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Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

Detox Diets: What Are They And Do They Work?

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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.

Food, Tips

Natural vs. Artificial Dog Treat Flavors: What’s Safer?

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As a loving and responsible dog owner, you want to look after your pet in the best way possible. That means trying to give them the best options when it comes to how you feed them.

One of the best approaches to take is to consider feeding your dog in the same way as you would feed yourself and your family. If you can give them delicious and healthy food options it should help keep them healthy and happy.

When you look at the range of natural menu options available at somewhere like Open Farm dog food you can see that there are varied healthy menu options to consider for your pet’s diet.

When comparing natural vs. artificial dog treat ingredients and flavors, do you know which one is the safer option, and why?

Know where your dog food and treats are coming from

When you look at a list of ingredients on the back of a packet of human food you can often see a long list of items. Sometimes, you are not sure what some of the ingredients are. That can make you think twice about buying that product.

It is the same mindset that needs to be adopted when buying food for your dog if you want to protect them from potentially harmful ingredients.

Some dog treats actually contain toxic or harmful ingredients. These can even prove fatal to a puppy who is unable to digest the food properly or safely.

The use of preservatives and unnatural flavors is a widespread practice when it comes to dog treats, in particular.

Your top priority should always be to check the list of ingredients so that you have a better understanding of how your dog’s food has been created.

Making healthy choices for your dog

It stands to reason that if you want to enjoy good health you need to try and eat a healthy and balanced diet. The same rules of engagement apply to feeding your dog.

If you can choose products that contain natural and healthy ingredients you will be helping your pet to live as long and happy life as possible. When they get all of the wrong food it can lead to weight and general health problems.

If you take a look at the list of ingredients on the packaging you can soon see how healthy it is. If the main contents are things like meat and vegetables that means your dog will be getting the sort of proteins and carbs they need for energy and wellbeing.

Your aim should be to try and avoid products that have preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, and steroids in them. You might be surprised to even find that some products have these items amongst their list of ingredients. That’s why you need to check.

The answer as to whether natural flavors are better than artificial ones is an obvious one. If you can make the right choices for your dog you will be rewarded by having a pet who is happy and enjoys a healthy lifestyle.

Food, Going Healthy, Health

Are Burgers Really Bad for You?

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The age-old question of “Are burgers really bad for you?” can finally be answered. The reason is that burgers in themselves aren’t the enemy, but it’s pretty much the ingredients you will use.

You Don’t Have to Go Old School

For burger enthusiasts, there’s nothing like a classic American burger. A classic burger uses a brioche buns recipe found here, high-fat ground beef, with a dressing of onions, gherkins, and ketchup and mustard. This combination is amazing, as made popular by two brothers from a small California town. But you don’t have to do your burger like this. There’s no reason why you can’t use gluten-free bread, low-fat meat, and lower calories condiments to relish it with.

You Can Have Your Burger, Your Way

A classic burger is a great treat once in a while. But why stop there? You can have burgers whenever you like by changing up how you make them. There are tons of healthy breads you can use, such as whole grain buns, oat bread, and even sourdough makes a great burger. Then you can substitute your meat or reduce the thickness of a burger. Low-fat options are available everywhere. And there’s no reason why you need to use beef, so you can use chicken instead.

Are Burgers Really Bad?

No food is really bad for you. But eating an excess of certain things is. Even drinking too much water can kill you. But for unprocessed red meat like beef, every 50g excess per day increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 9%. And even higher for processed foods. So, of course, you should limit your intake of burgers and other things you know are bad in excess. Eating one burger a week won’t do you any harm, especially if you eat a well-balanced and healthy diet.

Eating them Once in a Blue Moon

Eating one fresh burger per week (not from fast food chains) isn’t likely to cause you any harm. But it can add to an excess of red meat intake that could increase your health risks. So if you are really concerned, perhaps consider eating a juicy burger every now and then, maybe as a monthly treat, at a BBQ only, or when you are out at events like a carnival. Of course, you can try vegan faux meat substitutes if you feel like including burgers on your weekly food menu.

If In Doubt, Make Your Own

Processed food increases your health risks. That is now an established fact. And it doesn’t come much more processed than meat. The good news is you can become healthier by learning to cook fresh and delicious food. And burgers are among the easiest things you can make. You can use the brioche bun recipe above. And you have complete control over the type of ground beef you use. Additionally, you can use fat-reducing dressings such as avocado.

Summary

So, are burgers really bad for you? Well, it depends. Buying your burger from a fast food chain probably is. So you can make your burger yourself, use lower-fat meat and try healthier bread.