The Detox Diet

Quite a lot has been written about the detox diet over the years and it seems like there has been almost an explosion of detoxification diets in just the last ten years or so. The basic principle remains the same for all of these diets i.e. you use various foods and drinks to help your body get rid of any toxins.

Before you consider going on one of these diets or any diet for that matter it is important that you speak to your doctor. Detox diets are a common choice for health conscious people who want to lose weight and whilst it is certainly possible to achieve significant weight loss through a detox diet we feel it will more often than not prove to be temporary. This article will explore the reasons for this and why you might want to consider other diets for a longer term weight loss.

There are two basic approaches to almost any detox diet. First, the diet will call for avoiding foods that are known to introduce toxins into your body. Naturally, that is probably something every person should do anyway. Second, the particular detox diet will recommend you consume certain foods or liquids that support your body’s ability to process and eliminate toxins.

That’s pretty much what a detox diet does although you will also find diets that require you to reduce your intake of calories too. You will find some that have you eat much smaller portions or even go on liquid fasting such as with fruit and vegetable juices only.

The juice fast is considered a detox diet even though you will probably also lose weight on it. This diet has you drinking only fresh juice made from vegetables or fruit. On this one, we would definitely recommend you are cleared to do this safely from your doctor.

There are many different types of juices you can use for a diet such as this one, and each one has its own set of benefits and health promoting aspects. Some examples are wheatgrass juice, beet juice and water. If you do choose to go on a juice diet for your detox we would recommend you buy your vegetables from an organic health or grocery store. The reason is organically grown foods will be certified free of pesticides and other undesirable chemicals, in other words toxins.

The liver is one of the primary organs involved with detoxification. Many people think of herbal detox products as only being for the intestines but there are also those for cleansing the liver. If you’re thinking about your liver when planning a detox diet make sure you add burdock root, chlorella, and milk thistle to whatever else you are taking.

Many detox diets help to keep the liver healthy by creating antioxidants and enzymes that are required for detox activity. Detoxifying the body is a team effort and an important member of the team is the skin which is the largest organ in your body. It should come as no surprise that even brushing your skin each day or several times a week will encourage detoxification. Anything that will cause your blood to flow better is beneficial and brushing the skin will do that.

Surprisingly detox diets have actually been used for thousands of years in various forms and cultures so the methods are not really new. Saying that, a detox diet usually has some aspects which are in contradiction to traditional medical approaches and they do tend to stir up arguments within the medical profession. But whatever detox diet or juice diet you decide to try, do take the time to do some research and proceed with caution.

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