Both the days after celebrations as given to excess as Christmas, as well as the dates prior to the introduction in the summer months are some of the most recurring moments of the year for the well-known detox diets to be introduced in the different media.
However, and despite the enormous promotional support received by this type of cleansing eating routines, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of these regimens or that we even need them as a means to purify toxins.
Reasons to run away from detox diets
- The simplest and most understandable reason is that the human body does not need these detox diets. As if that were not enough with this argument, many doctors have shown that they do not work and that, in addition, they can cause collateral damage to the women who practice them. It is quite unlikely that the body -in purely medical terms- manages to eliminate all the excess calories that we have ingested at a certain time of the year just because we decide to spend a few days eating juices and smoothies made from fruits and vegetables.
- Detox diets are hypocaloric eating routines, in their most extreme cases, planning a consumption of 300 calories a day, an amount that is at a threshold well below the basal metabolism of any person, which, consequently, entails a palpable nutrient deficit. In this scenario, the body may suffer, developing some symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, weakness or headaches, not only while following the detox diet but also once we recover our traditional eating habits.
- As if that were not enough, most of these detox diets recommend not doing physical exercise during the specific period in which said planning is carried out. The main danger incurred by following these regimes may lie in this issue, and it is that if we add a greater amount of physical activity to such a huge caloric deficit, the result may be imprudent given the potential sequelae that we may suffer.
