Detox Smoothies

KayteeBear

So there's many, many posts about detoxes and how to detox so here's some information for a safer way to detox than not eating food for a month...

First here are just smoothies to help detox...or rather what you should have in your smoothies... And it's just a smoothie to drink ALONG with the rest of the food you should be eating so you're not starving yourself (which is not healthy)

Essential Ingredients For Making Detox Smoothies
A detox smoothie cleans your body of accumulated harmful substances caused by processed foods and the environment that exert a negative effect on individual health. It is a great way to provide your body with nutrients and flush out any of harmful substances and toxins that make us feel sluggish. It can also be used as a rich and nutrient packed meal replacement in the morning to kick start your day.

When preparing your detox smoothie, there are three essential ingredients that you should include. They are fiber, diuretic and citric acid. These essential ingredients all have a role in the detox process.

1. Fiber should be used as the base for your fruit smoothie. Fiber helps your digestive system by moving food through the body and keeping the nutrients it needs to function at its best. Pears, apples, bananas, carrots or fresh berries are great sources of fiber. You can also add spinach to any fruit or veggie smoothie as it contains a rich source of fiber. For extra fiber, you can add flaxseed or raw granola.

2. A Diuretic makes your digestive system work faster. It helps remove excess water which causes bloating or swelling. Sea salt is known to be the best and most natural diuretic. It also contains over 80 minerals that which is healthy for our body. If you use sea salt, do not add it to the blending process as it will crush into small pieces and make your smoothie taste salty. Instead, add a pinch at the end and stir in gently with a spoon. Another great diuretic is ginger or watermelon. Pick ingredients that blend well with either a veggie or fruit smoothie.

3. Citric Acid makes its way through your digestive track to break down excess plaque and mucus that surrounds the lining in the walls of the intestines. While fiber and diuretic help flush toxins out, citric acid breaks toxins down so your body can dispose of them easily. Oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits are all great sources of citric acid. When peeling oranges and grapefruits, its recommended to leave the white skin on as the skin contains the highest amount of nutrients.

Try incorporating one item from each of the three groups to prepare a healthy detox smoothie. Mix and match ingredients to create your favorite blend of a fruit or veggie smoothie.

Copy and Pasted from here: http://nutrition-junkie.blogspot.com/2010/01/basic-ingredients-for-morning-detox.html




And here are "Smoothies to Detox"
http://www.juicing-for-health.com/smoothies-for-detox.html

They are a list of different smoothies and it's supposed to be for a ONE Day Juice detox. You're supposed to use a combination of the smoothies and drink 8-10 glasses of water.

Within the article it also has a link to healthy ingredients for smoothies : http://www.juicing-for-health.com/healthy-smoothies.html

pholbert

Interesting

cclark1203

This is very interesting, I agree

ShapeUpSidney

It's the toxins! Gotta rid your body of the toxins, and then all will be right in the world!

slbeutler

Could you just include the foods you mentioned in your regular diet and not necessarily a smoothie and get the same benefits?

sunnyday789

Thank you for the post; you've obviously put a lot of effort in to providing this information for others.
However, I don't think that there's a of of actual proven science behind it. Humans naturally "detox" through their livers, kidney, lungs, and bowels.

CaptainGordo

"The best way to 'detox' the body is simply to let your body do its job. Unless you have a medical problem, your body takes care of itself quite nicely, experts say.

"The liver and kidneys are nature's best-kept secret, because they are the weapons to eliminate toxins from your body," says Gerbstadt. "If you are concerned about certain substances in your diet, it is easier and safer to simply eliminate [those substances] rather than engage in unhealthy detox plans."

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64306
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths

I would suggest that you look for information from sites that are not geared toward promoting or selling these products.

Detox programs, along with juice fasts, have been debunked by scientists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7808348.stm
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1105175/Detox-diets-kick-start-New-Year-total-waste-money-say-experts.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/05/detox-science
http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/debunking-detox.html

ShapeUpSidney

Could you just include the foods you mentioned in your regular diet and not necessarily a smoothie and get the same benefits?

Now now...that isnt the kind of thinking that sells $800 blenders!

gwild0r

I want to say Detox is a bad word to describe smoothie Diets.. I finished 30 days and lost close to 25 lbs on a Smoothie Diet.. Did it Detoxify my system, I want to say no.. but what it really did for me was get me off the addiction of food. The first week of the diet was like a withdrawal from an addiction and it was friggen brutal.. headaches.. crazy starvation.. just downright moody..

But then what happened is I started to crave water.. and water really helped quench my thirst. The smoothies make a great lunch (usually my worst meal when I was addicted).

The smoothie diet broke me of that addiction, and because I wasn't stretching my stomach with food.. I almost had the same effects of a gastric bypass.. I can barely eat what I used to any more.. I still avoid junk food.. but stuffing my face with vegetables and small amounts of meat totally quench my hunger.. And I have no problems avg about 1500 calories a day.. MFP is telling me to eat 1900!

bett_boop

I want to say Detox is a bad word to describe smoothie Diets.. I finished 30 days and lost close to 25 lbs on a Smoothie Diet.. Did it Detoxify my system, I want to say no.. but what it really did for me was get me off the addiction of food. The first week of the diet was like a withdrawal from an addiction and it was friggen brutal.. headaches.. crazy starvation.. just downright moody..

But then what happened is I started to crave water.. and water really helped quench my thirst. The smoothies make a great lunch (usually my worst meal when I was addicted).

The smoothie diet broke me of that addiction, and because I wasn't stretching my stomach with food.. I almost had the same effects of a gastric bypass.. I can barely eat what I used to any more.. I still avoid junk food.. but stuffing my face with vegetables and small amounts of meat totally quench my hunger.. And I have no problems avg about 1500 calories a day.. MFP is telling me to eat 1900!

wow that sounds amazing - i have a food addiction, its not so much about the quantity, more about how often etc- but your Smoothie Diet sounds amazing, where did you get it from- of did you make it up yourself?

KayteeBear

Thank you for the post; you've obviously put a lot of effort in to providing this information for others.
However, I don't think that there's a of of actual proven science behind it. Humans naturally "detox" through their livers, kidney, lungs, and bowels.

I'm pretty much posting this because so many people keep asking about detoxes and usually the stupid store bought ones where you starve yourself for a week or whatever and this can be another idea they can put into their heads and it doesn't include starving themselves. I'm not necessarily saying I believe that these smoothies will truly detox you. I just happen to come across these articles when I was searching smoothie stuff because I really enjoy drinking smoothies.

KayteeBear

"The best way to 'detox' the body is simply to let your body do its job. Unless you have a medical problem, your body takes care of itself quite nicely, experts say.

"The liver and kidneys are nature's best-kept secret, because they are the weapons to eliminate toxins from your body," says Gerbstadt. "If you are concerned about certain substances in your diet, it is easier and safer to simply eliminate [those substances] rather than engage in unhealthy detox plans."

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64306
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths

I would suggest that you look for information from sites that are not geared toward promoting or selling these products.

Detox programs, along with juice fasts, have been debunked by scientists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7808348.stm
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1105175/Detox-diets-kick-start-New-Year-total-waste-money-say-experts.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/05/detox-science
http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/debunking-detox.html

I didn't post this because I *believe* in needing to detox. I just posted it because everybody else seems to always be asking about detoxes and this is just an idea so that those people don't feel like they need to buy a "detox kit" and starve themselves.

I personally just like drinking smoothies and do find the information helpful when it comes to deciding what I want to put into my smoothies just for the benefits (not for a detox).

sunnyday789

Yes, I realized you were putting some info there to help people to make good decisions about their food intake. It just bothers me when products etc are touted to do something they don't. The ingredients listed in your post are likely healthy for you, they just don't "detox".

KayteeBear

Yes, I realized you were putting some info there to help people to make good decisions about their food intake. It just bothers me when products etc are touted to do something they don't. The ingredients listed in your post are likely healthy for you, they just don't "detox".

Aah...yes. Basically I just left it as it said in the articles for the people who believe in needing to detox instead. I don't really mean to start a debate. I mean, every single post usually has plenty of facts about whether or not you need to detox so there's TONS of info flying around about that. Some people feel they do need to detox, others don't. I just posted what I found. I'm not trying to be scientific either way. I should've put detox in quotations in the title I guess...

tjames719

bump

KayteeBear

.

manjingirl

I can see you are trying to help others with some ideas about detoxing, sorry to say that the detox blog is some cobbled together half truths and some nonsense.

Firstly, where exactly in the body do all these harmful toxins hang out? In your gut? In your muscles? Fat? Bones? Brains? And how does a detox smoothie make them leave your body?

But aside from that, let's look at the ingredients:

Fiber is always good, no doubt about that. It is part of a normal healthy diet, usually in the form of whole fruits and vegies. Every one needs fibre everyday, it's not a detox item.

Diuretics do NOT speed up the digestion, they make your kidneys remove extra water from your blood during the normal filtration so you pee more. They are used to reduce blood pressure and some other medical complaints. They should always be used under medical supervision. Some foods do have slight diuretic effects. Unless you have a specific medical complaint that responds to the use of diuretics, there is no need to seek out foods with diuretic effects. The salt claims? - pretty dodgy, most people need to reduce salt, not increase it. And a pinch of salt added to a smoothie will not act as a diuretic, more likely to make you hold onto water. Nor will it contribute to your vitamin intake by much (80 minerals? - what quantities in a pinch of salt?)

The citric acid story is just dodgy. Sure citric acid is used as a cleaner sometimes, but it's not likely to descale your innards.

For those people who feel the need to detox, probably best to eat some good fresh food, drink enough water to satisfy your thirst, get out and exercise every day, sleep well and laugh with your friends/family as often as you can. Now if only I could put that in a can...