Detox...pros and cons
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I'm in a major city and I'm doing a three week detox through the major teaching hospital. Our "leader" is both an MD and an ND and has been with the integrative medicine practice for 12 years.
The "core" idea is that are bodies are not made to process certain things we ingest: chemicals in foods, e.g., dairy and gluten. i've always been able to keep my weight between 140 and 150 (I'm 5 ft 8), but I have had to do so through strict calorie counting and sometimes fasting after a holiday food fest. I have continual crarvings for high carb foods (not sweets for some reason.)
Another "core" idea is that our bodies are so taxed by the constantly filtering of toxins...environmental, foods, drink, et al that our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation...and inflammation is correlated to heart disease (and lots of other stuff.) There is even some speculation that your individual "toxic" load can trigger those genes which can lead to cancers.
The final "core" idea is that the fatigue many of us feel is correlated to the work our body is constantly doing to restore itself from all this toxic assault.
Last week, I started giving up dairy (day one), gluten grains (day two) and weaned myself off caffeine (over 4 days.) Now, my regimen for the next 5 days is detox tea (this cleans your liver/kidneys and you can buy some flavorful ones at Whole Foods, green veggies, organic fruit, nongluten grains. And, lots of filtered water.
I feel great...no cravings, I sleep well, I get up energized.
If you don't have access to medical supervision, Mark Hyman has a great little book called "The UltraSimple Diet", which is a structured program you can do reasonably easily at home.
No offense to anyone, but I'm not going to defend this program or the concept. If you feel good the way you eat now, then to each their own.
I didn't...and now I do.
I don't take offense at all, and I'm really glad it is working for you. However, if you have always kept your weight within a 10 pound range I don't think your experience can really be extrapolated to apply to someone who is attempting to lose any significant amount of weight. This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.0 -
i disagree. if i was addicted to alcohol, i would have to go through a detoxification process and would feel worse before better. If i need to stop eating junk food (sugar, wheat chemicals) i need to go through a detox and will feel worse before i feel better.
I have done a few detoxes, i like the wild rose because it's food oriented... it resets my eating habits for a while.
Most of the weight you lose on a detox is poop. I don't think that's a bad thing! I find that if i can get down 5 lbs in a detox, i am motivated to keep eating well, and i may not lose another 5 lbs right away, but if i don't go back up, then i lost the poop weight and 5 lbs of weight weight
I'm also of the school of though that eating healthy trumps counting calories, which is a long standing mfp debate. Do what you are going to do, but don't expect miracles0 -
I understand.
However, there are nine other people in this program at the same time. I'm the one closest to a normal weight, and the rest are anywhere from 20 to 50 lbs over.
Each is experiencing the same response I am: 1) loss of cravings 2) renewed energy 3) great sleep. The goal of this particular program isn't weight loss...it is health. And, weight loss is coming for all the participants as their health is improving.
Our MD/ND also recommends that after the medically supervised detox that people continue on a "whole foods" program skewed towards veggies, fruits, beans, moderate nongluten grains. She further recommends that 80/20 is her personal regimen (she also follows an antiinflamnatory diet). So, 80% as above, 20% the occasional yogurt, b-day cake, etc.
"Detox" has a poor reputation because it is poorly done and opportunistically "sold". Just the way bodybuilding used to have a bad rep.. I remember when people used to think it was steroids , dessciated liver and muscle just for show.
You need to do your due diligence with anything and use more sources than MFP.0 -
The fat sick and nearly dead is on netflix too. I dont know if I would go the entire length of what the man did but he looked amazing to the point where he was glowing when he was done.
~Says the guy thats telling people to eat junk food. FYI you can still have high LDL, blood pressure, and over all poor health even if you are skinny and eating junk food. Can I also mention higher risk of cancer. No one here is endorsing Dr Oz.
You miss his point. His point is that you don't have to cut out anything from your diet (unless you have a genuine intolerance or allergy). Putting foods in good/bad categories is wrong and there is no miracle diet plan that is going to make you lose weight faster. Also...meeting your calorie goals are not hard at all and any food is okay as long as it fits in your goals and in moderation.0 -
i disagree. if i was addicted to alcohol, i would have to go through a detoxification process and would feel worse before better. If i need to stop eating junk food (sugar, wheat chemicals) i need to go through a detox and will feel worse before i feel better.
I have done a few detoxes, i like the wild rose because it's food oriented... it resets my eating habits for a while.
Most of the weight you lose on a detox is poop. I don't think that's a bad thing! I find that if i can get down 5 lbs in a detox, i am motivated to keep eating well, and i may not lose another 5 lbs right away, but if i don't go back up, then i lost the poop weight and 5 lbs of weight weight
I'm also of the school of though that eating healthy trumps counting calories, which is a long standing mfp debate. Do what you are going to do, but don't expect miracles
When did sugar become junk food? You know sugar is in fruit and other foods, right?0 -
Removing poisons from the body is a seductive idea, but much like the word natural, the term detox is so overused that it can mean just about anything.
Detoxification is an established medical treatment—for helping drug addicts and alcoholics make it through withdrawal. A medical detox can also reduce a buildup of heavy metals, like iron or mercury, or treat a genetic disease that impairs the absorption of copper. Chelation therapy uses a substance that chemically binds with a specific metal to remove excesses from the body. In each case, the treatment targets a specific toxin to be removed.
“But when it comes to dieting, there is no real scientific basis for detoxing,” says Gerbstadt, author of Doctor’s Detox Diet (Nutronics Publishing 2012), a clean-eating plan in which she tries to salvage and redefine the term. A quick Medline® search of peer-reviewed medical journals shows no studies proving that a diet can “cleanse” or “detoxify” the body.
“Detox diets are created by people with products or books to sell, but this is not a legitimate medical treatment,” says Carla Wolper, EdD, RD, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of eating disorders research at Columbia University in New York City.
http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/detox-diets-myths-vs-reality0 -
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If you can pull up the "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" video on the Dr. Oz Website - it discusses detox at length.
Dr Oz....Run for the hills!! :sad:
OP, there is no pro's to "detox" - any weight you will lose will be water.....and you will probably binge afterwards because you starved yourself...
What are you doing for exercise?
Open your diary, maybe we can help....
I only have one joint left in my right foot. the others have been removed and the bone fused with cadaver bone, so exercise is kind of limited. I have degenerative arthritis in my feet and knees....however, I do advanced step and boxing via wii fit for an hour a day. I thought my diary was open, but I guess it was just open to friends. I will open it. I appreciate any advice. Thank you!0 -
In case you haven't seen this yet...0
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And just because....one never gets it right the first couple of timesIn case you haven't seen this yet...0
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Dr. Oz Website
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The pros of detox...The people that are able to professionaly sell/market detox and detox products and make money off it.
The cons of detox...The people that are able to professionaly sell/market detox and detox products and make money off it.
^^This^^0 -
Bernadette, I invite you to follow this already posted thread, as well as the thread she refers to within (which includes many PubMed references) for some thoughts outside of MFP.
Also, the dietary changes you are referring to that you have made are very different from what many refer to as "detox"
I agree with Wetcoaster on why "detox diets" have such a bad reputation, it's because you can't actually do that with a diet any more than the body already does it. And because no diet will technically eliminate ill-defined "toxins", please suggest that your MD/ND start using another word so that her work will be taken seriously by the wider health professional community since using that word in reference to a diet is not respected currently, and likely won't be in the near future. I'm glad to hear that changing your diet has provided you with good results, but I'd hate to see a valid eating plan get lumped in with the muck of detox diets that range from dangerous to silly due simply to a poor understanding of the body's pathway to acheiving those results or a poor choice of words.
I have also achieved improved digestive function due to eliminating wheat about 90% of the time, so I am not one of those people who think this is all ridiculous and not open to the possibility, but wording can really get people up in arms!0 -
ha ha! as I was wording my post, B_C beat me to it!0
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Oh my!!! It seems I've opened a can or worms....not my intention! I know that a couple of my friends are worried about me because I don't always eat my 1200 calories a day. Not all of that is intentional. I have the best of intentions, but sometimes life gets in the way...drama, loss and such.
Some people say that if I eat more calories, I will lose faster. I think its a mental block with me...if I eat more I will lose less. I asked my doctor about the 1200 calories, and she did tell me that I should be having 1350 a day instead, but she also said that I would lose less weight with 1350 too. That didn't help my mental state at all lol. She also said that I should keep my sugar low, even if it is from fruit and healthy foods. This really bothers me, because, If I try to eat healthy, and end up over my sugar by dinner time! There is sugar in so many of the healthy foods I like! The more I try to understand eating healthy, the more confused I get!
As for detoxing, all you had to say was that I would have to give up caffeine...not going to happen!!! I am a coffeeaholic, and I just am not willing to give it up!
I know that there are many factors that slow down weight loss including my age...52. I have never, ever had such a hard time trying to lose weight before! It is just really frustrating!0 -
Again, not here to debate detox..just to inform based upon my experience.
I'm sticking with my MD/ND at a major metropolitan, top ranked hospital and medical center who has worked with thousands of patients.
To each-- their own and all the best in their own pursuits.0 -
I have done this for the past 8 months and the weight comes off slow and steady.I feel great and have knocked off 100 pounds of pressure off my arthritic knees.
http://www.everydiet.org/diet/eat-stop-eat-24-hour-fast
My dad past away 3 weeks ago and I went back to just eating the 1240 calories and doing really very little exercise and stayed at the same weight during this time period.Then last week went back to the eat,fast,eat that Brad Pilon,talks about.
I am very happy with the results and feel great.I have lost 25 pounds and 23 inches.That is 3 pants sizes. I struggled also at the age of 57 and nothing I did worked but this. Even my doctor couldn't find anything wrong with it as long as I ate all the 1240 calories on the eat day and as many healthy calories on the day you eat at 6pm for supper. Also you can still have the COFFEE!0 -
You are eating very little....I know it's a mental block to eat more, but with an hour a day exercise you need to eat more.....Just add 100 calories a day - in healthy protein or even something like avokado if you like that....
I was stuck for months on 1550 cals and P90X six days a week.... (I'm 5'8.5 and 179lbs)
I scaled down on the exercise to three times a week weights a couple of weeks ago due to work stuff getting in the way, and got a fitbit - which added quite a few (just walking steps) during the day - office job, so I sit a lot....
I had my 45th birthday a week ago, went out for dinner, had wine all wekkend long and ate motherday's bbq's and "second birthday dinners...The rest of the week I just got 10 000 steps in, ate a minimum of 1800 calories and did weights 3 times - and I am down almost three lbs...
Just add 100 cals a day for a few weeks and see what it does...Take measurements too - my inches went down before the scale did....
Good luck!0 -
You don't mention anything about strength training. That's imperative for everyone but most importantly for women. There are lots of exercises you can do that shouldn't overstress your knees. Just watch your form and start out slow.
Don't decrease your calories. Eat a clean diet with as much organic, natural food as you can and make sure you get enough healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc... You can't get the nutrition you need if you are restricting your calories too low. There's nothing better than a sweet Fugi apple dipped in some raw almond butter. It's a win/win and your body will thank you for it.0 -
Again, not here to debate detox..just to inform based upon my experience.
I'm sticking with my MD/ND at a major metropolitan, top ranked hospital and medical center who has worked with thousands of patients.
To each-- their own and all the best in their own pursuits.
I am sticking with facts.0 -
These are similar concepts to what the movie ( Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead) discusses. Primarily eating healthy, whole, non-processed foods and finding ways to nourish your body/cells with real nutrients rather than synthetic chemicals, sugar, flour, dyes, preservatives and 'food-like' foods.0
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