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Detox Diet

Detox diet, otherwise known as cleansing diet, refers to a dietary plan that aims at removing toxins and poisons from your body. This includes eating organic foods (i.e. foods that weren't grown or nourished with unnatural chemicals and supplements) and simple foods (i.e. foods devoid of flavor enhancers, food colorings, and artificial preservatives). Obvious toxins to avoid that are people commonly consume include alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, and drugs (recreational and medicinal). Many detox diets aim at eating foods known to have nutritional benefits to the kidneys, liver, and lymph. In addition to just leading to a general healthier body, detox diets can cure a number of health issues, such as obesity/overweight issues, insomnia, diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and acne/skin issues.

In many ways, a detox diet is similar to traditional Eastern medicine (e.g. Chinese herbal medicinal treatments), which aim taking medicines or supplements based on natural herbs to help cure various diseases. These include various fruits, roots, and ginseng. In fact, a detox diet is considered a form of alternative medicine.

So, detox diets work?

Yes, they do. The premise, after all, makes rational sense. Foods that have been treated with chemicals or that known to be toxins (e.g. alcohols) have harmful affects to your body. With time, these toxins build up and will have more noticeable, likely deadly, affects on the body. Studies have shown a strong correlation between the rise of cancer patients and the industrialization of food products.

Why don't more people go on detox diets?

The answer is simple. Detox diets are very specific and provide very large set of restrictions on what one can or cannot eat. Most people just don't have the mental discipline to stick to a diet -- let alone to a detox diet. Despite the evidence pointing to the health benefits of a detox diet, sometimes its just too hard to say "No" to a side of fries or a glass of wine.

If you are committed to trying a detox diet, we recommend the raw vegan diet (explained below). Remember, you don't have to live the rest of your life to the diet plan. Even going on a detox plan for a period of 1 month once or twice a year will have very strong and noticeable health benefits to your body.

Isagenix offers a great detoxifying product called Cleanse for Life. It contains antioxidants extracted from bilberries, raspberries, and blueberries, among other fruits. Cleanse for Life is available as both a drink and a powder (that you can mix yourself into a drink). For daily cleansing, you should drink Cleanse for Life two times a day. For deep cleansing, you should drink the detox juice four times a day. Deep cleansing helps your body rid itself of toxins and impurities that have buried themselves in your cells and tissues. It will help increase your metabolism and, likewise, has the accompanying benefit of weight loss.

Raw Vegan Diet

A popular diet, this detox diet is based on a diet of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables, and fresh juices. It is important to choose organic when possible. If you can't buy organic, choose vegetables or fruits with thick skin, wash it thoroughly, and peel the skin. This will ensure as much of the industrial pesticides, growth hormones, and other chemicals are removed.

Oftentimes, these raw ingredients are blended and made into a shake for consumption. Here are some commonly used raw ingredients: sprouts, seaweed, raw almonds, flaxseeds, oat groats, coconut, acai, avocado, soy beans, cinnamon, agave nectar, blackberries, cucumbers, and pomegranates.

It is recommended to go on the raw vegan detox diet for a minimum of 1 month before stopping.

Good luck, stay committed, and rid your body of those toxins!