A detox for your body can sound like an amazing idea. Who wouldn’t want to remove toxins from their system? With social media feeds all about detoxification products, diets and supplements claiming that they can really cleanse your system and provide all kinds of health benefits. But is your body really full of these toxins?
Our body does not need a detox program. It is literally designed to detoxify itself. Liver is our detoxification machine. “Detoxifying the normal things we eat, breathe and ingest is the main part of its job and keeps us alive. Other organs like kidney, lungs and skin are working overtime too,” says Kajal Wattamwar and Bushra Qureshi, dieticians and co-founders, Healthy Steady Go.
When people go on these detox diets, they mainly survive on vegetables/fruits alone, this can cause electrolyte imbalances, vitamins and mineral deficiencies, diarrhea, stomach problems and fatigue.
Qureshi opines, “While on such programs, people will definitely lose weight, and feel fresh and light, but that’s just a pseudo loss where you mostly lose muscle and water weight, not fat! These diets seem harmless, but in reality, they can do more harm than good.”
What should you do?
The most important thing one can do to help the body rid itself of toxins is take care of your body.
This means maintaining a healthy diet with more of fresh produce and less of processed foods so that these important organs don’t get overwhelmed.
That being said, we do believe our gut needs a break. Our gut is responsible for 70% of the immune function and so if your gut is busy digesting all the heavy foods you eat, it barely gets time to work on your immunity. So yes, once in a while opting for soft and easy to digest foods to give your gut a break can be a great idea. But remember this cannot be called a cleanse or detox diet!
Dr. Rohini Patil, MBBS, Nutritionists and CEO of Nutracy Lifestyle, feels, “Not all detoxes are bad! Most people tend to eat way more than they need, this can put a lot of stress on your liver and kidneys. Detox diet with the right nutritionist/dietitian is an opportunity to cleanse your body and get rid of any toxins that might affect your health. When done in the right way, it can help you identify your ‘reactive’ foods.” It is a fad diet when followed blindly without considering medical history and lifestyle.
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