Are detox diets as safe and effective as they claim to be?
We all have heard about detox diets and how they are the miracle we all have been looking for the extra weight we carry. For most people when they think of detox diets they immediately think of weight loss or the process of cleaning your body. The popularity of these diets have been increasing for the past few decades. People use these diets to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle but are they as effective as they claim to be?
What are detox diets?
Detox diets claim to manage weight, promote weight loss, cleanse the body, and eliminate toxins from the body. These strict diets involves juices, vegetables, cutting foods(or all foods entirely), low-calorie, supplements(ex: laxatives),protein, and water.
Types of diets
Fasting
Juicing (drinking only juices)
Use of dietary supplements
Eliminating certain foods
Atkins Diet
Ketogenic diet
Paleolithic diets
Mediterranean diet
Are they effective?
These fad diets can help you lose weight but at a high cost. There is not enough information supporting detox diets to be effective. On the contrary they do more harm than good. People do these diets assuming they can do it for a long period of time but when in reality they are too restive to adapt as a normal diet. Studies have found these diets to have a high dropout rate of 80% and are not as effective as they promise (Tahreem et al., 2022). Thus leading people to gain the weight back or more.
Are detox diets safe?
Unfortunately, they are not safe for the body. These diets are prompted to do wonders and show instant results. Many people that do these diets cut certain foods like carbs and fats. Missing food groups can affect your body by reducing your metabolism, and will lead to poor nutrient. These restive diets can lead to negative consequences to your body. Such as eating disorders, vomiting, nausea, starvation, and hormone imbalance to name a few. Most popular diets like juicing are low-calorie diets that don't have enough calories for your body to function correctly. Some extreme diets like taking laxatives can be very dangerous for one's health because it can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Our bodies are built to have balanced diets that is fueled with nutrients and not these restrictive diets that give false promises.
References
Klein, A. V., & Kiat, H. (2015). Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence. Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 28(6), 675–686. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.1228
Tahreem, Rakha, A., Rabail, R., Nazir, A., Socol, C. T., Maerescu, C. M., & Aadil, R. M. (2022). Fad Diets: Facts and Fiction. Frontiers in Nutrition (Lausanne), 9, 960922–960922. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.960922
Obert, J., Pearlman, M., Obert, L. et al. Popular Weight Loss Strategies: a Review of Four Weight Loss Techniques. Curr Gastroenterol Rep19, 61 (2017). https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/10.1007/s11894-017-0603-8
