Do "Detox" Diets Work? Are They Safe?

(CBS)  Many people are always looking for a quick way to lose weight and feel better.

"Detox" (short for detoxification) or "cleanse" diets promise to eliminate toxins from the body and jumpstart weight loss, and they're going more and more mainstream.

But nutritionists and others are expressing reservations about them, while acknowledging they do have their good points.

Registered dietician Keri Glassman discussed their pluses and minuses on The Early Show Wednesday.

What exactly is a detox or cleansing diet? Their advocates say our bodies are constantly overloaded with toxins from pollution, cigarette smoke, alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods. The thinking is that, as these toxins build in our bodies, they can be responsible for a number of health problems, such as weight gain, energy loss, and dull skin. You then rid your body of toxins by following a special diet that significantly restricts and reduces food intake.

There's not just one detox diet, there are many different types, from juice fasts to raw food diets to plans that only include fruits or don't allow chewing.

If you assume cleansing diets are just a New York-L.A. trend, you'd be wrong. The Los Angeles Times says "Master Cleanse" was the most-searched recipe on Google in 2007. Also last year, sales of herbal cleansing products tripled to nearly $28 million worldwide, according to Spins, an Illinois market research company that specializes in the natural products industry.

Glassman has some issues with detox diets. Among them:

The can cause peope to lose weith too quickly.

People will then put weight back on

Many of the diets lack essential nutrients

Many of them cause the loss of electrolytes

Side effects could include fatigue, headaches, vomiting, and nausea

Some mean you starve your body

There's no scientific evidence to suggest our bodies need help to get rid of waste products if we'e are healthy, and there's little proof to support the claims that detox diets work

If someone follows a strict detox diet over the long-term, it could lead to nutrient deficiencies and health problems

Despite all that, Glassman isn't completely against detox diets. She often puts her own clients on detox for two or three days -- not so much to rid their bodies of toxins as to give them a mental jump start to eating better and losing weight. One upside of cleansing diets, she says, is that they make you think differently about the food you put into your body, and so they have the potential to permanently improve your eating habits.

If you're thinking about embarking on a cleansing diet, Glassman advises that you choose one that still allows you to actually eat. The best diets eliminate alcohol, caffeine, meat, and most dairy; they focus on whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains, and lots of water.

However, you don't want to permanently eliminate dairy from your diet. Most cleansing plans call for this in the beginning because dairy contains lots of calories and sugar, but you should plan on reintroducing small amounts of low-fat diary after finishing your cleanse.

Glassman looked at three different cleansing diets on the show Wednesday; they're among the most popular ones out there:

LIVER CLEANSING DIET

Glassman considers this one fairly reasonable.

The goal is to improve liver function, which will then lead to weight loss. It's an eight-week, low-fat diet that emphasizes plant foods such as veggies, fruit and juicing. It also allows poultry and fish, but not dairy. it calls for drinking lots of water -- 8-12 glasses a day.

The foods you're directed to eat are beneficial to liver function. Examples include:

Vitamin K, from green, leafy vegetables

Arginine, from beans, carob, and walnuts

Antioxidants, from green drinks such as wheatgrass and barley-grass juice, and fresh fruits, particularly citrus and kiwi and berries

Selenium, from Brazil nuts, kelp, brown rice, garlic and onions.

Essential fatty acids, from avocado, green leafy veggies, and flaxseed

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[neera11]

There is so much data that supports occasional fasting diets like the Master Cleanse that they should have interviewed somebody other than Glassman.

I own a company that sells an improved version of the master cleanse (www.neerasupercleanse.com). We list numerous studies on our web site news page that support low calorie diets and occasional fasting. Low calorie diets and fasting are the only things shown that actually lengthen lifespan by slowing down the aging process of the body.

If you have any questions about this please check out our web site and send us an email.

Sincerely,
Charlie Rebich

[ketty2-2009]

where do I get a copy of the liver cleansing diet menu ideas ??

[lawyertom1]

The whole idea of "cleansing" diets is bizarre and a fiction. Anything that lowers electrolytes risks causing all types of problems, including a heart attack. Low calorie intake can also cause the body to go into starvation-mode, decreasing metabolism, and causing the body to start to draw upon muscle and fat for protein and energy. Basically, you start to eat yourself. It is infinitely better to get oneself on a decent diet and exercise program. The "cleansing" concept is a sham.

[ge556]

The idea of a detox diet is that certain toxins are stored in your fat, and starving yourself will break down the fat and eliminate the toxins in it.
This means that you really have to get rid of all that fat to achieve the goal. It also means that WHILE you are on the diet, to the extent that the premise is correct, you are temporarily INCREASING the toxins in your bloodstream. Is this better than leaving it in the fat? I don''t know. But most people don''t seem to understand the concept.

I would think that it is better to lose weight slowly. It is less stressful, and more likely to be successful in the long run.