The result? Hundreds of different detox diets to try to rid the body of toxins (smog, pollutes, unhealthy chemicals in food, etc)
The most recently popular detox diet, thanks to Beyonce, is "The Lemonade Diet" also known as the Master Cleanse. I've read mixed reviews on this diet - apparently, you feel like HELL for awhile and then begin to feel energized and better. It's my understanding this is how any detox works, including detox from chemical dependency.
This particular diet consists of a salt water flush every morning, several glasses of "lemonade" (fresh squeezed lemon juice, natural maple syrup, and cayenne pepper), and a laxative tea at night. It is recommended to do this diet for a minimum of 10 days, and a maximum of 40 days.
I'm no health expert. On the contrary, I have the biggest sweet tooth and, until I went away to college and was surrounded by people who were body-conscious, I rarely ate anything healthy, choosing foods high in sugar and corn byproducts *which I learned in Food, Inc is not entirely healthy* However, detox diets appear to me, to be quite dangerous. Last year, I watched a couple of roommates try "detox diets" of drinking solely water for a week. I understand that it is possible to survive for quite some time on this type of detox, because water can keep one functioning. But of course, it leaves to malnutrition. Which, many around the world are subject to because of circumstances - not because they PAID for a diet to put them in such a state. Sure, a detox will drop tons of weight, but if you don't continue the diet, the weight is just going to return!
Personally, I would much rather slowly detox my body by eating food that has been grown / raised in a healthy manner without the chemicals that are in so many things we eat in today's world. But, I want to know what everyone else thinks on this matter...I am intrigued by the idea of a detox (not for myself, of course) and greatly admire those who have the drive to stick to the diet. (Although, again, this might be canceled out by the fact that most people who follow a detox do not do it in a smart manner and end up causing more harm than good for their body and thus are dumb...)
So what are your thoughts on detox diets?
P.S. WebMD wrote a very balanced article on this topic.
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