Consumer Guide to Detoxification.

Diet Detoxification - Detox Diets

Detox diets are designed to cleanse the body of potentially harmful environmental and dietary toxins and promote overall good health. Alternative practitioners and other supporters of diet detoxification tout the many benefits; increased energy, better resistance to disease, improved mental state, clearer skin, and better digestion. While the primary intent of detox is to improve health, detox diets also boost weight loss because of the substantial reduction in calories. For some people, detox diets become the jumpstart they need to begin a healthier way of eating.

There are many types of detox diets that vary in the details, but generally a detox diet is a short-term diet that:

Limits the amount of chemicals and food additives that enters the body
Focuses on providing vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants to the body
Allows only foods that draw out and eliminate toxins from the body

Most detox diets are followed for only a short time, from 2 to 7 days, although some longer term programs have a 21 day detox diet plan. Proponents of detox diets generally recommend switching to a cleansing diet one to two times a year and caution against more than 3 times a year. However, the recommendations for frequency and length of detox diets can also vary between detox diets and alternative practitioners promoting the diets.

Before beginning a detox diet, it is important for an individual consult their medical doctor or another qualified health professional for a health check-up. Some people may have an underlying illness or disease that could cause serious health consequences if they went on a stringent detox diet.

In otherwise healthy people, sudden diet changes have also been known to cause fainting and other medical issues. It is important to have a complete understanding of how the detox diet will affect the body and to provide the proper nutrients to the body that it needs to function. This is true of any dietary program, whether for cleansing, weight loss, or daily sustenance, in order to maintain optimal health.

Foods to Avoid on a Detox Diet

Every detox diet plan has it's own approach to detoxification with a certain set of guidelines to follow and list of foods to avoid. While the specific diets vary, they are similar in their intent to cleanse the body from toxins by eliminating foods that require detoxification or are allergenic.

The following list is some of the foods that should commonly be avoided on a detox diet:

Alcohol
Artificial sweeteners
Bread
Caffeine
Chocolate
Coffee, both regular and decaffeinated, but some diets allow one cup a day
Dairy Products
Food additives and preservatives
Fried foods and deep-fried foods
Gluten-containing grains, including wheat, rye, barley, oat, spelt, kamut
High-fat foods
Meat
Pasta
Processed foods, pre-made foods, canned foods
Salt
Sugar, including sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, brown sugar, and turbinado sugar
Yeast

Detox Diet - Allowed Foods

Detox diets vary considerably, ranging from water fasting and juice fasting to a raw food diet, herbal detox, calorie restriction, and specific food pairing. Many detox diets focus on consuming pure foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, fish, herbs, and herbal teas. It is also important to drink at least 8 cups of water per day while detoxifying.

The following list is some of the foods that are usually allowed on a detox diet:

Beans - lentils, split yellow peas, split green peas, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), mung beans, adzuki beans
Beverages - water, lemon water, green tea, herbal tea, rice milk, pure unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices
Brown rice, including rice cakes, rice crackers, and rice pasta
Grains (without gluten), such as quinoa, amaranth, millet, and buckwheat
Fish, some diets allow fish, choose ones low in mercury levels
Fruit (organic), fresh or frozen
Nuts and Seeds (unsalted) - almonds, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed
Seasonings - extra-virgin olive oil, vegetable oil, sea salt, vinegar, tamari (soy sauce), all herbs and spices
Vegetables (organic), especially broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, artichokes, beets, red and green vegetables

Detoxification - Nutrients and Vitamins

The liver is the main organ involved in detoxification. To function properly, it needs certain nutrients and vitamins. Supplements may include a multivitamin, vitamin C, and milk thistle (herb). Essential nutrients are also supplied by eating fresh fruits and vegetables (especially artichokes, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale), onions and garlic, dandelion root tea, and protein (beans, fish, nuts, seeds, quinoa, protein powder). It is important to provide the necessary nutrients that will support and protect the liver and aid the detoxification process.