Let’s get straight into it any weight loss from a detox diet is probably water, carbohydrate stores, and intestinal bulk — all of which come back in a few hours after the detox ends.
Still, there is an important connection between body fat and toxins, because fat cells don’t merely contain fat. They’re also a storage site for certain fat-soluble toxins we ingest.
So, the leaner you are, the less real space you have available for toxins.
This may help explain why many people feel lousy when they’re going through a period of rapid fat loss.
Since fat-soluble chemicals can be stored in fat, when fat is broken down, the chemicals can enter the bloodstream, contributing to fatigue, muscle soreness, even nausea.
Potential benefits of detox diets
If detox diets are a dumb way to lose weight, do they have any potential benefits? Yes.
ADDING MORE NUTRITIOUS FOODS
Foods and drinks typically recommended as part of detox diets are often nutrient-rich “superfoods”,
such as:
- Lemons
- Green tea
- Omega-3 fats
- Colorful fruits and vegetables
All of these seem to help the body deal with incoming toxins.
REDUCING FOOD SENSITIVITIES
In addition, most cleansing diets include foods and drinks that rarely trigger intolerances or allergies. So, detoxing can be one way to start figuring out food intolerances.
The only problem is that a detox diet is often so restrictive that people can’t do it for an extended period of time — perhaps not long enough to identify the potential culprits.
What are the disadvantages of detox?
INCONVENIENCE
Any diet will take some effort to organize, and detox diets are no exception. People with limited time, money, and resources won’t enjoy juicing fifteen pounds of organic veggies and fruits each day. Especially if they’re feeling weak, listless, or dizzy – some of the most frequently reported side effects of juice cleanses.
LOW CALORIE
Meanwhile, most juice diets are extremely low in calories. In fact, some people argue that juicing is just a way to starve yourself and feel good about it! Many cleanses are so low in calories that they’ll slow your body’s metabolic processes.
IMMODERATION
Not only that, but juice cleansing can become its own form of immoderation, which is sort of ironic when you consider that many people turn to cleanses in a search for moderation following a period of indulgence.
Yet it’s hardly moderate to go through fifteen pounds of vegetables per day to get a thick green soup. Can the body even handle fifteen pounds of raw vegetable juice?
In other words, some of the negative side effects that people typically notice on a cleanse could be the result of overload.
To conclude we really just want to point out the advantages and disadvantages of a detox as it seems to be getting a lot of headlines lately and jumping right to the front of our nutrition market with recent documentaries such as fat sick and nearly dead which I highly recommend to anyone who has yet to see it.