Detox, short for detoxification, is the body's natural, ongoing process of neutralizing or eliminating toxins from the body. Toxins are anything that can potentially harm body tissue, including waste products that result from normal cell activity, such as ammonia, lactic acid and homocysteine, and human-made toxins that we are exposed to in our environment, food, and water. The liver, intestines, kidneys, lungs, skin, blood and lymphatic systems work together to ensure that toxins are transformed chemically to less harmful compounds and excreted from the body. Although detox is primarily thought of as a treatment for alcohol or drug dependence, the term is also used to refer to a program of diet, herbs, and other methods of removing environmental and dietary toxins from the body.
There are many different types of detox diets. Generally, a detox diet is a short-term diet that:
If you are considering the detox diet, its important to consult with your doctor prior before starting. People with certain health conditions such as anemia, diabetes and kidney disease, should either avoid this diet or perform detox only under the supervision of a health care provider. The detox diet is also unsafe for pregnant or nursing women.
Body detoxification starts with a good cleansing diet that fuels cells with the necessary nutrients to detoxify your body naturally. A detox diet is a short term diet, and can go for 3-21 days focused on removing toxins from the body. A detox diet allows our body to focus on self-healing to raise energy levels, stimulates digestive health, clears headaches, removes bloating, improves concentration and mood, avoids getting allergies, regains our natural ability to ward off colds and flu, and prevents premature aging and disease.
This detox diet can be followed for 3 days, 5 days, 7 days or longer. People can continue with this diet with their normal lifestyle. The diet eliminates dietary allergens, dietary toxins and chemicals, and foods that have inflammatory effect in the body. Processed foods are also minimized.
If you drink caffeinated beverages on regular basis, you may experience caffeine withdrawal at the start of your detox diet. To prevent headache, fatigue and other withdrawal symptoms, decrease your caffeine intake atleast a week prior to start your detox diet. Switch to lower caffeine , like greentea or white tea.
Drink plenty of water to flush out toxins during your diet. Drinking lots of water keeps you hydrated and helps to flush out toxins. Atleast eight, 8oz of glasses of water per day.
Give your diet a mini-makeover. Some foods can interfere with the liver’s ability to detoxify your body, which could spoil your detox efforts. Practice on eliminating sugar, artificial sweeteners, transfats, refined carbohydrates, gluten, processed soy foods, alcohol and canned food products.
Plan your menu for the week and make time to grocery shop. If you don’t normally buy organic, look for local farmers’ markets, health food stores, or grocery stores with a good selection of organic foods.
Vegetables thought to be particularly good detox foods include broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, artichokes, beets and dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens and swiss chard.
Some people are sensitive to family of vegetables, which includes tomatoes, bell peppers, egg plants and potatoes and may wish to avoid them.
