Nutritionist Shefalee Loth and Professor Giles Yeo discussed the issue of detox diets on the Which? podcast
Detox diets often claim to be quick fixes and promise easy weight loss by expelling “toxins” from your body. They claim to do this by eliminating entire food groups from your diet or adding in ‘detoxifying’ products.
Despite the potential for serious deficiencies and problems, these diets do appear to deliver on their promise of temporary weight loss – but two experts have given reasons why they do not recommend them. Nutritionist Shefalee Loth spoke on the Which? podcast, and began by admitting: “By cutting them out, ultimately you’re reducing your calorie intake so you lose weight.”
The reason detox diets aid in weight loss has nothing to do with the food groups you’re “detoxing” from or by “flushing” toxins out of your body. In fact, it doesn’t actually accomplish that.
Shefalee said: “The idea is that our body is full of toxins. So we have to reduce those toxins that we’re putting in but actually our bodies have inbuilt detoxification systems. Our heart, our lungs, our kidneys, our livers do that for us.”
Detox diets often concentrate on eliminating entire food groups, typically dairy, complex carbs and gluten. The nutritionist, who confessed she is entirely against detox diets, emphasised: “(These) things that aren’t inherently bad for you, unless your coeliac or something like that. They demonise foods that shouldn’t be demonised.
“Dairy is a really important source of calcium so when people are cutting out all dairy products there’s a real risk they’re going to end up with calcium deficiency. These food groups provide really important nutrients in our diet.”
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Cambridge University geneticist, Professor Giles Yeo, also spoke on the podcast, pointing out a specific scenario where detoxing can be beneficial. However, it has nothing to do with altering your diet, but rather your vices.
He clarified: “The word detox comes from drinking too much alcohol or drug overuse. You detox by stopping said items.
“We shouldn’t be excluding whole food groups…but by all means do dry January, cut down on your alcohol, that is detoxing.
“Everything else is (removed by) your liver or your kidneys. If that’s not working you need a hospital.”
Regarding foods and beverages that purport to accelerate your detox process, he said: “There is no way to eat something to speed up the detoxing, which is what a lot of the juicing things say is that it speeds up the detox. Nothing you can actually eat will detox you faster.”