Body detoxification has become a fad in diets. It is no surprise: Detox diets have a great advantage in that they not only promise weight loss, but also clean our blood and maintain health in tone.
Thousands of people try them, and it is common that we find them in different versions: Detox guide for summer, for autumn, for winter … One might wonder: what exactly does this type of diet do?
The truth is that these types of diets are somewhat hermetic when it comes to explaining their methods. You know what it is to say “no” to many manufactured foods and eat a lot of fluids and fruits, but we do not know anything about its effectiveness.
Find out how Detox diets really work .
Principles of Detox diets
The nature of the Detox diet is not particularly complicated or distinct from other short-lived diets.
A typical diet of this genre proposes a brief period of fasting as a preparation, followed by a highly strict diet in terms of the consumption of fruits, natural juices, vegetables and water. In extreme cases, even enemas of colon, supplements or special teas.
In principle, Detox diets help to:
- Rest the organs through fasting.
- Stimulate the liver to get rid of toxins.
- Promote the elimination of toxins through feces, urine and sweat.
- Improve circulation
- Provide the body with nutrients.
They also claim to be effective in treating obesity, allergies, autoimmune diseases, or chronic fatigue. However, research on this is limited, and only a few beneficial isolated effects are the closest to a positive overall conclusion about these diets.
How should a detox diet be followed?
There are different ways to go on a detox diet . The most extreme methods range from a total fast where the body relies only on fruit juices, to simple modifications in food.
Most detox diets include at least one of the following methods:
- Fast for 1 to 3 days.
- Drink fruit juices, smoothies, teas and water as base foods.
- Drink specific liquids like salt water or lemon juice.
- Eliminate foods with heavy metals and contaminants.
- Take supplements or herbs.
- Avoid all allergenic foods, and then go back to them slowly.
- Using laxatives, colon cleanses, or enemas.
- Exercise regularly.
- Completely eliminate alcohol, tobacco, coffee and refined sugar.
What toxins does the Detox diet eliminate?
Detox diets do not normally specify the type of toxins they remove. In fact, there is not even evidence that they eliminate specific toxins, and that is for a fundamental scientific reason: there is no evidence that the human body is loaded with toxins that need to be eliminated with external aids.
The truth is that the body is a complete element capable of supporting itself. Unless there is a fault in our body, all humans have the ability to generate feces, urine or sweat that are responsible for eliminating toxins.
Why do we need a Detox diet?
There are some toxins in the body , coming from chemicals that we consume, and that are not so easy to eliminate. They are elements that accumulate in our fat tissues, such as heavy metals, organic pollutants, bisphenol A or phthalates . Diets promise to generate conditions that free us from them, although without scientifically proving it.
Are detox diets good for health?
People undergoing these detox regimens have reported that they feel better before and after their treatment. Although this is true, there are several collateral reasons that can affect.
One of the reasons is the fact that Detox diets ask us for periods of fasting from certain harmful foods. Eliminate fat, consume less alcohol, increase fruits or reduce excessive food intake, makes our body wake up and begin to better assimilate the vitamins that were asleep.
Do detox diets help you lose weight?
In general, detox diets do not have benefits for weight loss . Although people subjected to this diet tend to lose weight quickly, they regain it more quickly as soon as they stop practicing.
The fact would be explained by the elimination of carbohydrates: doing so allows the body to release stored liquid, liquid that is easier to recover even than fat, which, on the other hand, is not eliminated in the whole process.
On the other hand, better effects have been shown in Detox diets that are more restrictive in the number of calories, such as the lemon juice diet . Those who have undergone it have effectively lost weight, fat and volume, but for short periods of time.
The problem with these types of crash diets is that they do not guarantee long-term results.
Benefits of Detox diets
Not everything in detoxification is a smokescreen: eliminating harmful factors from our diet, and giving prominence to others, although it does not guarantee the promised detoxification, it does have its advantages. Some of them are:
- Stay away from harmful heavy metals and organic pollutants.
- Eliminate excess fat.
- Set a roadmap for a life of increased physical activity.
- They make us avoid processed food
- Makes a necessary emphasis on hydration.
- Limit our stress and improve sleep.
Although it is not miraculous, well followed a Detox diet can then be a good step.
Risks of Detox diets
Detox diets claim to encompass many achievements in a short time. This can have harmful consequences, such as:
- Severe calorie restriction : Our body needs calories. Restricting them completely, even for short periods of time, far from helping us, will drain us of energy.
- Risk of overeating certain supplements : An overdose, whether it involves laxatives, supplements, diuretics, and even water, is harmful. Remember that most Detox diet supplements do not have a quality or regulation check, which does not make them totally recommended for consumption.
- Our personal factors: These diets should be used only by well-advised and responsible young adults. Children, adolescents, the elderly, lactating women and the like are at greater risk, both due to their physical characteristics and their greater tendency to exaggerate them.
Finally, a more mature approach would be to avoid the things that truly intoxicate you: cigarettes, processed foods, and so on. Remember: if you are not intoxicated, there will be no need to detox in the first place.
Reference
- Adda Bjarnadottir. Detox Diets 101: Do These “Clenases” Really Work ?. For Authority Nutrition. [Revised April 2016]
