The risks of detox diet
On May 23, 2007
Categories: Diet and Nutrition, Health Tips, Healthy Lifestyle, In the News
Popular detox diets promise to flush poisons from your body, purge pounds of excess fat, clear your complexion and bolster your immune system.
But experts say there’s little evidence that extreme regimens such as the Master Cleanse or Fruit Flush do anything more than lead to unpleasant, unhealthy side effects.
Still, these super-restrictive eating plans are hotter than ever, thanks to being linked to lanky celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. Beyonce Knowles attributed her 20-pound weight loss for the movie “Dreamgirls” to the Master Cleanse — a starvation diet whose adherents swallow nothing but a concoction of lemon juice mixed with maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper, as well as salt water and a laxative tea for 10 days.
The idea of detoxifying or purifying the body of harmful substances has been around for centuries and cycles back into popularity now and again. There are no hard numbers on how many people have tried the latest fashionable plans, much less stuck with them, but dozens of new do-it-yourself fasting books are glutting bookstore shelves.
That’s what has nutrition experts sounding the alarm over possible risks from lengthy or repeated fasts. Vitamin deficiencies, muscle breakdown and blood-sugar problems — not to mention frequent liquid bowel movements — are some of the seriously unpleasant drawbacks to these plans, which are skimpy on solid foods and often call for laxatives.
“Long-term fasts lead to muscle breakdown and a shortage of many needed nutrients,†says Lona Sandon, a Dallas dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Depriving the body of the vitamins and minerals we get from food can “actually weaken the body’s ability to fight infections and inflammation,†she says.
Because the crash diets can upset blood sugar, potassium and sodium levels in the body, people with diabetes, heart or kidney disease or women who are pregnant or nursing shouldn’t try them, experts say. Children, teens, older adults or people with certain digestive conditions should also steer clear.
The scores of detox diet books and kits out there each have their own take on how to cleanse the body — one calls for spices and fruit juices, another for only vegetable purees — but most of them boil down to extremely low-calorie, primarily liquid diets.
The idea behind these plans, which can last anywhere from three days to about a month, is to rid the body of toxins absorbed from the environment and the less-than-healthy foods we eat. This cleansing is supposed to leave you feeling energized.
Some plans restrict all solid foods and instruct dieters to survive on only low-calorie beverages for days at a time. The Joshi holistic diet involves an elaborate list of so-called acid-forming foods to avoid for three weeks, including seemingly healthy veggies and grains.
Many intestinal experts say we don’t need an extreme diet to cleanse our insides.
“Your body does a perfectly good job of getting rid of toxins on its own,†says Dr. Nasir Moloo, a gastroenterologist with Capitol Gastroenterology Consultants Medical Group in Sacramento, Calif. “There’s no evidence that these types of diets are necessary or helpful.â€
While there are medical conditions that interfere with organ function and prevent the body from clearing toxins, healthy people already have a built-in detoxification system — the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin, says Moloo.
September 4th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I have done the Master Cleanse 3 times now (and not for weight loss), and I completely disagree with the biased tone of this article. Using words like “starvation” and phrases like “depriving of minerals and vitamins” speak volumes about the fact that the writer of this article doesn’t really understand what they’re writing about. Do a little more research if you want to know about this. I can only speak from my own experience, but how great I feel while cleansing and after is my testimony.
December 27th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Hello, This is Mary
I am 36 years old with 2 toddlers. My youngest just started day care last week- which still feels a little strange. I haven’t had this much time to myself in years. First thing I want to do is lose the extra pounds I put on during the last pregnancy. One of the girls next door has suggested I join her walking group two days a week. After my first pregnancy I lost around 35 pounds using the Herbalife products, but when I called the man that sold them to me three years ago he told me this week he doesn’t sell them anymore. He told me to look on the internet. It’s disappointing because he was really nice and he called me regularly to make sure I was using their products correctly. It was nice to have someone checking in with me every week to see how I was and it kept me motivated.
I searched on the internet for someone that sells Herbalife in New Jersey. I found many websites but I don’t want
just to buy the products, I want to find someone trustworthy that sells the products so I can also meet them and get started again.
Could anybody here recommend someone in New Brunswick?
.
Thanks, Mary
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Hello, This is Mary
I am 36 years old with 2 toddlers. My youngest just started day care last week- which still feels a little strange. I haven’t had this much time to myself in years. First thing I want to do is lose the extra pounds I put on during the last pregnancy. One of the girls next door has suggested I join her walking group two days a week. After my first pregnancy I lost around 35 pounds using the Herbalife products, but when I called the man that sold them to me three years ago he told me this week he doesn’t sell them anymore. He told me to look on the internet. It’s disappointing because he was really nice and he called me regularly to make sure I was using their products correctly. It was nice to have someone checking in with me every week to see how I was and it kept me motivated.
I searched on the internet for someone that sells Herbalife in New Jersey. I found many websites but I don’t want
just to buy the products, I want to find someone trustworthy that sells the products so I can also meet them and get started again.
Could anybody here recommend someone in New Brunswick?.
Thanks, Mary
March 18th, 2008 at 6:14 am
I didn’t realize that body cleanses could have a bad effect on you.
March 21st, 2008 at 3:57 am
I like your concept of adding an herbal colon cleanser to a healthy diet. I think that is essential to ensuring that the colon cleanser will work effectively and a healthy lifestyle will be preserved.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:18 am
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June 25th, 2008 at 8:29 am
List of best diet pills…
Thanks for the post. I couldnt agree with you more….