Why Should you Detox?
Detoxing exists to rid the body of harmful substances. It’s based on the concept that our bodies accumulate toxins that cause cancer, obesity and other diseases.
Despite the fact that there is limited scientific evidence of the benefits of detox diets, there are a ton of them out there including: The Master Cleanse, Juju Cleanse, The Candida Cleanse, and the Isogenix 9-Day Deep Cleansing and Fat Burning System™. My husband and I tried the Isogenix “9-Day Deep Cleansing and Fat Burning System™” almost four years ago, and I’m not proud to say that we broke by day seven. The two straight days of just drinking the recommended powder with water and eating ‘snack’ tablets when we were too hungry to think, was just too much for us to bare again at the end of the cleanse in day eight and nine.
Despite our lack of success with cleansing, there are a couple of key reasons people detox:
1. To lose weight. Yes your scale will probably indicate you’ve lost weight, largely because you’re empty. You don’t have body water or anything in your intestines during the “cleanse”. But guess what? It all comes back a day or two after the detox is over, when you start to consuming food again.
2. To rid the body of toxins. Toxins are “…small molecules, peptides, or proteins capable of causing disease on contact with (or absorption by) body tissues.” Detox diets are, in theory, are supposed to give our bodies a “health reboot” by giving our bodies a break. This break is thought to enable a body to get rid of the nasty, evil toxins. For most of us, our systems including the digestive track, kidney, skin, liver and more, break down toxic and other chemicals into forms we can eliminate through sweat, breathing or excretion. The body’s detox system is 100% natural and it’s proven to be effective. If you actually did have a serious toxin problem in your body, you would know it, in fact, you’d probably be at the hospital getting testing done.
So if detox diets don’t lead to long term weight loss or rid the body of ‘evil’ toxins any better than our systems, what are the benefits?
Detoxes often lead to:
1. Better eating habits. After going through that caffeine headache by not consuming it for a few days, you’re less likely to dive back into your two times a day coffee habit. The flavour in veggies takes on a whole new meaning after drinking only lemon water for days! You often drink more during and after a detox, which is a great habit to be in.
2. More mindful eating. After a cleanse, you’ll often think twice about consuming as many processed foods and even drinking that bottle of wine on a Saturday night. Temporary abstinence seems to make these unhealthy items less appealing; you appreciate the way you feel due to clean eating.
The major disadvantages of detox diets include:
1. They move you too far away from the 80/20 rule I live by. Many people try detoxing to find moderation
after going through a period of indulgence (hence the reason in January, detox sales often soar); yet most detox diets are anything but moderate. Eating almost nothing for several days (lemon juice and food tablets, yum!), or eating cabbage soup doesn’t sound moderate to me.
2. They are hard on your system. Most cleanses will have you consume very little fiber, protein, prebiotics and probiotics – things needed for a healthy gut. The low caloric intake often ingested during a detox diet can make you feel sluggish, dizzy, weak and cold – these symptoms don’t sound healthy to me.
3. They are inconvenient. All diets require effort, however, detoxes seem to require more work. Juicing 10-15 pounds of veggies and fruits daily, isn’t much fun, especially when you feel sluggish, dizzy, weak, common symptoms of cleansing.
In my mind, the disadvantages of detoxing outweigh the advantages. To stay healthy and strong, I believe we should eat a diet filled with whole foods (including lots of veggies, veggies, veggies!) and try to cut back on processed foods. I’m not going to say eliminate them completely, just cut-back guys. We also need to drink at least 2 litres of water daily and we have to stay physically active. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.
Source:
Precision Nutrition, Are detox diets good for you?, Ryan Andrews