With many celebrities attributing their thin bodies to detoxifying cleanse plans, it is no surprise that regular men and women express interest in the body cleansing process. Typical cleanses involve a week or more of strict caloric restriction and consumption of only a few types of foods. Proponents of cleanses claim they detoxify the body and promote good health, but detox diets can cause significant health problems. Consult your physician before beginning any new diet to ensure that it is a safe choice for you.
Purpose
Our modern lifestyle causes us to be exposed to dozens of chemicals every day. Pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, additives, preservatives and packaging materials may leave chemicals in our foods. Other sources of foreign chemicals include air pollution, cleaning agents, detergents and water pollutants. Proponents of detox diets believe that these chemicals linger in your body, causing fatigue, suppressed immune activity, irritability, weight gain and other effects. Detoxifying cleanses purportedly neutralize dangerous toxins and remove them from your body, restoring your good health.
Types of Diets
There are dozens of cleanse diets that claim to have detoxifying effects. Common detox diets include the Master Cleanse, juice fasts, smoothie diets, raw food detox plans and the cabbage soup cleanse. People typically undertake a detoxifying cleanse for one to two weeks, unlike a traditional weight-loss diet. The majority of cleanses emphasize the importance of eating raw foods or juices for their supposed detoxifying effects.
Common Cleansing Practices
Although the specific features of each cleanse vary, most cleanse plans severely restrict your caloric intake and food choices. For example, the Master Cleanse requires you to drink a beverage containing lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup and water several times per day. The cabbage soup diet allows you to eat only cabbage soup for the duration of the cleanse. Most detox diets also have a colon cleanse component. Eating specific herbs, taking laxatives or drinking a large quantity of saltwater induces frequent bowel movements. This supposedly flushes toxins from your body and cleanses your colon of excess waste.
Warning
Although detox cleanses may sound like an appealing way to lose weight and boost your energy, they can be very dangerous. Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky reports that detox diets may cause fatigue, dehydration, nausea, dizziness or more severe side effects. Your body does not need a special cleanse diet to remove toxins; your kidneys and liver perform that function naturally. To lose weight and improve overall well-being in a healthier way, focus on eating a balanced diet that contains a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
References
- "Women's Health" Magazine; A Body Cleanse That Isn't Crazy; Camille Pagan; April 2010
- My House Call MD; Fad Diets -- The Good, the Fad and the Ugly; Leah Frankel; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Detox Diets -- Do They Work?; Katherine Zeratsky
- American Heart Association: Quick-Weight-Loss or Fad Diets
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