Detox Diet

I would like to try a detox diet for the first time.  Experience/suggestions?

All is appreciated :)

My suggestion? Don't.

Why are you thinking about doing this? What do you hope to get from it?

to cleanse my system and feel better. why are you against a detox diet?

Do you think you are 'toxed'?...     That's the problem with detox diets.  They are marketed by people who would love us to believe we are riddled with toxins that need to be 'flushed' or 'cleansed' .... and that those toxins are making us fat or sick or lacking in energy.   When the truth is that your body is quietly detoxing you day in day out via the liver and kidneys.  Should your liver and kidneys ever pack up you'd quickly get sick and die.  That's how good they are.

All you need to do, in reality, is feed your body good natural foods... fresh vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, lean meat and fish etc., .... drink plenty of plain water, get lots of rest & take walks in the fresh air.   Avoid nasties like alcohol, fast-food and preserv atives/additives for a while.   That will give your organs a helping hand in carrying on detoxing your body really effectively.

thank you! I think you are definitely right....hmmmmmm

For several reasons. The kidneys and liver do a great job of detoxing our bodies naturally. You are calling it a diet, so I assume that it's in part to lose weight, but the majority of "detoxes" will just make you lose water weight, not fat.

If you are considering a detox where you eat 1500 calories from a list of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, while not eating overly processed foods or drinking alcohol, I wouldn't have a problem with it (one of the mods has a list of great foods that fall into this),

But usually when people say detox they are talking about something like the lemonade diet, where it's just lemon water, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Besides being completely deficient in nutrition and calories, it isn't going to "cleanse" anything - the body doesn't react to being starved by pushing out these supposed toxins.

yeah the healthy eating; fruits, veggies, etc was more what I was thinking.  the other detox diets sound a bit severe (and uncomfortable) to me.  is there a blog or something on here about a good vegetarian/vegan detox diet?

Here's the list that spoiled_candy usually posts.

Detox Foods

Fruit
Fresh or frozen fruit.

Vegetables
All fresh vegetables. Vegetables thought to be particularly good detox foods include broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, artichokes, beets, red and green vegetables.

Rice
All forms of rice, including rice cakes, rice crackers and rice pasta. Brown rice is typically preferred.

Other Grains
Quinoa, amaranth, millet, and buckwheat can be used instead of rice. They can be purchased at a health food store or in some grocery stores.

Beans
Split yellow and green peas and lentils are easiest to digest and require the least soaking time. Other good options include kidney beans, pinto beans, mung beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and adzuki beans.

Nuts and Seeds
Unsalted nuts or seeds can be sprinkled over salads or eaten as a snack. Good options include flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Nut butters are permitted. Peanuts and peanut butter are usually not recommended.

Oil
Extra-virgin olive oil is a preferred oil.

Condiments
Vegetable salt, sea salt, vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, all herbs or spices.

Tea
Herbal teas, green tea.

Other Beverages
Water, lemon water, pure unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, rice milk

Daily Detox Do's
Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day, warm or room temperature.

Take the time to chew food well, especially grains.

you're missing the point, 'hippo.  our bodies are very effective at filtering and removing toxins all by themselves.  if they weren't, we wouldn't be here.  you want to be healthy?  don't eat food with a shelf life, or that comes in a box.  you don't need a "detox diet" - you just need real food.

As has been said, if you plan to detox, look at your fibre intake and stick to water, herbal tea and unsweetened 100% juice, wholegrains, lean proteins - as a vegetarian that means tofu and soya, TVP, and beans and legumes as a few examples - nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables, oils, and condiments like spices, herbs, and mustard.

Your fibre intake should be at least 25g a day and to make sure you're getting enough soluble and insoluble fibre - insoluble being the fibre that forms bulk and regulates acidity and PH in the gut) and soluble being the fibre that helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol. There is a more detailed list of fibre sources here, and never increase your fibre suddenly without enough water to compensate.

But your body is perfectly capable of detoxing itself, as mentioned. And detox methods that some people use can be extremely harmful: Dangers of Colon Cleansing.

you know, the other thing that worries me about detoxes is that it fools people into thinking they can do a detox once or twice a year and it will somehow make up for what they do the rest of the time.

i knew a guy who did this.  he lived pretty hard, lots of alcohol and hard living (he had a lot of money and owned a high-end adventure tourism business, and saw partying as part of the business).  once a year he'd clean up his act, quit drinking, detox, and then after a couple of weeks of clean living, he'd go to his doctor for a physical.  he always got great results.

he dropped dead of a massive coronary at 56.

wow that is a disturbing story.  I do see a lot of people trying to get out of sharpening up their will power and eating healthy and acting as if a detox is a magic bullet.  And a "detox" isn't natural at all.  Does anyone know what year/time period detox diets became popular? Thank youuuu amethystgirl for that list, that's exactly what I was looking for.  Thank you lalabanana, are you a vegetarian/vegan perhaps?  I am almost obsessed with learning about health/food for the body.  There's so much to learn!  You guys are fabulous, kudos to you all 

I'm not a vegetarian but I eat and know of a fair few vegetarian proteins. And I'm lactose intolerant, so I do dabble with vegan recipes sometimes what with them being inherently dairy-free.

It's good to want to learn about nutrition but don't let yourself get TOO absorbed. That can become a problem in itself as anything does when it tips over into obsession. At the end of the day you're still young so don't overly limit your foods; enjoy a bit of everything in moderation, generally. Eating cleanly for a little while if just to put a bit of spring in your step is good but overall, try 80% healthy and 20% "fun" foods.

Hmm...after reading a lot of other posts I have a bit of a different opinion.  I am completely vegan and have been for a while.  Every 3 months I do a 3 day cleanse where I drink juice (Veggie juice, fruit juice etc).  I still try to consume at least 1200 calories...a lot of juice!

I do the cleanse because my body spends so much time digesting food and those 3 days lets my body clean out a lot of waste and build up that it hasn't had a chance to.

I have never had a problem with my weight and I do not cleanse to lose weight.  I am on calorie count because I just had a baby...so...take it or leave it! 

Another veg here (but not a nutrition or health expert)...  I could -maybe- see it being OK to consume nothing but a few green smoothies (unsweetened fortified soy milk for protein and extra vitamins, leafy greens like spinach and/or kale, and frozen or fresh fruits) for a day or two MAX, as that would only leave out complex carbs... but I wouldn't personally go beyond that.  By blending up nothing but healthy foods, you've got the 'clean' food thing going on, loaded with fibre and nutrients, and also it's sort of pre-digested a little bit and might be a bit easier on your digestive system. I have days where 2 or 3 meals are green smoothies, but I would feel really hungry if I didn't have some rice or quinoa or oatmeal or something at some point and some legumes.

kfirth1, i really need that soy milk in my smoothies.  Can't imagine having nothing but fruit and veggies for a few days.  I'd be grossed out.  Some vegan.  Haha.

I once tried only juice...I made it to the end of the day and felt like I was going absolutely insane. Seriously. I became horribly irritable, hungry and delirious. I couldn't make it through commercials on tv since there were so many that had to do with food. At the end of the day, I said "f*** this."

There was nothing "cleansing" about that one day except my thoughts on "cleansing." 

You know what's cleansing? Eating right and exercising hard. At the end of the day, you'll feel healthy and happy about your achievements. Feeling great about yourself is the ultimate cleanse to me--and you can experience it everyday!

Just over a week ago at the beginning of lent I went on a water fast for both religious and experimental reasons. I am by no means overweight and consider myself in great shape. I go to the gym multiple times a week and both weight train and perform multiple types of cardio. I just wanted to see if I had the willpower to do this.

One week. Tuesday to Tuesday. Just water.

I did my research well beforehand to see the negative impacts and positive effects of such an extreme "diet". I knew I was fit enough to complete the fasting without putting myself into serious or life threatening danger. Two of my personal friends did multiple day water fasts and one of my buddies completed an entire week on just tea with honey in it. Years ago, as a political ploy Ireland's Bobby Sands refused to eat and perished after 66 days; I knew I was in no serious danger going for just 7 days. I kept a small journal/notepad to document each day, how I was feeling, and what effects it was having on my body and mind. I repeat, I did my research.

I by no means condone or suggest doing this yourselves, but here was my experience.

A week before I began the all out fasting, I weened myself off foods, first starches and heavy foods like breads and meats. Then eventually a few days before fasting I reduced my diet to fruits and vegetables and a day before the diet just juices. I made my own smoothies out of fresh fruits, water, and ice; occasionally I'd pour in some 100% fruit juices to give it an extra pop.

I prepared myself mentally for the absolute worst and, surprisingly, the first day went by without too much abdominal or stomach pain. They say the first two days are the toughest physically, but I found my experience to be nothing like this. The second day, any time I felt the least bit hungry, I would drink, drink, drink. Lots of water all the time, it's the only thing that kept my going.

This week was not without struggles. There were many bumps in the road. I kept myself occupied at work and after work to keep my mind of food. The Tuesday that I began the fast I played multiple hours of indoor volleyball. The next day I did a light workout at the gym (this being the second day with no food, I began to start feeling weak, and could only complete half of my normal routine). On Thursday, I again played volleyball for two hours. I'm usually very good (playing in multiple tournaments at my college during the summer months), and found my body very unresponsive, sluggish, and even lazy. This would be the last time I would attempt any physical activity for the duration of the fast.

The weekend was by far the worst. I woke up in physical pain both Saturday and Sunday. I would get weird pains in strange places like my knees and joints, even tough my stomach felt satiated. I guess I prepared myself mentally enough for the stomach pains to where there was none, which left me vulnerable to soreness and pain to the rest of my body. Oddly enough, mentally, I felt content, like I was floating through life, very happy, even high.

I know what you are thinking. But what about all those commercials and advertisements trying to sell you food every time you turn your head?! Let me tell you, it was difficult. On Friday, one of my coworkers asked me to pick up two dozen donuts, and a breakfast sandwich. He also offered to buy for my inconvenience. I hated talking about my fasting, so I accepted his offer to pick up the food and ate absolutely none of it as the office devoured them in front of my face. Again on Monday, a snow storm hit and nobody wanted to go out for lunch, so the boss offered to buy everyone pizza. The aroma filled the entire office, but I was way too close to my goal to give in. But I digress.

I weighed myself after the fast and went from around 190-192ish all the way down to 176. My clothes were very big on me and I could tell I was losing a lot of weight just by looking at my face. I felt very, very light (obviously) and strangely at peace. Almost two weeks later, I'm hanging around the mid 180s and trying to maintain my weight. The first time back in the gym a few days after I broke the fast, I could tell my muscles took a beating, with a poor to moderate strength training session. Altough today, I'm at least back to where I was, if not stronger.

The Tuesday when I was allowed to eat again, although I wanted to gorge and just right back on top of steaks and burgers, I weened myself back on food much like I weened myself off it, just in reverse. The first thing I had was 100% fruit juice diluted with water and ice. The next day I ate fruit (a few apples and a banana). I eventually started eating vegetables and my first protein after the fast were nuts and fish. Then Chicken, and finally red meats.

Sorry for the book, just wanted to share some personal "detox diet" or water fasting (or whatever you want to call it) experience.

Again, I do not condone one try this, it is very strange and obscure mentally and physically to not have anything in your body for 7 days. But if you have any questions, feel free to message me.

I see Quinoa listed below and was wondering where do you buy Quinoa? I have looked at Krogers, Food Lion, and Walmart. Am I not looking in the right aisle? Help!

mnmgirl - I've only found quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, so you don't do what I did - ask for kwin-o-a) at health food or co-op type places. Maybe Whole Foods, but no Krogers, FL, or Walmart that I know of would have it.

I am truly detoxing for a good reason. My bodys been through alot of alcohol abuse and a recent hopsital visit because of it, so I'm giving it up for good and am eating as well as I can to give my body the best chance it has of repairing itself.

I'm focusing on eating the most nutrient dense foods I can, especially cruciferous vegetables which help support liver function. I've cut out tea, coffee and alcohol and am only drinking water and soy milk. I'm eating alot of raw food where possible and as little processed things as I can.

eg. a sample day at the moment is looking like:
Breakfast - muesli with fresh rasberries and nuts, unsweetened soy milk

Lunch - avocado on wholgrain bread, 3 pieces of fruit chopped in yoghurt

Snack - Smoothie made from soy milk, goji berries, fresh ginger, whatever fruit I have around

Dinner - big plate of veg (onions and mushrooms cooked) then raw cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower, spinach and carrots, sprinkled with good handful of almonds

I take the supplements milk thistle, ginko biloba, a probiotic and selenium.
My body has been through alot, and hopefully some good clean eating will give it a good chance of recovery

double post