During your quest to be a healthier human, you’ll encounter a long range of diets. Some claim to help you lose weight, others say they’re the most nutritionally beneficial, and then you have detox diets.
These diets are popular with loads of people who wish to do both of the above: lose weight and be nutritionally healthy. You’ll find loads of companies and influencers peddling detox diets – but what are they and do they actually work?
Detox Diets: A Quick Overview
What is a detox diet? Simply put, it’s a type of diet with a focus on ridding your body of toxins. The diets are proposed to work as such:
- You consume certain foods
- The foods enter your system and flush out “toxins”
- Your body becomes much healthier and you may lose weight
That’s a generalized example of detox diets, though other types exist as well. Some will involve a fasting period before overhauling your diet and making you eat certain foods. Others will be a liquid-only diet where you drink smoothies for all meals in a day.
Then, you have some that are also known as cleanses. These detox diets make you take supplements that help cleanse your system – normally by having a laxative effect.
Do Detox Diets Work?
In short, there is no evidence to suggest that detox diets work at all. People might lose weight following a diet like this, but it is usually temporary. Detox diets are extremely restrictive, so you’ll barely eat much every day. This means you’re bound to lose weight, though the diets themselves are unsustainable.
After a few weeks, you’ll resort back to your old diet, undoing any weight loss you saw from a detox diet. Moreover, detox diets are not “healthy” at all. The body already has a natural way of removing toxins; it doesn’t need any extra help! Taking supplements or eating foods that encourage you to remove toxins will only result in you sitting on the toilet multiple times a day.
It’s not a very nice way to live your life and you’ll probably feel far worse following a detox diet than you did before.
Are Detoxes Ever Necessary?
Yes – but never from a weight loss perspective. The reason detox diets are popular is because medical detoxes are proven to be effective. You’ll find a medical detox if you search for a rehab center near me as they’re a popular treatment method as part of a residential addiction rehab program.
Here, medical experts provide specific medication and supplements that encourage the release of toxins from the body. They work, but the core difference between a medical detox and a detox diet is that the former focuses on removing traces of drugs and alcohol from the body. These linger, which causes addiction cravings in individuals. Removing them helps the person recover from addiction – but medical detoxes also involve using things to calm down all the side effects of flushing toxins out of the body.
In other words, detoxes like these are far more medically-based and backed by scientific research. They also involve constant support and attention from medical professionals while a detox diet involves you drinking special smoothies at home and then rushing to the toilet.
So, yes, detoxes are necessary in some circumstances, but only when used as a medical treatment for things like drug or alcohol addiction. From a dietary standpoint, you will never need to “go on a cleanse” or follow a detox diet.
The Best Alternatives To A Detox Diet
If a detox diet isn’t helpful, you’re probably wondering what alternatives there are. Should you try keto instead? What about the Atkins diet? Maybe you should find another specific diet to try as well.
None of these are necessary. The best alternative to a detox diet is a healthy, balanced, diet that fits your health goals and aims. It doesn’t need to be crazy – your diet simply requires the following:
- A good selection of whole foods
- At least five portions of fruit and veg a day
- Portion sizes suited to your needs
- A protein source with every meal
- A decent amount of fiber
- A good balance of calories to hit your targets
If you’re making meals that tick all of these boxes, you’re eating healthily. It’s genuinely that simple; there’s no need for detox diets or any other crazy diets out there. As long as you don’t have any specific medical requirements, a balanced diet comprised of whole foods and good protein sources is all you need.