Healthy Detox Diets

Detoxifying diets can be a healthy part of your routine. Our bodies detoxify continuously. It is a natural process, involving the liver, kidneys, lymph glands and skin. What you eat can promote the process. The detoxification diet involves three steps: the preparation, the fast, and the sequel.

Facts

Bodies detox in several ways. The skin sweats out toxins, the liver breaks down toxins, and the kidneys clean the blood of toxins and then remove them through the urinary tract. By drinking plenty of filtered water and eating certain foods you can enhance your body's ability to detoxify.

Benefits

According to Isagenix, a marketing company specializing in cleansing, a cleansing detox diet can clear up your skin, provide allergy relief, make you more energetic, improve your digestion and even help sharpen your thinking. Once you see the results, you will be more inclined to improve your eating habits.

Features

The detox diet begins with a preparation phase of one to two weeks. Give up caffeine, alcohol and sugar and consume as few processed foods as possible.

Next comes a fasting period of perhaps just one day but (in the case of the Master Cleanse) up to 10 days. During this phase, you may only drink water or a combination of herbal teas and juice.

During the final phase, ease your body back into food. Follow a similar regime as in the preparation phase for the healthiest results.

Types

Detox diets have been created for every need. Isagenix, for example, specializes in prepackaged cleanse formulas in nine-day and 30-day packages. Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman has created a fat flush diet which centers around detoxifying the liver. The Master Cleanse, created in the 1920s, is a strict lemon juice fast that lasts 10 days. In its basic form, any diet that supports liver function with anti-oxidant and sulfur-rich foods while cutting back on processed foods, alcohol, caffeine and sugar will help your body detox.

Considerations

Consult your doctor before beginning a detox diet. If you are otherwise healthy, you should not experience adverse reactions. However, the diet phase may leave some people feeling headaches or otherwise unwell. Any time you experience headaches, nausea or dizziness, stop your diet and consult a doctor. During any detox diet, exercise should be kept to 20 minutes per day or less.