Detoxing can improve your digestion as well as your appearance
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‘Lose a stone in a week’, ‘clearer skin’, ‘increased energy’, with claims like these who wouldn’t want to detox?
Detoxing is not a new thing, for thousands of years we’ve recognised the health benefits of fruit and vegetables. It’s only recently our diets have become saturated with man-made foods, alcohol and smoking, and now as we feel the sluggish effects on our body, we’re craving an instant fix.
We used to hunt and catch our food, but now the food comes to us. No longer do we eat just for hunger, we eat to be sociable, we eat because we are depressed and we eat just to eat. We are also subjected to many more pollutants – our bodies are working harder to stay cleansed. We may have more food, but most of it has less nutritional value - it’s now packed full of sugar and artificial flavourings. Detoxing is about going back to basics, consuming foods that grow in the ground or on trees and drinking plenty of water.
Celebrity endorsers like Carol Vorderman, who claim life has never been better since spending a month eating and drinking fruit and vegetables, have brought the concept of detoxing to the forefront. ‘Must-do’ detoxes are appearing all the time, from Beyoncè’s lemon diet detox, eating nothing but lemon, hot water and cayenne pepper for a month to Demi Moore’s horrifying admission of being a fan of leech detoxing. This involves a turpine bath, then sitting back and watching while leeches feast on your blood, releasing detoxifying enzymes while they drink.
Every detox has its distinguishing attribute, but essentially they all restrict food consumption to raw vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and copious amounts of water. Also key is avoiding meat, alcohol, dairy, salt, sugar and processed foods.
The British Dietetic Association says detox diets are marketing myths rather than nutritional reality and a detox is nothing more than a “buzzword”. ‘If the human body really accumulated lots of toxins, then we would feel ill,’ it says. ‘The concept of detox diets is irrational and unscientific.’ But whatever the scientific evidence, the multi-million pound industry must be doing something right – hundreds of books and thousands of websites are dedicated to the cause.
Detoxes without too many restrictions are obviously the easiest to follow, even Beyoncè doesn’t recommend going ten days without solid food. Most detoxes will make you feel worse before you feel better, as the toxins come out. Be careful not to take things too fast, if your usual intake of toxins is high and you eliminate them too quickly, you risk developing a Herxheimer Reaction. This is a cluster of side effects such as lethargy, headache, nausea, mood swings, spots and a coated tongue.
There is as much valid support for detoxes as there is doubt, it could be that you were so unhealthy before that simply eating and drinking more of the good stuff has decreased your headaches and made you lose a few pounds. Either way, if a detox just serves to open your eyes to new foods and make you more aware of the effects of what you eat, it has to be a good thing.
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