The word “Detox” has created much hype in the world of weight loss. The idea behind a detox diet is to remove the “toxic waste” from the body in order to keep the body healthy. People generally do it after festival eating like Diwali, Christmas and New Year as over-indulging in foods might require a detox thereafter.

A typical detox diet involves a period of fasting, followed by a strict diet of fruits, vegetables, fruit or vegetable juices and plenty of fluids and water. Sometimes a detox diet can also include herbs, teas, herbal infusions, or enemas. It is claimed that a detox helps to give rest to the organs by fasting, stimulates the liver to get rid of toxins and eliminating excess fat, promotes toxin elimination through faeces, urine, and sweat improves blood circulation and provides the body with the capacity to readjust itself for better absorption of nutrients. It also protects from the harmful effects of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants like pesticides, industrial chemicals and their by-products. It can promote good heart health as it encourages exercising and sweating regularly. Since it encourages a healthy lifestyle, therefore, it is advised to eat whole, nutritious and healthy foods, drink plenty of water and green tea and getting rid of processed foods. All these help in limiting stress and getting good sleep.

The most common detox diets involve at least one of the following methods:

• Fasting for 2-3 days

• Drinking plenty of fresh fruit or vegetable juices, smoothies, water, and other beverages

• Drinking only specific liquids, such as infused water or lemon water

• Abstaining from foods that are high in pesticides, contaminants and allergens

• Using laxatives, colon cleanses or enemas

• Completely eliminating wheat, milk, alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, and sugars

A Detox diet may be linked with improved health as it includes avoiding environmental toxins, exercising regularly, eating nutritious food, drinking plenty of water, removing alcohol and sugars from the diet, but there aren’t enough scientific findings to say that one can get rid of toxins completely following a detox diet. A balanced plan that focuses on eating fruits and vegetables, drinking enough water and eating foods that are rich in dietary fibre may help to keep your digestive tract clean safely and promote health and well-being.