Detoxing – Desirable or Dangerous?

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What about weight loss?

Detox supplements are usually just laxatives in disguise

Most detox diets are designed to only be performed for a limited period of time (which is just as well if hot water with a squeeze of lemon is your sole source of sustenance!). But what happens then? Twenty-one days of limiting yourself to cabbage soup or carrot juice seems like a sure-fire way to encourage a serious chocolate cake binge!

Temporary measures rarely provide effective solutions to weight or health problems. Weight loss on a detox diet is usually the result of one of the following reasons.

Firstly, many detoxes require you to take supplements. Often these are really laxatives in disguise, designed to make you visit the toilet more often. Laxatives reduce your body's ability to absorb the nutrients from the food and fluids you consume and can cause unhealthy weight loss if taken regularly. Taking laxatives is never a good idea, as it can lead to dehydration and problems with your digestive system.

Secondly, if you're fasting or severely restricting your food intake, your body will naturally struggle to maintain its weight - however most of the weight you lose will be fluid, soon to be replaced when you return to normal eating. This delightful combination of fluid loss and laxatives is never going to produce the trim, toned body that you'll see in advertisements.

Our bodies need a balanced range of sustenance, vitamins and minerals to function correctly. While cutting down on junk food and alcohol is a good idea, eliminating major food groups (such as carbohydrates or dairy) can only lead to serious health consequences. A lack of dairy products in your diet could cause problems with osteoporosis later in life, for example.

Some commonly reported symptoms of detox diets include headaches, dizziness, lack of concentration, bad breath and tiredness. Detox fans may tell you that this is a sign that you are ridding your body of toxins, but really these symptoms are usually caused by a lack of food!

Detox and exercise

Fasting or eating only minimal calories is a bad idea at any time, but especially so when you are exercising. When you are involved in physical activity your body uses the food you eat as fuel. If you're not eating enough, your body cannot cope with doing much at all - let alone running or pumping weights.