Cleansing Diets - An Overview Of Detox Diets

Cleansing diets are a very controversial subject. I'd like to preface this article with a bit of a disclaimer if that's ok... I'm not a doctor! If you're interested in detox methods, I encourage you to read on. I hope you'll find some useful in the following text. I also encourage you, though, to do a lot of research before undertaking a detox diet of any kind. There is a lot of information online but you have to sift through the crappy sites to find some useful information. If you are at all unsure about a particular diet, do the right thing and consult your doctor.  The following text is essentially an overview of a typical cleansing program.

They are also known as detox diets and basically revolve around the idea that our bodies are filled with toxins and poisons. It's tough to disagree with this concept. Think about all the horrible things that enter our bodies on a day to day basis. With today's food, we've gotten away from anything natural. Now we regularly consume caffeine, alcohol and saturated fats. Toxins are found in more than just food though. The air we breath is filled with poisons! Think about all the smog from cars and industry. Although you can't always see it, it is there and it's slowly poisoning your body. Even the water that keeps us going is often tainted.

So how can we rid ourselves of all this body pollution? Well, some folks think that cleansing diets are the answer. There are a ton of diets that claim to detox the body and cleanse the colon. Most of them do involve similar practices though.

What Does A Typical Cleansing Diet Consist Of?

Well, as I just mentioned, there are a ton of people out there with a ton of different ideas about how to cleanse the body properly. From what I've read though, most of them follow a few certain principles. First off, they tend to stress the intake of natural foods. It is believed that a lot of the toxins in our body are there because humans constantly eat processed foods and other chemicals. Even most fruits, for example, have some pesticides or growth hormones in them. Cleanse diets stress eating unprocessed foods like nuts, seeds and organic fruits and veggies. There is also often a herbal element to these diets. Herbs like the yucca root and psyllium are thought to have many beneficial qualities. Another thing that these diets almost always involve is drinking A LOT of water. The amount varies but it's usually between 8 and 10 big glasses everyday.

Now, on top of all the things you should eat, there is also a pretty big list of no-no's. The list is pretty obvious, but depressing nonetheless. Going on a detox diet usually means that you'll have to give up alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and any recreational drugs that you may use... Some also call for discontinued use of prescription drugs.

Examples Of Cleansing Diets

While there are thousands of things out there, here is a few of the more common ones that people use in hopes of improving their lives. These diets vary in length but typically run from 3 days to 21 days. The 4 Week Diet is one of the longest ones out there. It's basically a complete program for body and colon cleansing. From what I've heard, it's quite good. Another popular diet that most people familiar with detoxing are aware of is the lemonade diet. Also known as a lemon cleanse diet, this is almost a fast as opposed to a diet. It involves drinking loads of this lemon type drink for a set amount of time. This diet was popularized by Stanley Burroughs. It's very difficult to complete and should only be taken by serious detoxers! Other popular cleansing diets include the Raw Food Diet and the Clean Diet.