What is a detox and what does it do?

[Indadhanu]

I get the general idea of 'detoxing' but I always thought that a 'detox diet' is pretty useless and making sure you get at least 2L of water everyday enables your body to get rid of toxins more effectively than a one-off detox?


Anyway, I can't remember if I read it somewhere or was told sometime, but yeah, what's the deal with detoxing? Does it actually do anything for your body?

[AllisD]

I also would love to hear from someone who has completed a detox and the in's and out's of the whole thing!

I am on Weightwatchers to lose weight so not looking for an answer to that problem but just wondering if it is beneficial and does it make you feel good?

[Amaunet]

They did a detox segment on "Whats good for you" and it found it was actually BAD for you

The factsheet from the TV show website is below

Does detox work?
Host: Lyndsey Rodrigues
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

When you're busy it's all too easy to put your health on hold. A few too many drinks and takeaways and before you know it you're feeling pretty average. So we reach for a detox kit; a fresh start in a box — or is it?

There are dozens of detox diets on the market, many claim to increase kidney and liver function to help flush any toxins out of the bloodstream. But do they actually work?

Detox shopping list
The experiment
We got together a group of six healthy people in their twenties. We put three of them on a commercially available seven-day liquid detox diet. The other three acted as the control group and continued to eat their normal diet. At the beginning and end of the experiment we weighed everyone in the group and gave them blood tests to check kidney and liver function, cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin levels.

Results

Weight loss One member of the detox group dropped out on day four as she was experiencing dizziness, headaches and nausea. In this time she lost almost 3kgs. The two other members of the detox group lasted the week — and lost 2.5kg and 4kg each. Our expert, Associate Professor Katherine Samaras of the Garvan Institute, believes the weight loss will be put straight back on. Plus the diet may have also altered the detoxers' metabolisms making it more difficult for them to lose weight in the future.

Blood tests The blood tests showed decreased liver function in all members of the detox group. Their livers were shocked by the strict diet and weren't functioning very well. The blood tests also showed an increase in triglycerides (the bad blood fats that predict our risk to heart disease) and a decrease in the protective cholesterol.

Conclusion
Within our group of six people the liquid detox diet did not help the body eliminate toxins. In fact, the diet did them more harm than good! The body is fantastically designed to eliminate by-products without needing any assistance at all. If you have overindulged, Professor Samaras recommends a light healthy diet for one or two days to let your body recover.

I also found this linked from the above page

Are detox programs good for you?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Detox programs come and go like new diets. Here are some pros and cons for the health conscious.

By Linda Cumines

Cleansing and purifying food restrictions are often touted as giving health benefits. We may eat too much and do too little exercise, but do we need to go to extremes of detox? There is no scientific evidence to support the benefits of intense detoxifying or fasting and most dieticians don't promote routine fasting or extreme forms of detoxing.

Detox is the informal word we use for detoxification, representing a range of ways to rid waste and toxic substances from the body. Medically it's the term that refers to getting rid of harmful or excess drugs, such as alcohol or illicit drugs, from the blood stream. Detoxifying from these substances should only be instigated with professional help of a doctor, plus a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

Fine line between hazard and health
Fasting for 24 hours is not dangerous for a healthy person who is drinking water. During this period you may feel great and the feeling of empty can be a positive experience if you prone to constipation or eating too much on a regular basis.

Prolonged fasts, on the other hand, of 48-72 hours or programs based only on water, lemon juice, vinegar or restricted vegetables are hazardous. Early signs of lack of nutrition are dizziness, mood swings, irritability, lethargy and headaches. Frequent episodes of fasting might lower your metabolic rate, so that the benefits of any weight loss are reduced each time you try and fast.

It's also important to not fast or detox without medical supervision. This is especially the case if you are on any medication or have raised blood pressure, heart disease, hypoglycaemia, diabetes, insulin resistance, vitamin or mineral deficiencies, kidney stones or disease, ulcers or if you are pregnant or elderly.

Five easy detox steps
Here are some recommendations on how you can help cleanse and purify your body in a safe way. Use these guidelines as a long-term platform on which to build healthy eating habits.

1. Eliminate non-essentials such as alcohol, caffeine, fried foods, takeaways, processed foods, soft drinks and lollies, as well as extra vitamins and minerals, unless you have a proven deficiency. You do not need to eliminate everything straight away. Reduce at a pace that doesn't stress you out!

2. Add the liquid to rinse. Think of hosing out the gastric tract in an easier way than colonic irrigation. The best for this is drinking tap water. No fancy waters or other drinks are needed. Make sure you drink at least two litres throughout the day.

3. Add fibre such as psyllium seed husks, bran or commercial products like Metamucil and Benefiber.

4. Reduce the volume. Don't overfill your body. Stop eating at the first sign of satisfaction or allow at least 15 minutes before taking that extra serving.

5. Continue to eat the essentials — they are vital for the body to work. Include vegetables, fruit, wholegrain cereal, legumes, lean protein like fish and meat, low-fat dairy and healthy oils like olive, rice bran or canola. Your biggest challenge is to avoid processed foods — try to eat and cook from fresh foods, make your own cereal blends, casseroles and soups rather than the pre-prepared options in the supermarket.

Detox to kick-start weight loss
After conquering the above steps, you will need to add cardiovascular and resistance exercise routines to your daily and weekly schedule. You may also need to think about how you balance volumes of foods balanced with exercise. While you should not expect a weight loss greater than 0.5 kg per week long-term, you will most likely loose more some weeks.

Detox for healthy bowel habits
The extra fibre, legumes, vegetables and water will have a positive impact on regular bowel habits, plus help you fight long periods of constipation, bloating and discomfort.

Detox to max up energy
Maintain a balance between physical and mental energy via regular exercise and adequate sleep. Learn and practise relaxation techniques and eat regular meals without too much snacks in-between.

Detox myths
Grapefruit juice, lemon juice or vinegars don't burn fat.

Now when you are on the pathway to a cleaner and healthier diet, remember that no food needs to be banned for life — allow yourself a nice cuppa or a glass of wine every now and then!

Hope this is helpful

K

[Lulu]

I think it is beneficial - but I would never follow a fad type detox, it's something you have to be careful about.

Ones that go for a week are just stupid (imho). Although the Liver Cleansing Diet was so freakin beneficial for me and exH I can't sing the praises enough. Reducing fats and dairy whilst eating tasty, tasty yummy FRESH foods changed the way I looked at my liver and how important it is.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

I interpret detoxing as getting rid of the bad things from my diet myself...

When we 'detox'ed last, it was cutting out soft drink, and chocolate etc and stacking up on healthy veges, fruits, etc. More of a lifestyle change. I found it very beneifcial - but it's hard to get through - if for eg you are a big coke drinker - you will get terrible headaches from lack of caffeine and sugar - but it feels good - and the crap you cut out tastes crap when you go back to it later. Not sure if that makes sense, but this is what i have done and it feels good to do.

[Indadhanu]

Ok cool, yeah I thinkt heres a big difference to a detox that cuts out food groups, and even solid food and a 'diet detox' which I would think is detoxifying your diet (like dragoncookie and Lulu said).

Thanks for those articles CF - thats what I thought about the 'detox in a box' ones.