detox plans claim to be able to deliver significant results through intense fasting or by eating a diet based on one type of food. Dr. Frank Lipman, an expert in functional medicine, cautions against any detox program that is not nutritionally based. He notes that a good detox program should eliminate foods that put an extra burden on your body's detoxification system, while simultaneously supplying the nutrition that your body needs to detoxify effectively. Consult your doctor before attempting any detox program.

Purpose of a Detox

Although your body was designed with a natural detoxification system that eliminates waste, the toxic load in our modern environment can be too much for your body to handle. Writing on Lipman's website, Patricia Fitzgerald, a doctor of homeopathic medicine, cites studies showing that our bodies store chemicals at toxic levels. These chemicals come from our environment, food additives, cleaning products, preservatives and pesticides. Prolonged toxin accumulation can lead to many health problems, including cancer.

Foods to Avoid on a Detox

An effective detox diet plan must eliminate any chemicals, as well as foods that are difficult to digest, according to Dr. Alejandro Junger, author of "Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself." This includes all processed foods, meaning anything that you buy in a box or a bag. It may also include wheat, sugar, dairy, eggs, soy, corn and peanuts, which are all potential allergens or irritants. According to Junger, even if you do not have a known allergy to any of these foods, you may still be having undiagnosed digestive reactions.

Foods to Eat on a Detox

Junger recommends a diet based on fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, preferably organic. His Clean diet plan consists of consuming a liquid meal for breakfast, such as homemade juice or a smoothie, followed by a healthy solid meal for lunch. Dinner is another liquid meal such as soup. Avocados can be incorporated into all of these meal plans.

About Avocados

Avocados are a type of fruit that is high in nutrients such as fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate, the Centers for Disease Control report. Because avocados are also high in fat, people often believe that it is best to avoid them. However, the type of fat found in avocados is monounsaturated fat, which actually makes them a very healthy food. According to Go Ask Alice!, Columbia University's health services website, eating monounsaturated fats can raise levels of good HDL cholesterol and help lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol.

How to Use Avocados

Lipman recommends using avocado as a main ingredient in smoothies, to add a creamy texture. By using an avocado instead of a banana as the base for your smoothie, you can decrease the sugar content of your meal. Lipman notes that avocados can help restore low magnesium levels, which can be a source of muscle pain, headaches, constipation, insomnia and fatigue. You can also use avocados in salads and soups. Adding an avocado to a pureed vegetable soup will give it a creamier texture.