Available via license: CC BY
Content may be subject to copyright.
Advances in Obesity Weight Management & Control
Detox diet–worth to use it or not?
Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com
Abbreviations: WHO, world health organization; KCAL,
kilocalories; FDA, food and drug administration.
Opinion
Obesity is an upcoming health concern which is now turning into
an epidemic. As per WHO’s 2016 statistics more than 1.9 billion
adults fall into the category of overweight of which 650 million
came out to be obese. Obesity is a complex condition which causes
an impact over all age groups as well as socioeconomic statuses not
only in developed countries but in developing countries as well.
Obesity brings serious health complexities with it such as Diabetes,
Cardiovascular diseases, dyslipidemia, Osteoarthritis, Stroke, Gall
bladder and liver diseases, breathing problems like sleep apnea, also
some psychological disorders like anxiety and depression. One of
the major reasons behind this increasing obesity pattern is sedentary
lifestyle, as said sitting is the new smoking. We rely for most our
needs on technology and luxuries for fast and effective results. By
adapting this robotic pattern of life, we’re welcoming many health
complications.
With an increase in obesity statistics, people have started inventing
easy and quick ways to reduce weight and one of the new topics of
talk in town is ‘detox’, a trend which is being followed by many
people specially youth. Detox comes from detoxication which
means removing toxic substances from your body. The word “detox”
is referred chiey to a medical procedure that rids the body of
dangerous, often life-threatening, levels of alcohol, drugs, or poisons.
The treatment is based mostly on the use of drugs and different
therapies combined, depending on the kind and level of the toxicity.
Toxins, chemical or any poisonous substance can come from food that
we eat and the air that we breathe and to get rid of these harmful
substances nature has designed our bodies to process those toxins
through different organs like kidneys as well as the liver and these
organs function by eliminating them in the form of waste products in
the form of urine, feces and perspiration. The detox diet theories are
not proven scientically. Extremely low-calorie diets invariably lower
the body’s basal metabolic rate as it struggles to conserve energy.
Once normal eating patterns are resumed by the dieter, rapid weight
gain follows. Much of the weight loss achieved through this diet
results from uid loss related to extremely low carbohydrate intake
and frequent bowel movements or diarrhea produced by salt water and
laxative tea. When the dieter resumes normal uid intake, this weight
is quickly regained.
The detox diets encourage you to eat natural foods including lots
of veggies and massive amounts of water. People specially youth gets
more attracted towards it after seeing their favorite showbiz celebrities
following these diets with heavy gym workouts. These diets do give
us results by rapidly reducing our weight within a small duration of
time. But this is not stupendous because calorie intakes are usually
extremely low and lack major groups of foods such as milk and its
products, meat and crabs in the form of wheat-based foods means
you’ll slash the amount of calories you have - and only replace a few
of these calories with the extra fruit and vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts
and herbal teas. Detox diets may be helpful in losing weight but the
adaptor of such diets should be cautious about the adverse effects of
it. This dietary pattern lacks in protein, fatty acids, and other essential
vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates supply all the calories–an
extremely low approx. 600 kcal. The daily laxative regimen can
cause dehydration, deplete electrolytes, and impair normal bowel
function. It can also disrupt the native intestinal ora, microorganisms
that perform useful digestive functions. A person who goes on this
diet repeatedly may run the risk of developing metabolic acidosis, a
disruption of the body’s acid-base balance, which results in excessive
acidity in the blood. Severe metabolic acidosis can lead to coma and
death. People who fast for several days may drop pounds, but most
of it will be water and some of it may be muscle. These diets doesn’t
burn body’s fat.
These detox diets are contra indicated for patients with diseases
like Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases or any chronic diseases,
pregnancy and at that period of life when youth especially teens are
going through a phase of rapid growth and development where there
nutritional needs are at a risk of being highly compromised. Apart from
these do-it-yourself methods to eliminate alleged toxins that are held
Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2018:8(2):43-44
Volume 8 Issue 2 - 2018
Syeda Tooba Ali
Clinical Dietitian, Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan
Correspondence: Syeda Tooba Ali, Clinical Dietitian/RD, Aga
Khan University Hospital, Pakistan, Email alitooba22@gmail.com
Received: December 22, 2017 | Published: March 01, 2018
Opinion
Abstract
Recent global statistics reveal a rapid increase in obesity amongst all socioeconomic
and age groups globally. People nowadays have adapted sedentary lifestyle pattern
which is one of the main cause behind this epidemic. Most of the population is in
search of quick and easy ways of losing weight, many quick fix products, formulas
and diets are being introduced and are gaining public interest especially by the youth.
One of these quick fix methods is detoxification or detox diets. This dietary pattern
revolves mostly around consumption of fruits, vegetables and water. Lack of major
nutrients like proteins, fats and essential vitamins and minerals may lead to many
deficiencies. Adapting the dietary pattern may also lead to loss of minerals and water
due to the laxative regimen. The effectiveness of such diets is not even scientifically
proven. A balanced diet and regular physical activity can help you fulfill your aim of
leading a healthy life without risking your health.
Keywords: obesity, detoxification, detox, laxatives, diet, toxins, toxicity
© 2018 Syeda Tooba Ali. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source
are credited.
43
Citation: Syeda Tooba Ali. Detox diet–worth to use it or not?. Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2018:8(2):43-44. DOI: 10.15406/aowmc.2018.08.00225
Detox diet–worth to use it or not? 44
Copyright:
©2018 Syeda Tooba Ali
responsible for variety of health related issues, many detox products
are being marketed as “whole body cleansers” or advertised as an
instant tool of getting smart at retail stores, at spas, over the internet
or by direct mail. These products are not available by prescription of
any health professionals. These kinds of supplements contain laxative
properties, which increase your gut motility and make you poop very
often throughout the day and that can get messy. Laxatives are not
a great idea because they can lead to dehydration, gastrointestinal
discomforts and mineral loss. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and Federal Trade Commission have taken action against
several companies selling detox/cleansing products because they
contained illegal, potentially harmful ingredients; were marketed
using false claims.1–3
Being concerned about your weight and to have a desire for living
a healthier life is not something wrong but adapting dietary regimens
of eating fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water only is not
advisable as by omitting fat, proteins and compromising vitamins and
minerals from diet puts you on risk of many nutritional deciencies.
The human body has a well-designed mechanism to guard itself from
environmental insults. A well-balanced diet containing adequate
amounts of proteins, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals with
adequate uid intake, regular physical activity and sufcient sleep is
the key to a person’s healthy body and a peaceful mind. Because a
healthy life is a happy life!
Acknowledgement
None.
Conicts of interest
There are no conicts of interest.
References
1. The dubious practice of detox.
2. What Is a Detox Diet?
3. “Detoxes” and “Cleanses”