Dietary Detox

A toxin is a substance that can cause harm to your body. Your body takes in toxins on a regular basis because they are everywhere, from the water you drink to the oxygen you breathe. Although your body is equipped to filter out many toxins, proponents of dietary detox programs believe you can help your body flush out more toxins by making adjustments to what you eat.

Purported Health Benefits

Dietary detox supporters believe that toxins build up in the body and can cause ailments such as weight gain, perpetual bloating, fatigue, achiness, cancer and general malaise. You're less likely to have these impediments if you don't detox from time to time, they say. They also believe that you're more likely to feel content and energetic if you abide by detox diets.

The Cycle

Many dietary detox plans call for you to eat little or no food for a couple of days and gradually start including small amounts of specific foods such as raw vegetables and fruits, according to MayoClinic.com. Some diets call for you to take herbal concoctions that are said to purify your system and drink laxative teas or enema to cleanse out your colon. The majority of dietary detox programs last about one week to 10 days.

Insufficient Evidence

Detox dieters commonly make claims about having increased energy and focus after they diet, but this effect may be caused by the belief that they're doing something to purify their bodies. Other claimed benefits, such as fewer headaches, can be explained by factors other than detoxification. For example, you're less likely to feel headachey if you've suddenly started consuming more water and you're less likely to feel bloated if you're suddenly cutting most calories out of your diet. Little true scientific evidence actually supports the claim that these diets can remove toxic material from your body, according to MayoClinic.com.

The Risk

Your doctor is likely to steer you away from dietary detox because the process can also be harmful to your body. You're likely to experience negative symptoms such as fatigue and nausea during a detox diet. Diet proponents may claim that this is merely an effect of "detoxifying," but it's more than likely due to the use of laxatives and the sudden drop in calories. You're also likely to become dehydrated and develop a mineral imbalance if you try a laxative supplement and don't consume enough water to restore your body fluids, warns the Nemours Foundation. Other health risks of detox dieting include muscle breakdown, reduced immunity, blood sugar problems and increased risk of binge eating.

What to Do

Unless your doctor says otherwise, your built-in detox system -- which includes your kidneys, lungs, liver and skin -- should sufficiently rid your body of substances that could threaten your health. Give your body's built-in detox system a chance to do its job by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Listen to your gut instincts. Whereas eating a balance of nutrients and getting regular exercise can improve your fighting power, bad habits such as drinking too much, smoking cigarettes and dieting to the point of starvation are likely to compromise your health. Other ways to keep yourself healthy are to sleep until you feel properly rested each night, maintain proper hygiene and see your doctor when you're feeling sick.