 It
must be the same trait that drives us to buy lottery tickets when the
jackpot tops $100 million. Detox diets that claim you can drop 25
pounds in two weeks, cleanse your liver and boost your metabolism have
captured our collective interest. We humans are forever seeking the
easy way to riches, beauty and health.
Fueled by high-profile celebrity
"success stories," detox diets have cycled back into
popularity. In 2006, Beyonce Knowles reportedly shed 20 pounds for a
movie role on The Master Cleanser program, also known as the Lemonade
Diet. The liquid diet is basically a concoction of fresh lime or lemon
juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper mixed with water and consumed
six to 12 times a day.
Though you will most likely lose weight
on a calorie-restricted liquid diet, nutritional experts say the
negatives definitely outweigh the positives when it comes to long-term
well-being and permanent weight loss.
"Does anyone really think that
lemon and maple syrup and a senna laxative at night is ever going to
be good for you?" asks Lisa Grudzielanek, registered dietician
with Wheaton Franciscan Health Care.
Taking in nothing but liquids for 10
days can deplete muscle mass, deprive your body of vital nutrients and
lower your metabolic rate and thyroid function so when you return to
normal eating you’ll likely put the weight right back on. "When
you are deprived of something you have a much greater desire for
it," says Joan Pleuss, director of the Bionutritional Core at the
Translational Research Unit at the Medical College of Wisconsin and
Froedtert Hospital. "People tend to go in the opposite
direction," she says.
"I never met anyone who kept
weight off," Grudzielanek says. "People look at it as a diet
and get diet results."
Not all components of detox diets are
necessarily bad, the nutritionists say. Detox diets prohibit alcohol,
caffeine, tobacco and drugs and the consumption of processed and
refined foods, and promote eating whole grain foods and lots of fruits
and vegetables. "These are basic, fundamental things most
Americans are not engaging in on a regular basis," Grudzielanek
says. "If you rarely see a fruit or vegetable, how well do you
think you are going to feel?
"If you really want to sustain
optimal health there is no end point for your body," she says.
"People who want to change their
diet are better off focusing their energy on looking at what their
current diet is like and getting the recommended amounts per
day," Pleuss says.
Besides weight loss, another appealing
component of detox diets is the concept of cleansing your body of
environmental toxins from food, water and air. Though there isn’t
much in the way of scientific research in this area, Grudzielanek says
anecdotal evidence is generally positive. "It makes sense you
would feel better if you are not taking in all this garbage," she
says. Adopting a healthier lifestyle approach, such as choosing
organic foods, exercising and managing stress can make you feel
better, she says, "by simply avoiding all those harmful things
you shouldn’t be taking in anyway."
Carol Van Zelst, owner of ANEW Skin and
Wellness in Brookfield, recently started offering a seven-day liver
detox program. She says it’s a no-brainer for anyone who wants to
boost liver function and prevent disease. "In regard to
protecting our health, the liver is most important organ in our
body," she says. The program is unlike others, she says, because
it offers vitamin supplements and a comprehensive list of foods to eat
to promote detoxification after the required two days of fasting.
Critics of liver detoxing say the body’s
organs naturally cleanse themselves without help. That’s true, says
ANEW wellness and office coordinator Amy Schoenholtz, "but if you
think about everyday toxins you are adding to your body from perfumes,
cigarette smoke, air fresheners, alcohol consumption, your liver is
working all the time to detox and it never really gets a time to work
on itself."
"By helping the liver you are
really helping to restore your complete system," Van Zelst says.
"It made me go from feeling bloated and tired to feeling
energized," she says. "It makes you more aware of the bad
things you are really doing to your body. It’s all about relearning
the good habits vs. the bad habits."
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