Detox Diet

There are around 20 or more famous detox diet plans around. Some of the popular ones are the Master Cleanse, lemonade diet and the raw food diet. Some of these diets involve limiting your choices of daily food, while others allow you to eat more food varieties as long as you stick to the limitations of the diet (e.g. no cooking over a certain temperature for the raw food diet).

Many people believe in these detox diets because of one universal truth that is known to everyone: the food that we eat as well as our lifestyle choices have led to the accumulation of toxins inside the body. Detoxifying, in the weight loss sense, eliminates the toxins that could be hampering your efforts to lose weight. To some, detoxifying could mean going to the bathroom several times a day, which may be painfully humiliating for those that go to work daily. But some bear with the consequences in the name of health.

Are these detox diet plans healthy? It depends on who you ask. While some diet plans that involve detox include the major food groups that the body needs, some plans severely limit your nutrient intake for a specific number of days.

Detox diets vary, but they are similar in some ways. Most detox diet plans involve the following restrictions:

- The fruits, vegetables and meats to be consumed by the dieter should be organic. Organic foods are easy to find nowadays because there are labels on most organically grown vegetables and meat products out there. There’s an important reason for making sure that what you consume is free from pesticides and herbicides. Impurities like pesticides can’t totally be washed off using water. Therefore, while you may think that you’re consuming healthy food, you’re actually adding to the toxins already inside your body.

- Eat whole, unprocessed foods like grains and seeds. Unprocessed foods are generally thought to be more nutritious than their refined counterparts. This goes for sugar, rice and bread.

- Vegetables and fruits provide fiber, which is indispensable if you want to get rid of toxins quickly. The fiber inside your stomach acts like a sieve that can catch impurities and flush them out.

- Consume two liters of water every single day. Many people following the detox diet plan carry a canteen of purified water around. When you have water with you, you can replenish what you lose as sweat.

- Never drink alcohol or take tobacco during the detox. These addictive substances do more than destroy your organs in the long run. They could also hamper your detox potential. Tobacco smoke can disrupt your blood circulation.

- Take herbal supplements. This is where the business side of diet plans come out. Supplements that are especially made for those on the detox diet are distributed by companies. Usually, the capsules or tablets contain extracts from certain herbs like licorice, psyllium and yucca.

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