Detox, or cleansing diets, offer a way to remove toxins and impurities from the body. Prescriptions for these diets last from one day to several weeks and usually require you to abstain from certain "offending" foods while ingesting others that promote optimum health. Although some detox diets call for supplements, many offer natural approaches that simply require commitment to a specific dietary profile. If you choose a detox diet, be aware that even "natural" incarnations often strictly restrict your food and calorie intake and that the purported results have no basis in scientific fact.
McKeith Diet
Holistic nutritionist Gillian McKeith's book "You Are What You Eat" intends to help people live a healthier lifestyle and reach a healthy weight. The first eight weeks of the program asks you to follow a vegetarian diet---and after that, you may enjoy small servings of fish or chicken occasionally. Much of McKeith's advice is based on the concept of food combining--a dietary approach that requires starches and proteins to be consumed at different meals and fruit to be enjoyed apart from other foods. Fresh juices and raw foods are encouraged. Certain foods such as red meat, caffeine, added sugars, refined flours and grains, saturated fat and alcohol are off-limits. A typical meal plan consists of herbal tea and fruit salad for breakfast, a mixed salad with raw almonds for lunch and a special vegetarian shepherd's pie for dinner. Eat snacks such as vegetable juice, raw vegetables, hummus and fruits whenever you're hungry. McKeith recommends supplementation, but with natural digestive enzymes and blue green algae.
Martha Vineyard's Detox Diet
The Martha Vineyard Detox Diet, created by Roni DeLuz--director of the the Martha's Vineyard Holistic Retreat--promises up to 21 lbs. of weight loss in 21 days. The original intent of the program is to nourish the body and cleanse it of toxins; the healthy consequences include improved digestion and immunity, a reduction in cellulite and a boost in mental clarity. The diet emphasizes liquids--natural juices made from fresh vegetables and berries, pureed vegetable soups and herb teas. Natural vitamins, digestive enzymes and aloe vera juice are also recommended to supplement the detox. The only foods allowed for the 21-day program are garlic, beans, carrots, cucumbers, celery, collard greens, kale, sweet potatoes, summer squashes, beets, tomatoes, purple cabbage and green vegetables. No caffeine or alcohol are permitted. The recommended daily calorie intake is only about 1,000 calories.
Raw Foods Diet
A raw diet consists primarily of raw fruits and vegetables, supplemented by nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. To be considered a "rawist," you must follow raw eating principles 75 percent of the time. Many natural detox diets exist, based on the principles of eating raw. "The Raw Food Detox Diet," written by nutritionist Natalia Rose, helps people move to a raw food lifestyle. Rose offers various levels through which you may progress to detoxify and clear your diet of cooked foods. Her Level 5, the most lenient, allows at least one cooked meal daily as well as some eggs, fish and chicken. The final, restrictive Level 1 recommends an almost exclusively raw diet with a serving of cooked salmon included just one time per week. As you move through the levels, your body detoxifies slowly and so some of the unwanted side effects of a cleanse (such as digestive discomfort, headaches and fatigue) are mitigated. The diet requires commitment but is completely based on whole foods.
Super Cleanse
Adina Niemerow wrote "Super Cleanse: Detox Your Body for Long-Lasting Health and Beauty" to help people seeking a natural way to improve their bodies. The personal chef offers multiple cleansing programs in the book--all promising to induce different levels of "physical rejuvenation." She offers options that last from one day to several weeks. The book includes nine total cleansing programs, all natural, that help a dieter move toward vegetarianism or raw eating, remove toxins accrued from living in an urban environment and revitalize in the winter season. All of the programs focus on eating raw fruits and vegetables, fresh smoothies, soups, nuts, seeds, brown rice, quinoa and herbal teas.
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