A lot has been said about detox diets and most doctors say they only offer short-term results and that most will likely gain any weight back that they lose.
However, others who are into more natural dietary changes say a detox diet is a way to jumpstart your weight loss program and give you some momentum to change your overall eating patterns.
What Is a Detox Diet?
A detox diet is a short-term diet that is meant to primarily eliminate toxins from your system.
The focus isn’t weight loss, although most claim it can help you lose weight.
Detox diets include short times of fasting, with a diet of vegetables, fruits, fruit juices, water, teas, herbs and supplements.
They can also include things like enemas and colon cleanses.
The purposes of a detox diet are to give your organs rest, stimulate your liver, get rid of toxins through sweat, urination and feces, and improve your circulation.
Most believe that harmful chemicals in food or in the environment can cause health problems, including problematic weight gain.
Getting rid of toxins is claimed to help with things like autoimmune diseases, digestion problems, allergies,
inflammation, chronic fatigue and bloating.
Ways to Detox
There are some simple things to do if you plan on detoxing.
You must fast between one and three days.
Eliminate coffee, tobacco, alcohol and refined sugar.
Liquids are important and you must include things like fruit and vegetable juices, water, tea, smoothies and also things like salt water and lemon juice.
You may want to avoid foods you feel you are allergic to and re-introduce them slowly into your diet.
What Happens to Your Weight?
There was one Korean study that showed the lemon detox diet reduced weight, body fat, the waist
circumference and waist to hip ratio. It also reduced inflammation, circulating leptin levels and insulin resistance.
That diet calls for you to drink only a mixture of lemon juice with organic maple or palm syrup for a week.
What a Detox Diet Can Do
Detoxing does a few positive things.
It does get you to drink more healthy liquids, which can flush out your system and help you lose excessive fat.
It helps you focus on eating healthy food, which is something you can carry over when you come off the diet.
