Linda Lazarides' Detox Diet

Linda Lazarides' Detox Diet

What is a detox diet?

Detox diets are used for weight loss and to boost energy and vitality. They are popular after
a period of self-indulgence, when the body feels sluggish and tired. The original naturopathic detox diets of fruits, juices and raw foods were a serious treatment for illness, but with their rise in popularity, a lot of "gimmicky" variations have been invented. These make little or no difference to the end result.

Detox diet myths

Water Retention
Is a big cause of overweight.
Have you tried the
Waterfall Diet?

I feel awful when I start a detox diet so I must be losing toxins!
Detox diets cut out caffeine, alcohol, wheat and dairy products. This produces withdrawal effects in the form of headaches and low energy. Caffeine withdrawal alone could make you feel awful even if you made no other changes to your diet.
Detox diets are also low in fats, protein and carbohydrates. This can lead to low blood sugar, which results in a fuzzy head, or feeling faint, dizzy or depressed. Due to the general lack of calories, toxins come out of storage. They are released into your blood from your body fat as you begin to break down your body fat to use it for energy. Any low-calorie diet would do this. It has nothing to do with eating specific foods like carrots or lemons. The toxins were in storage because your liver and kidneys were not able to process and excrete them. So they will probably circulate in your blood until you stop the diet and then go back into storage again.
I feel great after a detox diet so I must have shed lots of toxins!
After completing a detox or cleansing diet, people often say they feel less sluggish, and more alert and energetic. This may have nothing to do with shedding toxins. Several other reasons are just as likely:

Overloading your digestive system with food (especially fatty, sugary food) uses up a lot of energy and can make you lethargic. Too much saturated fat stresses your liver; too much sugary food plays havoc with your balance of insulin and adrenal hormones. Reducing the load makes you feel good because it reduces all these stresses on your body.
Tea, coffee and alcoholic drinks may be the only drinks we normally consume. Because all three are diuretics (making us urinate more) they can cause chronic dehydration. Replacing them with water, fruit juices and herbal teas can quickly improve hydration and so boost energy and vitality.
For most of the year the average person's diet is very low in fruit and vegetables, the foods your body really craves. On a detox diet, your body is glad to get some real food.
Detox diets make the body more alkaline. An acid residue is left in our tissues when our habitual diet is too high in fat and protein. The more over-acidic your body, the less oxygen can get to your tissues and so the more prone to disease they can become. Eating fruit and vegetables (even sour ones) helps to reduce this acidity since your body metabolizes them (breaks them down) to an alkaline residue.
Detox diets usually exclude wheat, dairy and egg - foods which can cause unpleasant symptoms such as drowsiness, fluid retention and headaches if you do not digest them properly. While you are avoiding these foods you can feel wonderful!

Do you really want to shed toxins?	It is well worth reducing your level of toxins. Research from Birmingham University suggests that a sluggish rate of toxin clearance can play a large part in the development of diseases such as parkinsonism, Alzheimers, motor neurone disease, cancer and multiple sclerosis. So what are these "toxins", and where do they come from? We now know that toxins fall into three basic categories: Xenobiotics, which means substances foreign to your body, such as lead, mercury, drugs, pesticides and other chemical pollutants, Metabolic wastes: substances such as ammonia and acetaldehyde, produced in the course of the body's normal metabolism, Endotoxins: wastes produced by the many undesirable species of bacteria and fungi which normally live in our intestines. These toxins can be absorbed from your intestines into your blood. When numbers of these species become excessive, this state is known as dysbiosis. The removal of toxins from your body depends on four main organs: Your liver, which processes toxins and prepares them for excretion, Your intestines, which eliminate fat-soluble toxins in the stools, Your kidneys, which extract water-soluble toxins from the blood, Your skin, which excretes a variety of toxins in your sweat. As you can see, it is your organs, not your food, which actually perform the "detox". Your most vital organ of detoxification is your liver. Without it you would die very quickly. Your liver needs to be able to produce thousands of enzymes, from a steady supply of vitamins, minerals and protein. Amino acids (from protein) are some of the most vital of liver nutrients, but protein is in short supply in many so-called "detox" diets.
The four essential components of the ideal detox diet	Reduce exposure to toxins Treat dysbiosis with foods that aid good digestion and discourage the growth of undesirable intestinal bacteria. Eat more organic food. Drink filtered or bottled water. Avoid artificial food additives, caffeine, alcohol, red meat. Use pharmaceutical medications only when absolutely necessary. Investigate possible food sensitivities and eliminate problem foods (why?) Help your liver break down toxins Foods and supplements to boost liver enzyme production and antioxidants used by your liver. Avoidance of foods which stress or congest your liver. Stimulate bile production Bile flushes wastes out of your liver cells and then out of your body via your gall-bladder and intestines. Several foods and herbal teas can help to step up your bile production. Stimulate rapid clearance of wastes This is done with foods and natural products that stimulate the drainage of waste-laden bile from liver and gall-bladder and increase the frequency of bowel motions. Also take frequent hot baths and saunas to encourage sweating. The Waterfall Diet - The nearest thing to instant weight loss?

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