The "Detox Diet" as a Abused Weight Loss Tool…
First and foremost… quit wasting your money! “Detox” programs are 100% SCAMS. We hear about these all the time... Cleansing your liver, colon, blood, kidneys, etc, etc, etc. They are hawked all over the internet, every tabloid magazine, and by all the MLM companies (first clue it’s a scam)…
I started to write an article of my own on this, and was looking for some back-up literature, and found this article (linked below). After reading it, I decided just to share the whole article, and save myself the typing time. It basically covers EVERY point I wanted to hit about the BS of detoxing... Except one...
"Detox Diets"... are often used by people more for the latter effect; "Diet", than the “Detox” effect… to the point of abuse for weight loss. One of the “side effects” of many of these mythological detoxes is their rapid weight loss effect. The weight loss is of course NOT from burning fat, but is 99% dangerous levels of dehydration. In addition to being dangerously low in calories, many of these detoxes utilize a laxative (either chemical or herbal) to induce diarrhea, ALONG WITH a diuretic, to force water elimination. The justification for this dangerous practice is of course the force fecal elimination (diarrhea) "cleans" the colon, while the diuretic effect "cleans" the kidneys (both bogus).
Meanwhile the combination of a laxative and diuretic at the same time can cause SEVERE dehydration. Granted, these detoxes also call for a HIGH water intake... if you follow the directions correctly. Some people may not... If you do the detox, but don’t drink all that pesky water, you can lose a LOT of weight (YAY!), but it’s purely water loss!
That loss of water puts you at risk for heat stroke, because your body cannot sweat to shed excess heat. The heat stroke causes serious damage in your brain. The thickening of your blood from dehydration can cause clots, heart attacks, stroke… or at a minimum do kidney damage to the sensitive “filters” in your kidneys due to the spike in blood pressure. Your muscles are also mostly water, so severe dehydration of course, shrinks your muscle! When the muscle is dehydrated, it cannot efficiently move glucose for energy, or amino acids for growth. Dehydration is also bad for your lean muscle mass!
Bottom line… DON’T use a detox to “cleanse your system”, because they are based in garbage science (see attached), and just as important… DON’T use a detox as a weight loss tool! Severe dehydration is NOT fat-loss.
First and foremost… quit wasting your money! “Detox” programs are 100% SCAMS. We hear about these all the time... Cleansing your liver, colon, blood, kidneys, etc, etc, etc. They are hawked all over the internet, every tabloid magazine, and by all the MLM companies (first clue it’s a scam)…
I started to write an article of my own on this, and was looking for some back-up literature, and found this article (linked below). After reading it, I decided just to share the whole article, and save myself the typing time. It basically covers EVERY point I wanted to hit about the BS of detoxing... Except one...
"Detox Diets"... are often used by people more for the latter effect; "Diet", than the “Detox” effect… to the point of abuse for weight loss. One of the “side effects” of many of these mythological detoxes is their rapid weight loss effect. The weight loss is of course NOT from burning fat, but is 99% dangerous levels of dehydration. In addition to being dangerously low in calories, many of these detoxes utilize a laxative (either chemical or herbal) to induce diarrhea, ALONG WITH a diuretic, to force water elimination. The justification for this dangerous practice is of course the force fecal elimination (diarrhea) "cleans" the colon, while the diuretic effect "cleans" the kidneys (both bogus).
Meanwhile the combination of a laxative and diuretic at the same time can cause SEVERE dehydration. Granted, these detoxes also call for a HIGH water intake... if you follow the directions correctly. Some people may not... If you do the detox, but don’t drink all that pesky water, you can lose a LOT of weight (YAY!), but it’s purely water loss!
That loss of water puts you at risk for heat stroke, because your body cannot sweat to shed excess heat. The heat stroke causes serious damage in your brain. The thickening of your blood from dehydration can cause clots, heart attacks, stroke… or at a minimum do kidney damage to the sensitive “filters” in your kidneys due to the spike in blood pressure. Your muscles are also mostly water, so severe dehydration of course, shrinks your muscle! When the muscle is dehydrated, it cannot efficiently move glucose for energy, or amino acids for growth. Dehydration is also bad for your lean muscle mass!
Bottom line… DON’T use a detox to “cleanse your system”, because they are based in garbage science (see attached), and just as important… DON’T use a detox as a weight loss tool! Severe dehydration is NOT fat-loss.