Are Detox Diets Good For You?
A detox diet is a kind of diet that is intended to prevent or lessen common disorders associated with overexposure to toxins – substances that harm the body. Examples of toxins are cigarette or tobacco smoke, pesticides and insecticides, food additives such as coloring and preservatives, and smog and other air pollutants.
The human body, according to biochemists, can successfully eliminate these pollutants, but at a slower rate than when these enter our system. Thus, according to the theory of detox diet proponents, we see “signs” of “poisoning” or toxin build up, such as bloating, cellulite, wrinkles, and weight gain. Detox diets may help, but before you begin, you must know exactly what you are about to do.
How you go about taking your detox diet may be different from what we will describe here. Based on various opinions of detox diet advisers, the most aggressive approach is the one which begins with fasting. For three days, you don’t eat any food. You can only drink purified water. Many religious and alternative beliefs regard fasting as a cleansing process. But, during these days, you should also avoid physically exhausting activities, simply because you are not taking in food that will supply you with energy. Perhaps it would be best if you take a long vacation at the same time. But do not go to places where climates are extreme. That is, no desert safaris and no skiing.
The next phase, after fasting, is called a one-week “monotrophic diet”. The term is a combination of “mono”, which means “one” and “trophic”, which means “nourishment”. A monotrophic diet requires you to eat only one type of fruit with each meal. That is, in one typical day, you may banana at breakfast, papaya at lunch, and melon at dinner. You may also have a snack of orange. You will have the same eating routine the next day, and maintain it for one week. Thus, you must avoid fruit salads or similar desserts. You may think that eating one piece of banana will not be enough for you. And you are right. In the monotrophic diet, you will not be limited to one piece of fruit. You may indulge in eating as many as ten pieces of bananas (if you can) in one meal.
After one week, you proceed to the next phase which is called “raw food regimen”. It means that your diet will be mostly made up of mixed fruits. But you must be extra alert about where the fruits came from. Many fresh fruits are steeped with pesticide, the substance that you trying to remove from your body.
Some who underwent a detox diet felt side effects such as nausea, lightheadedness, and fatigue. Critics of detox diet attribute these side effects to malnutrition. A diet composed primarily of fruits will not be healthful since there are no protein sources. Other essential nutrients that the body needs cannot be supplied by fruits.