Your Raw Wellness

Alternatively known as cleansing diet – a detox diet, as the name suggests, is a diet regimen or plan that involves the intake of foods, which in turn helps for the elimination of all kinds of dietary and environmental toxins as well as poisons from your body, thereby aiding for the smooth function of such body organs as liver, lymph, and kidneys. An effective detox diet is regarded as an alternative over the consumption of food items with high content of sugar and saturated fat.

Types of Detox Diet

There are a number of detox diet, each of which is unique. Discussed below are some of the important types of detox diet.

Master Cleanse Detox Diet – This primarily involves the usage of a juice that is made using a blend of water, lemon extract, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper.
Juice Fast – Otherwise known as liquid diet, this is more or less like water fasts however with some added benefits, as it is enriched with increased level of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes, all of which helps for the body’s rejuvenation process.
raw food detox Diet – As the term indicates, raw food diet encourages eating food items in its natural or raw form thus preserving its key constituents in the form of fiber, vitamins, and chlorophyll. In fact, this category of detox diet plan strictly avoids the intake of processed food containing harmful additives as well as preservatives, in addition to foods whose nutrients have been degraded through cooking.
Mono Fruit Detox Diet – This type of detox diet plan involves eating only one type of fruit for a stipulated period of time. The concept behind eating only one fruit is that it helps to cut down the number of elements for the absorption by the body thus enabling to stabilize the pH and sugar levels of the body.
Diuretic Detox Diet – This category of detox diet plan is mostly suitable for people with kidney, heart, and liver problems, and includes the increased usage of food items such as artichoke, asparagus, parsley, and melon.

Despite its beneficial properties, the detox diet is quite a controversial topic, and its exponents claim that it not only ensures the optimum health of your body but also help to lose your unwanted weight while its opponents believe that it may sometimes lead to nutritional deficiencies.

While the term “Detox” is often thought of as a treatment for alcohol or drug use, it also refers to diets, herbs, and other methods of removing environmental and dietary toxins from the body.  A Detox diet involves eating foods which help in the elimination of dietary and environmental toxins as well as poisons from your body, thereby aiding for the smooth function of such body organs as liver, lymph, and kidneys.  An effective Detox diet is regarded by some nutrition professionals as a good practice when done periodically and in moderation.  The primary objective of a Detox diet is typically not weight loss but, rather, a cleansing of toxins from the body.  The typical Detox diet would have the following characteristics:

Contains foods and liquids with a high level of antioxidants and other vitamins and nutrients
An absolute bare minimum of chemicals ingested by providing an emphasis on natural and organic foods
Includes high fiber foods and water, which draw out and eliminate toxins by increasing the frequency of waste elimination (bowel movements and urination).

Types of Detox Diets

There are a number of detox diets, each of which is unique. Discussed below are some of the more typical forms of detox diets.

Diuretic Detox Diet – This category of detox diet plan is primarily recommended for people with kidney, heart, and liver problems, and includes the increased usage of food items such as artichoke, asparagus, parsley, and melon.
Juice Fast (liquid diet) – this is more or less like water fasts however with some added benefits, as it is enriched with increased level of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes, all of which helps for the bodys rejuvenation process.
Master Cleanse Detox Diet - This primarily involves the usage of a juice that is made using a blend of water, lemon extract, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper.
raw food detox Diet – The raw food diet requires eating food items in its natural or raw form thus preserving its key constituents in the form of fiber, vitamins, and chlorophyll. In fact, this category of detox diet plan strictly avoids the intake of processed food containing harmful additives as well as preservatives, in addition to foods whose nutrients have been degraded through cooking.
Mono Fruit Detox Diet – This type of detox diet plan involves eating only one type of fruit for a stipulated period of time. The concept behind eating only one fruit is that it helps to cut down the number of elements for the absorption by the body thus enabling to stabilize the pH and sugar levels of the body.

Recommendation

Nutrition professionals often consider the Detox Diet a fairly controversial practice.   Many professionals believe that there are some very real benefits to such diets including: improved energy, clearer skin, regular bowel movements, improved digestion, moderate weight loss and even improved cognitive abilities.   However, others believe that they can lead to nutritional deficiencies or that detox diets aren’t needed because the body can detoxify on its own without the help of a diet.  Most nutritionists would certainly agree that some herbal detox products are unproven and expensive and even harmful in certain cases.

As a nutrition professional and licensed dietitian, I believe these diets certainly do have some merits.  In moderation, they offer some of the best aspects of any healthy diet.  However, most of the diets described above do not recommend moderation.  If a diet requires someone to consume only one type of specific food or liquid over an extended period of time, it is by definition, depriving you of balanced nutrition.  If you’re interested in trying a detox diet, I’d recommend doing so by focusing your diet on organic and natural foods.  Avoid unnatural products, chemicals, alcohol, caffeine and other toxins as much as possible.   This will be a great practice for a week or two but you’ll likely feel the need to get some of these things back in your diet, which is fine.  This week or two of intense discipline can do great things for your body and serve as a springboard to a more healthy, balanced diet going forward.