Detox, Fraud or Fabulous?

Posted: Sun 9 Jan, 2011

Every now and then an article is trotted out in the popular press ultimately dismissing the annual detox as, at best, nothing more than an eating disorder in disguise and at worst a shady cure peddled by alternative medicine con men and women. Typically the article runs towards “there is no proof that taking supplements or eating a clean diet has any effect on detoxification”. This lack of proof usually revolves around quotes from several studies that have examined liver and kidney function or a single aspect of detoxification such as aluminium excretion over a period of a few days up to seven days.

In one aspect, these detox naysayers are right on the money – a seven or even fourteen-day detox is not going to make much of a difference to either your burden of stored toxins or how your body processes and handles toxins. If you haven’t cleaned your house in thirty-five years or more, seven days is only going to scratch the surface. That’s not to say that there’s no benefit in a short detox.

For many people who follow a generally healthy diet, holidays and Christmas/New Year tend to see things degenerate. Alcohol, sugar and processed foods tend to creep in and take over. A swing to the other direction with a few weeks of absolute abstinence from all things processed helps to break the addictions to the sugar and other chemicals found in food. Whole books have been devoted comparing sugar to cocaine in its addictiveness and often it’s easier to go cold turkey rather than a slow gradual wean.

So a short detox is great to help reset the diet back to ‘healthy’ but if you want to make a real difference to your health then you need to do something much more drastic and look at a detox program of at least six weeks and up to three months. If you’re suffering from a chronic disease then you’re probably looking at six months or more.
The following tips can help make it easier to choose which detox is right for you and how to get the most out of your detox:

• What is your goal with your detox? To lose weight, have clearer skin, to become healthier or as part of a strategy to overcome an illness? Be clear about your goals.
• Detoxification requires energy and nutrients. For many people, detoxification fails and leads to illness when their body does not receive enough nutrients to continue running key detoxification pathways. If you’re planning to fast or to follow a low fat, low protein detox you should precede your detox with a period of nutritious foods and supplements so your body has all the materials it needs at its disposal. A builder cannot build a house without a hammer and nails no matter how many labourers he has to help him.
• A detox is hard work and it’s a commitment - unfortunate but true! Be prepared with plenty of food that you can eat and don’t decide to start a few days before Christmas.
• If you’re not sure which detox is for you, focus on digestion. The digestive system is the foundation of good health. If it’s not working properly, not only will detoxification slow down but the production of toxins and food allergens from within the digestive tract will increase, creating further stress for an overwhelmed liver and immune system.
• Most of the really nasty toxins are actually tucked away in your body fat to protect your vital organs. The concept of using therapeutic oils to literally pull toxins from your fat cells will be explored in another article but for now, be sure to include plenty of healthy fats and oils in your detox. Healthy fats and oils include fish or krill oil, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, sea buckthorn oil, avocados and organic butter or ghee.

About the Author

Sarah Luck uses a combination of food, homoeopathic remedies, specific nutrients and herbal medicine. She has also practiced pregnancy massage for the last 10 years. She is passionate about using food as medicine wherever possible and specialises in PCOS, Fertility and Hormonal Problems (men and wemon). For more information on this article or to make an appointment with Sarah, contact Levity Health (02 9389 0278) or email Sarah directly at sarah@levityhealth.com.au.