The New Detoxification Diet Craze - What is it All About?

Truth or just a hoax?

With the latest trends in health and diets, advertisements, magazines and articles all over the globe seem to promote something about detoxification diets. Some are so hyped-up that people almost certainly gets to buy them in an instant just to see if they really work. But for most of us, is there any way we can truly know if a well advertised detoxification program can help improve our lives or just a million dollar hoax to keep us away from our money?

Exerting a little effort in getting to know these diet trends can help us judge if a particular detoxification diet program can truly help improve our state of health. Getting rid of the toxins inside our body can make a whole lot of difference in overall health and well-being. Detoxification diets focuses on the concept that most of the food we eat nowadays are chemically treated for the most part, which means it is also filled with toxins. One must be careful with foods labeled as organic as they may not be completely organic unless labeled as 100% organic. Any organic food products that does not say 100% organic can mean that they have anywhere from a small percentage to a considerable amount of non-organic material in them, which again means toxins and other harmful substances.  

It is not unusual for farmers to make use of growth hormones in their poultry products in order to increase the meat yield of each animal. It is these same growth hormones which are said to cause the rapid growth rate of many children. Most of the twelve-year old you see nowadays are usually beyond 5 feet. Scientists determined that growth hormones used in the animal industry causes these abnormalities in children.

We can therefore conclude that toxins are present whether in the food we eat or water we take in everyday, even on the bottled water we are purchasing from convenience stores. The accumulated toxins inside our bodies are less likely to flush itself out, and it is for this reason that the detoxification diet was made in order to aid in toxin removal in our system.

A detoxification diet that custom made just for you is the best you can get. A vital factor for the success of a detoxification diet is one's capability to readily access important information or guides throughout the duration of the program. Like for example, an individual undergoing a diet focusing mostly on seafood such as salmon can be susceptible to a certain degree of mercury poisoning. Quite obviously, mercury poisoning is not a disease. This health condition is hard to detect not until the person exhibits symptoms like the loss of function of the hands. Even this can be overlooked or may not happen at all. But the moment mercury poisoning is diagnosed, one of the most fastest and effective methods of treatment is a good detoxification diet. The reason is because a good detoxification diet has the ability to cleanse the system and get rid of considerable amount of toxins and poisons that has accumulated in our body from the food we take in and the environmental hazards around us.

The same detoxification diet applied for a person with excessive fish in their diet is however not probably effective to another who would like to use the program to help stop smoking. The detoxification diet for someone addicted to smoking will be different as this particular program will need to deal with the accumulation of nicotine inside the system.

The next argument regarding detoxification diets is if they actually work. In reality, there will always be programs that work and don't work. But how do you distinguish one from the other? First and foremost, an efficient detoxification diet must be able to justify the reason for including the foods they have on their list. It is easy to just mix and match a list of vegetables and call it your own version of a detoxification diet. A good detoxification diet is beyond a dose of just fruits and vegetables.

A good detoxification diet will also be able to teach the individual during the course of the program. The whole detoxification process is more than just a blanket concept. Education and the will to stay healthy is needed in order to maintain the positive effects of the diet. An effective detoxification diet also must be able to demonstrate to you in detail how you can eliminate toxins inside your body and teach you to keep the intake of toxins to the minimal level.

Some people will also be advised against going under a detoxification diet. As with all diet products and programs, not every one of them is suitable for everyone. They are not like clothes that have a "one size fits all" category. People with certain health conditions or history of particular illnesses are advised to visit their doctor before undergoing any form of detoxification program. Any detoxification diet program that is labeled as for everyone without taking consideration a person's health condition is definitely not a good detoxification diet plan.

The Dieting Industry

This industry is a multi-million or even billion dollar trading, and annual growth can be anywhere between 10 to 15% each year. A lot of individuals are looking for better means of staying healthy, including losing weight, countering the effects of aging and feeling more rejuvenated. The field of dieting consists of a lot of firms that are always taking advantage of any craze or trend that comes along the way. The dieting world is like a jungle, and it's easy to get lost, so always proceed with caution.

A lot of the detoxification diets available in the market nowadays are simple methods created by the plan designer which is intended for you to apply them over and over again, and therefore less of them deals with teaching you about toxins. Common toxic substances can be avoided with relative ease, but is also that easy to take in. It is hard to avoid taking these toxins in if you are not armed with knowledge about them and how they end up inside our bodies. The most common toxins are those that can easily cause sickness, fatigue, stress and cause considerable burden to your body. Don't you think it would be really easy to dodge these toxins if you knew where they exist? In truth, most detoxification diets are based on the concept that you will truly feel better after the diet plan, and the moment you take in those toxins again, you will be coming back to these diet plans over and over again in order to get information about the process of detoxification.

So what you must do is, in order to find an effective detoxification diet plan, you want to check it and make sure that it gives you ways on how you can avoid common toxins that we encounter each and everyday. They can usually be found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the cosmetics we use on our skin.

Detoxification Supplements

Controversy surrounds the topic of taking detoxification supplements, specifically those that are marketed by the designers of the detoxification diet you intend to buy. A lot of the detoxification diet plans available in the market were designed to ship a monthly supply of their products. If you look at it closely, this creates a chain of purchases in which at your expense, they gain more profit.

Detoxification supplements that were designed for continuous shipment always charges your account before you even receive your detoxification supplements. So in the event that you decide that you no longer want to continue with their detoxification programs and didn't remember to cancel your order with them, then you are bound to pay for a product that you didn't really want to get.  

These detoxification diet plans are designed to give the creators maximum profit and give little consideration to the satisfaction of their customers. Although there are numerous benefits available with a few detoxification supplements, they are not created all in the same way and some may be of inferior quality. So it is best to always proceed with caution before buying any of these products.

Detoxification Diets recommended by doctors

Like any other diet programs, it is always best to discuss with your doctor your plans of getting into any form of detoxification diet plan. We are not going for any kind of witchcraft sessions or magic spells, we are aiming for health improvement through body detoxification. A good detoxification plan will have a higher level of success and safety when it has been recommended and carefully assisted and monitored by your physician. Never go for any programs that have just been referred to you by friends or by advertisements without first researching about it thoroughly.

Of course, not every one of these detoxification diet plans will be doctor recommended, and a mere doctor's stamp does not always mean a go signal. When a doctor has recommended a particular detoxification diet plan and at the same time endorsed by several doctors, then you could just be at the right track. These types of detoxification programs are actually less prevalent in the market than most people might think. A custom-tailored detoxification diet plan will have all the necessary nutrients that your body requires in cleansing itself of all harmful toxins, as well as to efficiently function during the course of the detoxification process. But right now this may be difficult to find anywhere since having this kind of diet plan may take enormous amounts of research and development just to produce.

Taking the next step

So now what you need to do is take the first step in your body's healing process by doing your research and investigation in finding the best suited detoxification diet program for you. Fortunately, most of the researching work has already been done for you. If you are looking for the some guides regarding this matter, why not try looking at our "detoxmanual"?

This "detoxmanual" contains a comprehensive guide and provides an easy to understand detoxification diet plan which is based on scientific and medical facts and people. This detoxification diet plan is also very much affordable and guarantees satisfaction, or your money will gladly be returned. All you are about to lose upon getting into this manual are the toxins that have accumulated inside your body. 

Beyonce Knowles recently announced on the Oprah Winfrey talk show that she had lost a massive 20 pounds on the Master Cleanse detox diet! Compare the best detox diets used by the Hollywood's superstars!

You Should Know How Your Diet is Supposed to Work

The vast majority of people start dieting in order to lose weight. Losing weight can be accomplished in a number of ways. A diet is simply a specific method for accomplishing that task.

When one decides that they need to lose weight, the first thing that must be considered is the reason for wanting to lose weight. Is the weight loss going to be directed at a way to gain better health or is it more of a vanity reason? The reason for dieting is as important as the method used to lose the weight.

If attaining a more healthy lifestyle and striving for better health is the reason, it should not be of any concern how long the dieting takes to achieve the weight loss goal, if in fact there is a goal. If good health is the main objective, length of time should not be an issue because the diet should simply be a part of a life-style change in which the dieting change would be a long-term part of the life-style anyway.

If, on the other hand, vanity is the reason and the dieting person is hell bent on losing a significant amount of weight in a short period of time in order to fit into an object of clothing or simply to look great at the class reunion in a month, the method chosen for dieting will be completely different and, most likely, quite unhealthy.

Long term lifestyle type diets are usually of the type that occur in small increments of weight loss and continue as exercise is slowly increased and more healthy food, in smaller portions is consumed. These are usually quite simple diets that don't cause a significant amount of suffering as long as the dieting person is committed to the long-term goals.

The vanity type diet is usually a quick but very self-denying diet in which the dieting person eats very little or eats foods that do not tempt the pallet as far as taste or attractiveness go. Often, very large amounts of water are incorporated into these diets and most people do not drink enough water to begin with. When they are confronted with the need to increase their water intake significantly, they hesitate or they are not very compliant. Water, when one is not thirsty, simply does not taste very good.

The vanity diet also usually requires a substantial increase in activity in the form of exercise and most people have a strong aversion to that form of activity.

There are also diets that are not in either the lifestyle change nor the vanity dieting lists but are really a forced lifestyle change that is completely necessary for the dieting person to continue to live. Once such diet is the diabetic diet. If one ignores their diabetes and continues to eat large amounts of carbohydrates, as most Americans do, they will eventually suffer serious health deterioration. So, the necessary-for-life diets are not the ones we are really concerned with in this article.

There are a number of different diets available for each of the non-necessity diets. The basic lifestyle change diet has already been described though some of the latter day fad diets are also appropriate for long-term dieting if the person doing the dieting is indeed dedicated to the lifestyle change. Some specific fad diets that would work for this person are the Atkins or low-carb diet, The Zone diet or the South Beach diet.

The extreme vanity diet person can also use the low carb diet for fast weight loss or they can try starvation or if they really want to lose weight fast and suffer a bit more but at least retain some type of decent health, they can attempt the Lemonade Diet.

The lemonade diet is highly effective but is more a fast than a diet and a special mixture of water, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and syrup are required. One must be highly dedicated to losing weight for this diet to work as no food is allowed for a period of at least ten days and the Lemonade dieter will feel worse before they feel like a million dollars. The diet is extremely effective for losing ten pounds or more in ten days though. The added benefit of this diet is that it does a thorough job of cleaning the colon.

Each one of the above mentioned diets should be highly suspect and not just accepted for it's reputation or the current fad. One who is considering dieting should, at the very least, buy the book that is written about the diet in order to learn how the diet works with the body and effects the different body systems. Each of the authors has a lot of information included in their book about these concerns.

The main point of this article is to point out to anyone who is considering dieting that they should be very careful and choose a diet that meets their goals and health concerns. Don't blindly go into any diet without knowing how it's supposed to effect you, what you're supposed to eat while on the diet, how much weight you are expected to lose in a specific period of time and what are the benefits and health concerns that attach to that diet.

In fact, it is a very good idea to discuss any diet plans with your health care professional prior to starting or even considering one of the above diets.

Gary Vaughn is a Masters level RN and has studied and written about nutrition and dieting for quite some time. He has been published both professionally and online. He is the owner of Repair My Weight Loss, an information rich website about popular diets, diet myths, diet solutions and diet reality. The website can be found at http://www.repairmyweightloss.com

Low Carb Dieting the Truth: Part One

Almost everyone knows someone who has used a low carb diet. They have used it themselves had a friend use it or are getting ready to use it . Are these diets magic? Are they safe? Can I really eat all of the cheese and meat I want ? Will I die if I go into ketosis?

These are just a few common questions I hear in regards to questions that concern low carb diets. In this series of articles I will present readers with scientific facts and my practical observations for implications concerning low carb diets. Some low carb supporters will not like what I will have to say. Some low carb haters will not like what I have to say. The objective of these articles are to educate readers on the practical implications of low carb dieting. Some will be offended and some will say how can that be. Either way sit back and enjoy as I attempt to shed light on the highly talked about topic - low carb diets (ketogenic diets)

I have provided a brief overview of some the topics that will be discussed in this series of articles.

What type of changes occur while using low carb diets

Do low carb diets make me mean

Do low carb diets spare muscle

Can I gain weight on a low carb diet

How much weight can I expect to lose

Can this diet help my medical condition

Different types of low carb diets

Why you need to cycle higher days of carbs

Who needs low carb diets

Are they safe for children

Are they beneficial for athletes

The topics mentioned above are just a few that will be addressed in Low Carb Dieting.

Before we move any further let me introduce the word ketogenic. Must of you reading this article are probably familiar with the world as it implies low carb or restriction of carb intake. Simply put for our purposes the words ketogenic and low carb are synonymous. A couple of other comments I would like to make before we move on. This comment is for Low Carb supporters that swear of all vegetables and fruits. Get on medline.com and do some research. Go to the library and look through some journals. A complete diet for long term use needs to incorporate greens and some fruits to be healthy. A short term diet devoid of fruits and vegetables might not be that bad, but rejecting greens and any fruits for life is a bad idea.

This comment is for the low carb haters. One of the number one reasons most of America is fat is because of chronically high insulin levels. Which is primarily contributed to excessive carb intake. Don't get me wrong I am not blaming high carbohydrate intake on all of our obesity problems. I should probably say excessive and the wrong types of carbohydrate at the wrong times are the problem. At the same time the answer is not to eat all of the saturated fat we can find : which can contribute to insulin insensitivity, elevated TG's, increased lipogenesis and digestive problems.

What is a ketogenic diet? A diet that causes ketone bodies to be produced by the liver, and shifts the body's metabolism away from glucose in favor of fat burning. A ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrates below a certain level (generally 100 per day). The ultimate determinant of whether a diet is ketogenic or not is the presence or absence of carbohydrate. Protein and fat intake vary. Contrary to poplar belief eating fat is not what causes ketosis. In the past starvation diets were used often to induce ketosis. I will repeat myself again and say lack of carbohydrate or presence of ultimately determines if the diet is ketogenic.

In most eating plans the body runs on a mixture of protein, fats and carbohydrates. When carbohydrates are severely restricted and glycogen storage (glucose in muscle and liver) is depleted the body begins to utilize other means to provide energy. FFA (free fatty acids) can be used to provide energy, but the brain and nervous system are unable to use FFA's. Although the brain can use ketone bodies for energy.

Ketone bodies are by products of incomplete FFA breakdown in the liver. Once they begin to accumulate fast and reach a certain level they are released , accumulated in the bloodstream and cause a state called ketosis. As this occurs there is a decrease in glucose production and utilization. There is also less reliance on protein to meet energy requirements by the body. Ketogenic diets are often referred to as protein sparing as they help to spare LBM whiled dropping body fat.

In regards to ketogenic diets there are two primary hormones- insulin, glucagon that need to be considered. Insulin can be described as a storage hormone as it's job is to take nutrients out of the bloodstream and carry them to target tissues. Insulin carries glucose from the blood to the liver and muscles, and it carries FFA from the blood into adipose tissue (stored fat triglyceride). On the other hand glucagon breaks down glycogen stores (especially in the liver) and releases them into the blood.

When carbs are restricted or removed insulin levels drop while glucagon levels rise. This causes enhanced FFA release from fat cells, and increased FFA burning in the liver. This accelerated burning of FFA in the liver is what leads to ketosis. There are a number of other hormones involved with this process as well.

In general we refer to three different types of ketogenic diets.

1) STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET- A diet containing l00 or less grams of carbohydrates is referred to as STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET

2)TARGETED KETOGENIC DIET- consuming carbohydrates around exercise, to sustain performance without affecting ketosis.

3)CYCLICAL KETOGENIC DIET- alternates periods of ketogenic dieting with periods of high carbohydrate intake

The Beginning of Ketogenic diets

Originally ketogenic diets were used to treat obesity and epilepsy. In general ketogenic diets are similar to starvation diets in the responses that occur in the body. More specifically these two states can be referred to as starvation ketosis and dietary ketosis. These similarities have led to the development of modern day ketogenic diets.

Ketogenic dieting has been used for years in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. In the early 1900's times of total fasting was used to treat seizures. This caused numerous health problems and could not be sustained indefinitely.

Due to the impracticalities and health problems occurring with starvation ketogenic diets researchers began to look for a way to mimic starvation ketosis while consuming food. They determined that a diet consisting of high fat, low carb and minimal protein could sustain growth and maintain ketosis for a long period of time. This led to the birth of the original ketogenic diet in 1921 by Dr. Wilder. Dr Wilder's diet controlled pediatric epilepsy in many cases where drugs and other treatments failed.

New epilepsy drugs were invented during the 30's, 40's and 50's and ketogenic diets fell to the wayside. These new drugs lead to almost disappearance of ketogenic diets during this time. A few modified ketogenic diets were tried during this time such as the MCT (medium chain triglycerides) diets, but they were not welly accepted.

In 1994 the ketogenic diet as a treatment for epilepsy was re-discovered. This came about in the story of Charlie a 2yr old with seizures that could not be controlled with mediacions or other treatment including brain surgery. Charlie's father had found reference to the diet through his research and ended up at John Hopkins medical center.

Charlie's seizures were completely controlled as long as he was on the diet. The huge success of the diet prompted Charlie's father to start the Charlie foundation. The foundation has produced several videos, and published the book The Epilepsy Diet Treatment: An Introduction to the Ketogenic diet. The foundation has sponsored conferences to train physicians and dietians to implement the diet. The exact mechanisms of how the ketogenic diet works to control epilepsy are still unknown, the diet continues to gain acceptance as an alternative to drug therapy.

Obesity

Ketogenic diets have been used for at least a century for weight loss. Complete starvation was studied often including the research of Hill, who fasted a subject for 60 days to examine the effects. The effects of starvation were very successful in regards to treatment of the morbidly obese as rapid weight loss occurred. Other characteristics attributed to ketosis, such as appetite suppression and sense of well being, made fasting even more attractive for weight loss. Extremely obese patients have been fasted for up to one year and given nothing but vitamins and minerals.

The major problem with complete starvation diets is the loss of body protein, primarily from muscle tissue. Protein losses decrease as starvation contines, but up to one half of the total weight loss can be contributed to muscle and water loss.

In the early 1970's Protein Sparing Modified Fasts were introduced. These diets

allowed the benefits of ketosis to continue while preventing losses of bodily proteins.

They are still used today under medical supervision

In the early 70's Dr. Atkins introduced Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution With millions of

copies Sold the diet generated a great deal of interest. Dr. Atkins suggested a diet limited

in carbohydrate but unlimited in protein and fat. He promoted the diet as it would allow

rapid weight loss, no hunger and unlimited amounts of protein and fat. He offered just

enough research to allow the diet recognition. Although most of the evidence

supporting the diet was questionable.

During the 1980's Michael Zumpano and Dan Duchaine introduced two of the earliest

CKD's THE REBOUND DIET for muscle gain and then the modified version called

THE ULTIMATE DIET for fat loss. Neither diet became very popular. This was likely

due to the difficulty of the diet and the taboo of eating high fat.

In the early 90's Dr. Dipasquale introduced the ANABOLIC DIET . This diet promoted 5

days of high- fat-high protein-low carb consumption whle eating high carbs and virtually

anything you wanted for two days. The diet was proposed to induce a metabolic shift

within the five days of eating low carbs (30 or less). The metabolic shift occurred as your

body switched from being a sugar buring machine to a fat-burning machine.

A few years later Dan Duchaine released the book UNDERGROUND BODYOPUS: MILITIANT WEIGHT LOSS AND RECOMPOSITION . The book included his CKD diet which he called BODYOPUS. The diet was more specified than the Anabolic Diet and gave exercise recommendations as well as the basics concerning exercise physiology. Most bodybuilders found the diet very hard to follow. The carb load phase required eating every 2 hrs and certain foods were prescribed. I personally loved the book, but felt the difficulty of the diet made it less popular. In this author's opinion Ducahine's book is a must read for anyone interested in Nutrition.

Ketogenic Diets have been used for years to treat specific conditions such as obesity and childhodd epilepsy. The effects of these diets have proven beneficial in a number of these well documented cases, but for some reason when we mention any type of low carb diet (ketogenic diet) people begin to tell us about how their doctor or friend told them it would kill them or how that diet was shown to damage the liver or kidneys. Keep in mind epileptic children have been in ketosis for up to three years and shown no negative effects; quiet the opposite. The weight loss in morbidly obese patients has been tremendous and the health benefits numerous. Maybe before coming to the conclusion that all types of ketogenic diets are bad other factors need to be considered such as activity levels, type of ketogenic diet, length of ketogenic diet, past eating experience, purpose of ketogeninc diet, individual body type and response to various eating plans, current physical condition, and quality of food while following ketogenic diet. As you can see there are numerous factors that come into play when saying a diet is good or bad. I think people should take the time look at the research and speak with various authorities in regards to low carb diets before drawing conclusions from the they says.

Relevant research in regards to ketogenic dieting

Efficacy and safety of the ketogenic diet for intractable childhood epilepsy: Korea multicentric experience

Chul Kang H, Joo Kim Y, Wook Kim D, Dong Kim H,

Dept of pediatrics, Epilepsy center, Inje Univ Coll of Med, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul Korea

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the safety of the ketogenic diet, and to evaluate the prognosis of the patients after successful discontinuation of the diet in infants, children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy. The study looked at patients who had been treated with KD during 1995 through 2003 at Korean multicenters. The outcomes of the 199 patients enrolled in the study at 6 and 12 months were as follows: 68% and 46% of patients remained on the diet, 58% and 41% showed a reduction in seizures, including 33% and 25% who became seizure free. The complications were mild during the study, but 5 patients died during the KD. No significant variables were related to the efficacy, but those with symptomatic and partial epilepsies showed more frequent relapse after completion of the diet. The researchers concluded the KD is a safe and effective alternative therapy for intractable epilepsy in Korea, although the customary diet contains substantially less fat than traditional Western diets, but life-threatening complications should be monitored closely during follow up.

Reference

McDoanld, L (1998) The Ketogenic Diet. Lyle McDonald.

Copyright 2005 Jamie Hale

Jamie Hale is a writer for numerous fitness and sports publications. He is also the author of four books and the owner of Maxcondition.com.