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Overwhelming controversy surrounds
a weight management plan referred to as “Detoxification Dieting.”
Although, there is a spectrum of detox practices, certain medical
professionals recommend it, while others suggest danger. To
discern the positive and negative effects of fasting or doing
the detoxification diet, review the following positives and
negatives:
Detoxification Diet Perks
• Used short-term, it should
be safe
• Spiritual benefits
• Weight loss is via fluid loss
• Releases a build up of toxins
• Beans, fruits, grains and vegetables, fruits, whole grains
and beans
Detoxification Diet Drawbacks
• Research does not corroborate the health benefits of the program
• Weight loss is generally temporary
• Does not effectively burn fat
• Considered to ‘quite dangerous’
Despite the immediate gratification
of accelerated weight loss, detoxification diets are not recommended
for the following individuals:
• Children
• Adolescents
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• Aging people
• Individuals with health problems (such as decreased kidney
function, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses)
Body detoxification programs
have been touted as a way for people to manage their own health.
On the contrary physicians are countering that the weight management
plan does not provide any benefits the body does not perform
naturally.
According to one of the co-founders
of the 21-Day Detox program in California, John Wood, it is
virtually impossible to “live in a dirty environment, breathing
dirty air ... eating food that's contaminated with poisons and
pesticides and be healthy."
On the other side of the detox
diet debate, Roger Clements, MD a chemist at the U.S.C. School
of Pharmacy scoffs at the program's stipulation on how the body
or digestive system needs a time-out or sabbatical. According
to Dr. Clements, both the liver and G.I. (gastrointestinal)
tract are very long. From the liver to the GI tract, the body
manages to function well. But according to Peter Pressman, an
assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of
Southern California, detoxification is potentially dangerous.
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