Is A Liver Detox Diet Good For Me?
Detox, is short for detoxification. It means the removal of toxic substances from the body. Toxins (anything that could harm your body tissue and organs) are changed to less harmful compounds and removed from the body via stools or urine.
Some toxins are produced by the body during normal functions, such as the ammonia produced during the breakdown of protein. Please do not forget life threatening pesticides, household cleaners, food additives, drugs, pollution, cigarette smoke, that enter the body when we ingest or inhale them while on a healthful bike ride. Did I say healthful?
Many leading doctors believe that a large majority of our diseases come from too much of all those things we love the most. Caffeine, alcohol, refined sugar, processed foods. Cause dozens of health problems, including allergies, arthritis, digestive disorders, PMS, headaches, eczema, and acne. It can slow down your ability to analyze and resolve problems. Those nasty toxins can affect brain function, moods, and energy levels; this can easily lead to a complete lack of energy and overall listless feeling.
Your ancestors, the cavemen and cavewomen, detoxed as part of their normal routine, but not surprisingly, this healthy process has virtually disappeared.
Clinical studies have proven that when we find toxins building up in fatty tissues, a higher level of toxicity is normally found with the overweight population. When we lose the excess pounds, we reduce our body fat and the toxins are greatly reduced.
This is an important note. There isn’t much scientific evidence to support liver detox diets.
If you spent time reading medical journals you won’t find any research into the effects of fasting, raw vegetable diets, herbal and other remedies aimed at cleansing your bowels and helping you lose weight. This just means that medical professionals would rather you take prescription and over the counter remedies. But a large number of people use liver and colon cleaning programs every year.
Basically your goal of detoxing is to gently persuade your body to rid itself of chemicals and toxic. These have accumulated in the tissues as a result of stress, poor eating habits, pollution, cigarette smoke, drugs, and alcohol.
The liver is the pathway to the body and in this chemical age its detoxification systems are easily overwhelmed. Do you have any idea of how many pesticides have been added to food? Almost 1000 pesticides have been discovered in our drinking water.
Plants are sprayed with toxic chemicals to assist with growth; animals are injected with questionable hormones and antibiotics to make them heavier. All this can lead to destruction of delicate vitamins and minerals, which we all need for the detoxification in the liver.
The liver must constantly cope with all known and unknown toxic chemicals in our environment, as well as fats that are present in all processed and fried foods. Is it any wonder we have to look into a liver detox diet?
It is important that for one week before your detox diet, you should eliminate alcohol, caffeine, and “fast food” from your diet. You are getting your body ready for detoxification. If possible limit sugar and meat.
Dramatically increase the amount of fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet. Drink at least ten glasses of filtered water each day. You want to be eating a very healthy diet for the week before you begin your detox diet. Preparing your body for a detox is a critical step!
Also begin taking herbal capsules. You can buy these at just about any health food store. Various herbs help to flush toxins from the system and also support healthy liver functioning. Take capsules as indicated by the bottle directions.
If you elect to go on a liver detox diet you now know what you can expect to happen.
