What's the Straight Dope on Detox/Cleanse Diets?

[Valgard]

@Wile_E

I was looking for a meal plan that I could build on and make ahead alot of meals. I am not looking to starve myself or try to follow a very limited diet. The linked diet appealed to me because I like smoothies and soup and I thought it might be something I could work with.

The only such thing that I am personally familiar with is Weight Watchers (I joined several years ago, took off 40 lbs in about one year and I have had no problem staying at that weight for a couple of years since) and I’ll highly recommend that. I’m sure that you can find their food info out on the web (you can join online at their website) and there’s nothing complicated about their dietary info/recipes. In my opinion it’d also be worth paying for a few weeks’ membership, go to some of the meetings, you can buy cookbooks and whatnot too (although I’m sure you can get them at any big bookstore as well).

They’re very big on what they call “filling foods” which are just foods with low caloric density. Soups tend to fall into this category because you’ve got lots of veggies and water. Soups and stews also lend themselves to the kind of bulk prep you’re interested in; you can make a large pot of soup, divvy it up into smaller tupperware containers and pop them in the freezer to be used later.

I have never felt that I was starving myself or that my diet was limited. It did take about 2 weeks to get used to the (relatively minor) changes that I made to how I eat but it’s just second nature these days.

FWIW, there was a big study of successful weight-loss methods in the US recently, success being related to how well people were able to lose weight and keep it off long-term. WW was ranked something like #2. Top place was, I believe, “do it yourself” (i.e. not any particular commercial method - good if you are very self-motivated).

[Broomstick]

My personal opinion as a family cook (I am not a medical professional) is that the recipes themselves are just fine. A lot of that stuff looks tasty and by using fresh ingredients and going heavy on the vegetables and fruit you’re getting real nutrition. It does seem to be missing a lot of fiber and the dairy group - which aren’t necessary but if you pass on dairy you have to be sure to get those nutrients elsewhere. I’d serve a lot of that stuff either with rice or oatmeal or some other whole grain.

I do, however, think a lot of the reasoning (if you can call it that) is bogus. And no potatoes, peppers, etc.? Ridiculous, they’re perfectly fine to eat. The half cup of castor oil? Please do NOT do that!

So, my feeling is that if you want to try some of the recipes as a jumping off point for nutritious meals, soups, or smoothies go right ahead, but don’t follow their instructions slavishly.

[Guinastasia]

I would not rely on Gwyneth Paltrow of all people for health advice. (Sorry, I just cannot STAND her)

[DrDeth]

@irishgirl

If you want to “cleanse” you should probably try to eat a diet that is going to get your bowels moving- i.e. high fibre…

Right. Get a large glass of water, add the suggested amount of that orange fiber powder, and take as directed. Add a probiotic, maybe. You’re done.

A lot of Americans are a little constipated as their diet is too low in fiber. Just add some more fiber, no need to pay for any of that Detox/Cleanse stuff.

As for salt- ask your MD. Some need to cut way back, other are OK with even the amounts in a normal American diet. Of course, let’s not get crazy and cut too much or pile it on, either, eh?

[Guinastasia]

Try Activia yogurt. Oh wait. You said you’re lactose intolerant. Well, then I reccomend Fiber One snack bars. They’re pretty yummy. (Except for the caramel ones, which taste like pancakes and dry oatmeal. But the other ones are good)

Seriously, for the rest of you, yogurt is good, as is oatmeal. (I love oatmeal, with some cinnamon and a little brown sugar)

[Wile_E]

I do not have a pooping problem, except for the occasional shy bowel episodes. I did not bring this up because I have a pooping problem. I do not want to increase my pooping or change it in any way, that is not my goal. Me and pooping, we’re just fine.

I don’t think I have a problem getting enough fiber either. I made several servings of steel cut oats on Saturday and froze some and have been eating the rest every day. I plan on continuing to do this on a regular basis. I cooked the oats with almond milk. I do not feel like I am missing out on nutrition by using it as a milk replacement.

A serving of Almond Milk compares to 1% Milk* in the following: Milk has about 40 more calories, 0.5 less grams of fat but it’s 2 grams of fat are saturated and Almond Milk’s is not, 5 more grams of carbs and no dietary fiber (compared to Almond Milk’s 1 gram of fiber), 12 mg of cholesterol versus A.M.'s zero, 43mg less sodium, 1% less Calcium, 7 grams more protein, but it has no Potassium, Vitamin D, Iron, Vitamin E, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc and Manganese, all of which A.M. has. So nutritionally, especially in respect to Calcium and Vit. D, Almond Milk looks like it can stand up against milk pretty well. Milk only wins on the sodium and protein. I don’t have a sodium problem and that’s not a lot of sodium anyway.

*I picked 1% because it was the closest in comparison by grams of fat.

Other points:
I don’t want to cleanse so much as break the junk food habit. I wanted a meal plan to work around. I would never be able to complete eliminate toxins because my favorite “toxin” is coffee and there is no way I would give that up.

I am not relying on Gwyneth Paltrow for health advice, I’m not crazy about her either but aside from the koo-koo cleanse stuff, I like her site, and she was in Iron Man so she’s forcing me to like her a teeny bit.

By the way, I don’t have a pooping problem.

[Guinastasia]

Then if you’re regular, there’s no need for a “detox.”

[Broomstick]

I don’t think the OP is looking to detox so much as looking for recipe ideas, which is how I read all this. If you look at the recipes they aren’t bad… I just wouldn’t follow the diet plan as written.

[Jackmannii]

Any time someone claims that their diet or supplements “cleanse” or remove “toxins”, the thing to ask is 1) are what they claim to be toxins actually toxins, 2) are they present in the body in toxic amounts, 3) does their diet or product remove said “toxins”, and 4) are there demonstrable health benefits as a result?

Every “cleanse” I’ve heard of, fails these test questions miserably.

To add to what’s already been said, there is no “goop” coating your intestines that cleanses could remove (what gets pooped out when using these products has been shown to be due to the products themselves) and you do not have a large quantity of undigested waste hanging around your system and causing problems.

Find a good healthy diet (something along the lines of the Michael Pollan recommendation “Eat less. Mainly plants.”), stick to it, exercise, get plenty of sleep and avoid drugs, tobacco and alcohol as much as possible. Your liver and kidneys will handle the remaining “toxins” just fine (unless you work in a cadmium mine or something similar, and “cleanses” won’t help you with that).

[Girl_From_Mars]

If you are looking for a new healthier eating plan/guide to follow and not a detox, you might want to look at the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency, and carry out lots of research in a whole lot of disciplines.

“It offers people an eating pattern without being too general about what not to eat and gives direction about what should be eaten. It includes mainstream foods and is easy to follow.”

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

@HorseloverFat

>Basically, it’s just a sugarless, dairyless, healthy grains, no red meat diet that to me actuly looks doable and healthy.

Fruit smoothes are almost all sugar. A typical smoothie is anywhere between 300-600 calories.

Theres nothing to cleanse because, as someone pointed out already, the body is self-cleaning. This is the placebo effect. If 3,000 calories of smoothies and an enema make people happy then more power to them, but its no different than eating McDonalds 2x a day.

Caloric intake being roughly equal, is this true? Wouldn’t eating pureed fruit with sugar be healthier than eating loads of fats and salt?

[ivn1188]

@Wile_E

The smoothies you buy have lots of sugar, the smoothies you make yourself have only the natural fruit sugars unless you add it. As for “no sugar” I was referring to the shite processed stuff.

Sugar is sugar. Fruit contains a lot of fructose, which is the “bad guy” in HFCS, according to a lot of the health nuts.

Sucrose, the “shite” processed stuff, breaks down into fructose and glucose, both in dishes and in your body. Glucose is what they feed coma patients, and it’s what your body runs on.

In a bigger sense, calories are calories. Eating a chunk of blubber is the same as drinking a shot of vodka is the same as eating a piece of pasta is the same as eating candy.

There are obviously nutrients that come along with your sugar in fruit, but calorie wise, energy is energy. Eat 10,000 calories of fruit and you’ll get just as fat as if you ate 10,000 calories of raw refined sugar.

[Guinastasia]

@Jackmannii

To add to what’s already been said, there is no “goop” coating your intestines that cleanses could remove (what gets pooped out when using these products has been shown to be due to the products themselves) and you do not have a large quantity of undigested waste hanging around your system and causing problems.

GOOP is the name of Paltrow’s website. Yes, I’m serious.
Wiki on colon cleansing.

[Wile_E]

@ivn1188

Sugar is sugar. Fruit contains a lot of fructose, which is the “bad guy” in HFCS, according to a lot of the health nuts.

Sucrose, the “shite” processed stuff, breaks down into fructose and glucose, both in dishes and in your body. Glucose is what they feed coma patients, and it’s what your body runs on.

In a bigger sense, calories are calories. Eating a chunk of blubber is the same as drinking a shot of vodka is the same as eating a piece of pasta is the same as eating candy.

There are obviously nutrients that come along with your sugar in fruit, but calorie wise, energy is energy. Eat 10,000 calories of fruit and you’ll get just as fat as if you ate 10,000 calories of raw refined sugar.

“Shite” was a typo, it was supposed to be “white”. White as in processed sugar.

Sure eating 10,000 calories of anything is 10,000 calories but eating fruit also provides other nutrients that you don’t get from sugar. But what is your point? Are you saying “why bother to eat fruit, it’s just calories?”. All food is calories and we have to eat so it is certainly better to eat calories in fruit form than a bowlfull of refined sugar.

[DrDeth]

@Wile_E

Sure eating 10,000 calories of anything is 10,000 calories but eating fruit also provides other nutrients that you don’t get from sugar. But what is your point? Are you saying “why bother to eat fruit, it’s just calories?”. All food is calories and we have to eat so it is certainly better to eat calories in fruit form than a bowlfull of refined sugar.

Whole fruit, certainly. But smoothies take out a lot of the goodness that is in whole fruit, especially the fiber.

[QuercusMax]

@DrDeth

Whole fruit, certainly. But smoothies take out a lot of the goodness that is in whole fruit, especially the fiber.

What’s your definition of a smoothie? When I make them, it’s generally frozen fruit, milk or fruit juice or yogurt, and maybe a tiny bit of sugar. Basically like a cold fruit salad thrown in a blender.

[DrDeth]

@QuercusMax

What’s your definition of a smoothie? When I make them, it’s generally frozen fruit, milk or fruit juice or yogurt, and maybe a tiny bit of sugar.

Many use fruit juice, not whole fruit. You even do sometimes.

[QuercusMax]

Using a small amount of fruit juice as “lubrication” hardly counts as “taking the goodness” out of the very real whole fruit used as well.