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.
That has not stopped these programs from flying off the shelves. It has been a popular diet at many times in the world’s history and seems to make a comeback into the mainstream at different times. 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.
There has been research done, but it is still unclear how much damage a person is doing to their body by using a detox plan repeatedly. 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. The lack of the nutrients may allow a person to be more susceptible to many other conditions that could make them sick or worse.
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, and many of them claim to help a person lose fat naturally, but most of them boil down to extremely low-calorie, primarily liquid diets.
The idea behind a detox diets, 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, and 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. Toxins are removed from us without a person having to resort to these measures according to a few medical professionals. Unless a person has other health problems that prevent it, they can use their natural systems to remove the unwanted chemicals and keep them from being built up in them selves. When you attempt to remove the unwanted chemicals by using a cleansing system, you often also remove things that your body needs to stay healthy.
The side effects from prolonged, severe calorie restriction can include headache, fatigue, irritability, aches and pains. When the programs include all liquid or things to help with your bowel movement, they will not always be pleasant to endure. Frequent bathroom visits can lead to irritation and breakdown of skin on your bottom, as well as dehydration.
Although no one can say for sure whether it is true, the plans say that if you follow them, you will be able to do more things with a greater burst of power than you did before. What research has proven is that by depriving your body of the nutrition that it requires for more than a few days can lead to someone actually being less energetic and less mentally alert. If you are consuming only liquid, you are lacking the protein that your muscles need to stay vibrant and healthy.
The restrictive nature of these programs will cause a person to shed some pounds in a hurry, however, the pounds will be put back on easily once the program is over. The more radical the program, the more likely this is to occur. While people can lose 5 to 10 percent of their weight in the first few months of a diet, up to two-thirds of people regain even more weight than they lost within four or five years.
Cutting back on high-fat foods, eating in moderation and consuming more vegetables and fruits may not seem as glamorous as starving yourself like a celebrity for days, but it’s healthier for you in the long run and certainly sexier than rushing to the bathroom all day.
If you’d like to try a detox diet that has helped thousands feel better and lose fat, go to www.greenlifeweightloss.com or click the link.
