The Basics of Detoxifying your Body

A detox diet? I was actually introduced to detoxifying diets as a last resort for treating and preventing gout attacks. A friend of mine, who was what I would have considered a health nut at the time suggested that the reason why I was having so many health issues was because my body was out of balance thanks largely due to the amount of toxins I was ingesting. She suggested a total body detoxification and I was in so much pain, I figured that it could be worth a shot.

When you think of detoxification, what do you think of? If you are like me, the first image that comes to mind is an alcoholic or someone addicted to drugs who is in a rehab. In reality, detoxification in this case at least simply means to cleanse your body of all the dietary toxins that are in your body.

There are several detox diets out there. Some include taking natural herbs and supplements that will work in tandem with your kidneys to process all the bad junk (think processed foods) and eliminate it from your body. Others prescribe foods that are high in fiber as part of a detox diet because fiber encourages frequent bowel movements which in turn help to eliminate toxins.

My personal favorite detox diet is actually nothing more than a 3 day juice fast.

Why bother going on a detox diet?

Body Burden is reason enough

Most of you who are on yo-yo diets or that live primarily on fast foods are probably in the greatest risk factor for building up toxins because you aren't eating enough foods that help to assist the detoxification process. What happens is that your body builds-up chemicals (aka body burden) and this proliferation of chemicals is believed to be the source of illnesses associated with the immune system and/or the body's metabolism.

Even if you aren't concerned about illnesses that are associated with toxic buildup in the body, there are other reasons why a detox diet is good for you. As a personal testimonial, I can honestly say that my digestion (I am regular, lol) has improved and my energy is now through the roof. My concentration and ability to focus has improved as well as my skin is much clearer (I have suffered from bad skin for years).

What to expect when you start a total body detoxification....

Expect your body to resist

When I first started fasting, I almost immediately had a craving for sugar and caffeine. While I didn't necessarily eliminate it from my diet after the fast, I did try to significantly cut my intake. The result was a little crankiness (my poor husband!) as well as a couple intense headache.

Another frequent problem when starting a detox diet is diarrhea or even worse, the reverse- constipation. If your diet consists of fast food, you can expect for your body to have trouble adjusting to high fiber foods. Usually if this happens, simply increase your water intake.

A few other side effects from detoxing is being tired at first (if this is the case, increase your intake of high fiber foods...the good foods seldom have as many empty calories), hunger (because you don't like vegatables) or as I stated earlier crankiness. All these symptoms should pass but if they don't you should talk to your doctor.

In most detox diets, amimal products are excluded from the list of foods. In fact, most detox diets consist of fruits and vegatables. For this reason, a detox diet should not be a lifestyle but simply something that you do every now and again for a total body detoxification.

The reason for not making this a lifestyle is because you still need a fair amount of protein and calcium in your body.

Raw foods is possibly the best place to start for a detox diet

Why should you detox in the first place? Well, if you believe those that advocate detoxification diets, they would tell you that over time your liver, which is the natural detoxifier in the body, will start to become "congested" and as a result not perform well. The purpose of a detox diet is to cleanse the liver because a clean liver means that the body on the whole will work better

My friend is a nut when it comes to total detoxification diets. She is so much of nut that she has researched what vegetables have the most calcium and things that she can eat that are high in protein to substitute. Her detoxification plan is more of a lifestyle.

That said, there are a ton of ways to detox your diet. It can be as simple as a simple routing practiced every once in a while or (as in the case of my friend), you can become very regimented with your diet. Either way works and what it all boils down to is your discipline in how well you can hold to your commitments.

A Raw Food Detox Diet?

Made popular by hollywood stars like Jennifer Aniston, a raw food detox works because you are required to eat only fresh, unprocessed (and raw) foods. These foods are not hard on the body, digestion wise. As a result, you liver won't have as many toxins to process and will be able to clean house, so to speak. The only raw food diet rule is that you can only eat things that you would eat in the wild in its natural state. In other words, anything refined or processed or anything with ingredients that you can't pronounce are off limits. It is also best to go organic for a raw food detox diet.

In a raw food detox diet, the dieters are required to eat whole, fresh, and unprocessed foods that are not hard on a person’s digestive system. Simultaneously, this kind of diet will begin to purify the liver and maintain the body. Choices of foods for their meals are restricted to those which are not artificially grown and only uncontaminated and untreated ingredients must be used.

On my 3 day juice fasts, I usually incorporate herbal teas into the mix. The Chinese believe that certain herbs can be very useful in not only detoxifying but also help to treat certain common illnesses. Many raw food dieters will incorporate herbal teas into thier detoxification process as a result.

Time for a total detoxication...Time to know the guidelines....

• Your goal is to eliminate toxins from your body.
  
• Limit or completely eliminate caffiene, nicotine, and alcohol from your diet.
• Drink only purified unfiltered water. Drink 2-3 liters of water a day.
  
• Natural Fruit juices or better yet, eat the fruit itself. Nothing should come from a jar....
• Only Raw Foods.....no poultry or beef. Substitute raw nuts as a replacement.
  

Recommended Meal Plan After Detox Diet

Right after a 3 day fast, I am sure that your first inclination is to get in the car and head to McDonalds. Unfortunately, this is the worst thing that you could do. Instead, the better plan is to change your lifestyle to try to keep as many toxins in your diet out as possible.

Don't look to diet plans or cookbooks for good information either. Most are too low in calories and protein and will do more harm than good over the long haul. You need the calories for energy and low calorie diets actually inhibit energy.

The best option (and the option I choose) is to simply eliminate most of the unhealthy foods out of my diet as I can. I say most because I have tried eliminating all and failed miserably. I start every morning with 2 glasses of water to help eliminate any toxic residue left from the previous day.

Fresh fruits combined with a protein food like an organic egg (grain fed and free roaming) is an excellent choice for starting the day out. I don't touch whole grains for the most part although sometimes will have unleavened bread (gluten-free) and use REAL butter as a spread.

For lunch, I typically will do unsweetened yogurt with fresh berries or fish and some green leafy vegetables. I finish it off with some dark chocolate (with at least 72% cocoa) as a dessert.

For dinner, I will have as many vegetables as I want with some type of lean, organic protein. Once again, I recommend organic because most of the regular meats you get in a grocery is loaded with antibiotics and steroids...not good after a detox diet.

Example After Detox Meal Plan from the book The New Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas and Daniella Chace

Day One:

Fruit and/or fruit juice: Organic Apple
Breakfast: Hot Breakfast Quinoa
Lunch: White Bean Salad and Fresh Harvest Juice
Snack: Cold Almonds
Dinner: Salmon with Roasted Garlic and Rosemary
Treat: Juice Jells

Fruit and/or fruit juice: Organic Grapes
Breakfast: Baked Apple
Lunch: Herbed Soup
Snack: Cottonwood Pea Hummus
Dinner: Kombu Squash Soup
Treat: Fresh fruit or smoothie of your choice

Fruit and/or fruit juice: Grapefruit
Breakfast: Basic Breakfast Steel Cut Oats
Lunch: Jicama Salad or Gazpacho
Snack: Kombu Nuts
Dinner: Glazed Broccoli and Lentil Stew
Treat: Pears in Black Cherry Sauce

Foods to avoid after a total body detoxification

• Starchy or baked foods (if you can't eat it naturally, don't eat it.)
• Processed foods- burgers (unless it is organic), Hot dogs, sausages, any processed lunch meats.
• Salted nuts
• All carbonated drinks (I do have a diet coke every now and again).
• Sauces- Store bought salad dressing, mayonaises, ect. Remember...if you can't pronounce it or don't know what it is, then don't eat it!
  

You will be surprised to know that making a diet adjustment after detoxing is easier than you would think. With the exception of caffiene and sugar, the transition is fairly easy. If you do have caffiene cravings, drink a cup of tea but so in moderation. Gradually reduce the intake. With sugar, it is best just to white knuckle it as once the cravings are gone, you won't have to worry too much about it.

Another decent way to detoxify your body is to try a 3 day juice fast.  This is the quickest way to ramp up