Is a Detox Diet Right for You?

Have you noticed, it seems like everybody is talking about Detoxing these days. From celebrities to your sister, to your co-workers and to your neighbor, “The Detox” is not only the quick fix to lose weight and feel great but it’s the hot and fashionable thing to do.

Why Do I Need to Detox?
There is definitely value in following a detox diet from time to time, even if you don’t need to lose weight. A growing body of research suggests that many of the chemicals we ingest daily through food, water, and air can become deposited in fat cells in our bodies. Toxins include pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in food, chemicals from food packaging, household cleaners, detergents, food additives, heavy metals, pollution, drugs, and cigarette smoke. A diet that lacks certain nutrients may also impair our natural ability to detoxify chemicals, which further leads to their build-up in the body.

The cumulative load, called the "body burden", is thought to lead to illness and has been linked to hormonal imbalance, impaired immune function, nutritional deficiency, and an inefficient metabolism. Signs are thought to include indigestion, poor concentration and sluggishness, headaches, bad breath, fatigue, poor skin, muscle pain and difficulty in losing weight.

What is a Detox Diet?
There are many different types of detox diets. Generally, a detox diet is a short-term diet that: 

• Minimizes the amount of chemicals ingested (for example, by eating organic food).
• Emphasizes foods that provide the vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants that the body needs for detoxification, such as raw vegetables.
• Contains foods, such as high fiber foods and water, that draw out and eliminate toxins by increasing the frequency of bowel movements and urination.

Benefits of a Detox Diet
People often report improved energy, clearer skin, regular bowel movements, improved digestion, weight loss, improvement in allergy symptoms and increased concentration and clarity after a detox diet.

I’ve always been a sucker for trying out new diets and trends. Not so much because I’m trying to lose weight, more from a professional curiosity and interest in optimal nutrition as well as a desire to find solutions for my clients. I have tried many different plans over the years and after a lot of trial and error, I’ve developed a 30 day Diet that I found works very well to give the benefits of a detox diet, without being as strict as some of the plans I’ve tried.

I usually do this plan 4 times a year whenever the seasons change. I suggest this plan as a jumpstart for all of my fitness and weight loss clients. Although results vary from person to person and depend a lot on how overweight a person is, I have had clients lose up to 20 pounds in the 30 days! If you’d like to give it a try put your information into the box on the right for a free copy of the “30 Day Detox Diet”.