Diet Detox

What Is a Detox Diet?

The people who support detox diets say that because of emotional stress or dehydration, toxins don't leave our bodies properly during the elimination of waste. Instead, they believe toxins hang around in our digestive, lymph, and gastrointestinal systems as well as in our skin and hair. According to proponents of detox diets, these toxins can cause all kinds of problems, like tiredness, headaches, nausea, and acne.

So the basic idea behind detox diets is to temporarily give up certain kinds of foods that are thought to contain toxins. The idea is to purify and purge your body of all the "bad" stuff. Although the diets vary, most of them involve some version of a fast, that is, giving up food for a couple of days, and then gradually reintroducing certain foods into your diet.
Many of these diets also encourage you to undergo colonic irrigation, otherwise known as an enema (an enema flushes out your rectum and colon using water), which is designed to "clean out" your colon. Still others recommend that you take herbal supplements to help the "purification" process.

There are tons of detox diets out there. Typically they involve 1 or 2 days on a completely liquid diet and another 4 or 5 days adding brown rice, fruit, and steamed vegetables (all organic) to the diet. After a week of eating only these foods, you gradually reintroduce other foods - except for red meat, wheat, sugar, eggs, and all prepackaged or junk foods - into your diet.

People on detox diets are also encouraged to chew their food thoroughly, to drink very little while eating, and to relax prior to each meal (although it seems a stretch to call a glass of lemon water a meal!).

Lots of claims are made about what a detox diet can do for you, from preventing and curing disease to giving you more energy to making you more focused and clear-headed. Of course, anyone who goes on a low-fat, high-fiber diet is probably going to feel more healthy, but proponents of detox diets claim that this is because of the elimination of toxins, as opposed to carrying around less excess weight or having a healthier heart. However, there's no scientific proof that these diets help rid the body of toxins faster or that the elimination of toxins will make you a healthier, more energetic person.

What Should You Watch Out For?

If detox diets still appeal to you, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind. For starters, detox diets are intended for short-term purposes only. (People are usually encouraged to go on fasts like this at specific times during the year, such as at the end of a season.) And these diets are usually recommended not to help people lose weight, but to help clean out their systems.

Because normal teenagers need lots of good nutrition, with high calories and protein to support the teenage growth and development period, diets that involve fasting and severe restriction of food are not a good idea. For teens who are involved in sports and physical activities that require ample food, fasting does not provide enough fuel to support these activities. For these reasons, detox diets can be especially risky for teenagers.

It's not recommended that people with diabetes, low blood sugar, or eating disorders go on detox diets.
You should also know that this type of diet can be addicting - some people really like purging. That's because there's a certain feeling that comes from going without food or having an enema - almost like the high other people get from nicotine or alcohol. This purification buzz can become a dangerous addiction that leads to health problems, including serious eating disorders and even death.

In addition, many of the supplements called for by these diets are actually laxatives, which are designed to make you go to the bathroom more often. These types of supplements are never a good idea because they can cause dehydration, mineral imbalances, and problems with your digestive system.

Finally, if you fast for several days, you may drop pounds but most of it will be water and some of it may be muscle, which will make you look thin and flabby, rather than tight and toned. Fasting for longer periods can also slow down your metabolism, making it harder to keep the weight off or to lose weight later.

We're not going to tell you that eating lots of veggies and fiber and drinking lots of water is a bad idea. But you also need to make sure you're getting all of the nutrients you need, including protein from lean meats, eggs, beans, or peas and calcium from low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt. You definitely shouldn't start a detox diet or stop eating from any major food group without talking to your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Your body is designed to purify itself. Your liver and kidneys will do the job they're supposed to do if you eat a healthy diet that includes fiber, fruits, veggies, and plenty of water. If you're feeling tired or run down, or if you're concerned that you're overweight, talk with a doctor who can help you determine the cause and recommend ways to address the problem.

Reviewed by: Susan Konek, MA, RD, CSP
Date reviewed: April 2003
Originally reviewed by: Jessica R. Donze, RD, CDE

Detoxification and The Detox Diet:
An Important Healing Process

by Elson M. Haas, M.D. Copyright © 1999


The simplest way to understand symptoms and disease integrates Western linear thinking, Chinese medicine and its philosophy of yin and yang, and the naturopathic approach to health and illness. Problems in the body (and mind) often arise from either DEFICIENCY, where we are not acquiring sufficient necessary nutrients to meet our needs and body functions--and CONGESTION, where we are having excessive intake, both from reduced eliminative functions and the overconsumption of foods or non-food substances, such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, refined sugar and food chemicals.

People who are deficient may experience such problems as fatigue, coldness, hair loss or dry skin, and they need to be nourished with wholesome foods to aid healing. Congestive problems, however, are more common in Western, industrialized civilizations. Many of our acute and chronic medical diseases and dilemmas result from the clogging of our tissues and tubes, and the suffocating of our cells and vital energy. Colds and flus to cancer and cardiovascular diseases, arthritis and allergies are all examples of congestive disorders.

These medical problems may be prevented or treated at least in part and often dramatically by embarking on a process of cleansing and detoxification. The incorporation of dietary changes, including consumption of more fresh fruits, vegetables and water while reducing animal fats and proteins and eliminating any damaging substance abuses is the beginning of the rejuvenation process for the human body. This was discovered long ago and is still true today even though medical science may make light of it in deference to the quick solution to major diseases.

I consider the cleansing/fasting/detoxification process (they are different degrees of the same process of reduced toxin intake and enhanced toxin elimination) to be the missing link in Western nutrition and a key to the health and vitality of our civilization. In my twenty five years of medical practice in which I have utilized extensively various detox and healing/rejuvenation practices for both myself and literally thousands of patients, I can tell you that I truly believe that cleansing and detoxification is virtually one of the most powerful healing (real healing of ailments and not just suppression of symptoms) therapies I have seen.

I have written extensively about detoxification, as can be seen in the last section of my 1100-page Staying Healthy With Nutrition book and which is the focus of my new book, The Detox Diet: The How-to and When-to Guide For Clearing Your Body of Toxic Substances, wherein I discuss both the medical and health factors of the cleansing process. The basics of The Detox Diet follow here to give you the general ideas of what it is involved.

In truth, what I attempt to do in my writing and practice, is to place your health and that of your family back into your hands, because so much of it is up to you. It really matters how you live--what you do and what you eat, and what you think and feel. Take hold and do what you can to be vital and healthy. It is really worth it! Be Well.


THE DETOX DIET

SPECIAL GUIDELINES for THE DETOX DIET:

1. Chew your food very well and take enough time when you eat.
2. Relax a few minutes before and after your meal.
3. Eat in a comfortable sitting position.
4. Eat primarily steamed fresh vegetables and some fresh greens.
5. Take only herbal teas after dinner.


THE DETOX DIET MENU PLAN

Morning: (upon arising): Two glasses of water (filtered, spring, or reverse osmosis), one glass
with half a lemon squeezed into it.

Breakfast: One piece of fresh fruit (at room temp), such as apple, pear, banana, grapes, or
citrus. Chew well, mixing each bite with saliva.

15-30 minutes later: One bowl of cooked whole grains -- specifically millet, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, raw buckwheat, or buckwheat. Flavoring can be two tablespoons of fruit juice for a sweeter breakfast taste, or use the "better butter" mixture mentioned below with a little salt or tamari for a deeper flavor.

Lunch: (Noon-1 P.M.) One-two medium bowls of steamed vegetables; use a variety, including
roots, stems, and greens -- e.g. potatoes or yams, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower,
carrots, beets, asparagus, kale, chard, and cabbage. CHEW WELL !

Dinner: (5-6 P.M.) Same as Lunch

Seasoning: Butter/canola oil mixture. Make this "better butter" by mixing a half cup of cold-
pressed canola oil (or olive or flaxseed oils) into a soft (room temperature) half-
pound of butter; then place in dish and refrigerate. Use about one teaspoon per
meal or a maximum of 3 teaspoons daily.

11 A.M. & 3 P.M. One-two cups veggie water, saved from steamed vegetables. Add a little sea salt or kelp and drink slowly, mixing each mouthful with saliva.

Evening: Herbal teas only -- e.g. peppermint, camomile, pau d'arco, or blends.

NOTE: You may feel a little weak or have a few symptoms the first couple of days; this will pass. Clarity and feeling good should appear by day 3 or 4, if not before. If during this diet, you start to feel weak or hungry, assess your water intake and elimination; if needed, you can eat a small portion of protein food (3-4 ounces) in the mid-afternoon. This could be fish; free-range, organic chicken; or some beans, such as lentils, garbanzos, mung, or black beans.