Detox diets can be great at cleansing your body of unwanted toxins and chemicals. However, there is a right and wrong way to detox. Starting an unnecessarily restrictive detox diet can leave you feeling fatigued, cramping, and moody while it provides only fleeting results. A healthy detox program, however, can lead to more energy, a sense of well-being, and a jump start for positive lifestyle changes.
Let’s start with what doesn’t work. Juice or liquid-only detoxes and fasts can be harmful in the long run because they rob your body of needed nutrients. “In a fast lasting longer than a day or two, the body starts to breakdown some of its muscles and organs to generate fuel for the central nervous system,” said Mary Hartley, RD, our resident nutrition expert, in this article. That doesn’t sound very healthy at all.
If you are detoxing to lose weight, choosing an extreme detox diet like the Maple Syrup/Master Cleanse Diet will provide fast results, but the chances of keeping the weight off are extremely slim. Most weight lost while doing a strict cleansing regimen is water weight, so when you go back to whole foods, the weight will be regained. Not only that, but you may gain more weight, as now your metabolism is slower as a result of the cleanse. (more…)
