All Juice Detox Diet

[dogbite666]

Hello,

I've just given up smoking and thought I'd go the whole hog by starting my regime at the gym again and stop drinkning any booze for a few weeks. I have been advised by a nutritionist friend that I would benefit by kick starting my healthy lifestyle with an all juice diet for two days. This involves drinkning only freshly made fruit and veg juices, no solids, for 48 hours.

It sounds like bunk to me. I'm sure fresh juices are very good for you but not so sure about the all juice diet. She claims it helps the body to detox. I pointed out that the body is detoxing iteself all the time which she agreed. My question is - are there any benefits from the all juice diet or does it make no difference, any more or less healthy, if I was to have a health meal with my juice?

Is it worth me starving myself for 48 hours? Will starving myself be more harmful than eating healthy meals along with the juice?

Dogbite.

[El Greco]

"Starving" yourself for 48 hours is certainly not harmful, unless you suffer from certain diseases. That thing about the fresh vegetable juice detoxination is bunk though, simply because you can find a pretty good amount of toxins in vegetables too, as in any other food group. This is not to say that it won't be helpful; it probably will, because any food rotating is potentially good. Variety is the key.

Don't make "too processed" food the basis of your diet. Have variety. Eat pretty much everything, including meat, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, dairy etc unless you have discovered a certain sensitivity. Get protein, omega-3 and fiber every day. Drink adequate water. And eat so that you maintain a healthy bodyfat level. That's all. There's not much more to a good diet.

[Lothian]

Hello,

I've just given up smoking and thought I'd go the whole hog by starting my regime at the gym again and stop drinkning any booze for a few weeks. I have been advised by a nutritionist friend that I would benefit by kick starting my healthy lifestyle with an all juice diet for two days. This involves drinkning only freshly made fruit and veg juices, no solids, for 48 hours.

It sounds like bunk to me. I'm sure fresh juices are very good for you but not so sure about the all juice diet. She claims it helps the body to detox. I pointed out that the body is detoxing iteself all the time which she agreed. My question is - are there any benefits from the all juice diet or does it make no difference, any more or less healthy, if I was to have a health meal with my juice?

Is it worth me starving myself for 48 hours? Will starving myself be more harmful than eating healthy meals along with the juice?

Dogbite.If you are giving up smoking the last thing you want is to be put under the stress of a new diet.

My guess is that a juice diet will result in you spending far more of the 48 hours on the Loo daydreaming of cigs than you otherwise would.

Detoxing is bunk. See Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science (http://www.guardian.co.uk/befit/story/0,,1379231,00.html)take on it.

[El Greco]

Detoxing is bunk. See Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science (http://www.guardian.co.uk/befit/story/0,,1379231,00.html)take on it.

Detoxing may be bunk the way several sellers of "detox products" present it, but it certainly is not generally bunk. There are many toxins and many detox agents. Eg mycotoxins (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15259433&query_hl=5&itool=pubmed_docsum).

[to.by]

Bad news: You (your body) is continously manufacturing toxic substances.
Good news: You (your body) have several systems dedicated to detoxifying said substances and getting ris of them. Liver, lungs, kidneys to name the most important.

What is really ironic is that meny of the "detoxifying" schemes seems to be set up to producing more toxins than to rid the body of them. Any serious fasting will do the trick and eventually produce a ketoacidosis (granted that a short period of fasting has no longlasting negative effect on your health, I can't see that it is particularly healthy either. That is if you're not grossly overweight, but in that case you just have to produce some toxins in order to loose weight).

[mumchup]

My guess is that a juice diet will result in you spending far more of the 48 hours on the Loo daydreaming of cigs than you otherwise would.


I agree with Lothian. Two days of nothing but liquid plants probably won't hurt or help all that much nutritionally, but I can see where it would give you more to crave.

[El Greco]

Any serious fasting will do the trick and eventually produce a ketoacidosis

If it did, lots of people would be dead by know :D You're confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis. For acidosis to happen other conditions are also necessary, eg diabetes. Unless by "eventually" you mean the terminal stages of a hunger strike :D

As for the possible health benefits of controlled fasting... let's not get there now. Suffice to say that there have been very interesting studies on fasting for one day and overeating on the next, on protein-sparing modified fasts, etc. Example (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12710893&query_hl=9&itool=pubmed_docsum).

[gfunkusarelius]

i am so jaded by the term "detox" alone that any positive connotations are lost on me.

[El Greco]

Granted, the term has been abused a lot, but let's not get to the other end. There are toxins, and there is detoxification. Toxicology is all about it. And pretty much everything can be toxic in the right dosage. Besides, what is toxic in mega-doses may be essential in normal doses. Also, "detoxing" is frequently used to mean clearance of harmful substances in general, including toxins, allergens, pollutants, poisons etc. Many bogus therapies and products promise an almost magical detoxification from everything. While these are obviously bunk, clearance of harmful substances is a very interesting area for decent research.

[zizzybaluba]

No diet is going to hasten the removal of tar from your lungs.

Nicotine is an appetite suppressant; the last thing you want to do when you quit smoking is go on a diet. Concentrate on doing things to stave off the cravings; get some ‘stick like’ food (pretzel rods, licorice, carrots, etc) and ‘smoke’ those. No, I don’t mean light them on fire... hold them like you would a cigarette and nibble instead of puff. It’ll give you something to do with your hands.

Getting healthy is an admirable goal, but remember you’re fighting an addiction here. Don’t try and do too much at once.

[El Greco]

I also think that whether altering dietary habits will work together with quitting smoking, greatly depends on the person. I for example, am an "all or nothing" person. When there are stressors in my life, I adhere more closely to my planned diet; for me it's a means of exerting control in one area to counterbalance the lack of control in other areas. I'm more likely to break diets when everything is going well. Personally I would have never quit smoking if I hadn't combined it with a healthy lifestyle.

[zizzybaluba]

I also think that whether altering dietary habits will work together with quitting smoking, greatly depends on the person. I for example, am an "all or nothing" person. When there are stressors in my life, I adhere more closely to my planned diet; for me it's a means of exerting control in one area to counterbalance the lack of control in other areas. I'm more likely to break diets when everything is going well. Personally I would have never quit smoking if I hadn't combined it with a healthy lifestyle.

Hey, if it works for you, fantastic. Do whatever works best for you.

[Almo]

Just a note of support:

Good luck quitting! It's a tough job, but well worth doing. :)

ETA: I don't mean that sarcastically, either.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

<<SNIP>>
I have been advised by a nutritionist friend
<<SNIP>>


Qualifications as a nutritionist? Are they licenced in your jusidiction? IMHO I can't believe a "real" nutritionist would give such advice.

[PBTree]

Hello,

I've just given up smoking and thought I'd go the whole hog by starting my regime at the gym again and stop drinkning any booze for a few weeks. I have been advised by a nutritionist friend that I would benefit by kick starting my healthy lifestyle with an all juice diet for two days. This involves drinkning only freshly made fruit and veg juices, no solids, for 48 hours.

It sounds like bunk to me. I'm sure fresh juices are very good for you but not so sure about the all juice diet. She claims it helps the body to detox. I pointed out that the body is detoxing iteself all the time which she agreed. My question is - are there any benefits from the all juice diet or does it make no difference, any more or less healthy, if I was to have a health meal with my juice?

Is it worth me starving myself for 48 hours? Will starving myself be more harmful than eating healthy meals along with the juice?

Dogbite.


Lottsa luck with the 'no smoking'. Great way to go. Pink lungs, yeaah.

Not to sure about the 'no booze' for a few weeks though. How are we 'sane' people supposed to put up with all the woo woo nutters out there, without a beer to fall back on.

Be careful, as it may only take a couple of days without booze for you to be turned to the dark side.

[atari24]

What's a toxin?

[Gord_in_Toronto]

What's a toxin?

An alarm sounded by a bell?

No wait, that's tocsin. Damned English language.

[blutoski]

Is it worth me starving myself for 48 hours? Will starving myself be more harmful than eating healthy meals along with the juice?

I'm not sure if juice is the equivalent of 'starving,' though. I think the benefit may be to prepare your stomach for less food when you do start dieting, while providing a good calorie and nutrient intake. Juices are very calorie dense. Like soft drinks.

I don't think this is the same thing as 'detox' and I don't think it's bad advice.

[shecky]

Doesn't seem like particularly good advice, either. Is there supposed to be some science behind it?

[Ralph]

I think the best way to make changes in your life is to stick with ONE thing at a time. You'll have better results than scattershooting & trying to accomplish several difficult things all at once.

I'm a recovering addict. It took me about 2 weeks to get over alcohol abstinence. It took about 6 weeks to get through opiates.

It took a full year before I stopped missing cigarettes when I eventually quit.

You'll probably gain weight. I did but I was having a tough enough time
with the nicotine without having to start depriving myself of the food I was craving.

In time---the weight will come off. A temporary weight gain will do you far less harm then tobacco will.

Smoking's tough--you need to take a"whatever it takes" approach and put everything else on the back burner for a few months...

[FortyTwo]

I'm not sure if juice is the equivalent of 'starving,' though. I think the benefit may be to prepare your stomach for less food when you do start dieting, while providing a good calorie and nutrient intake. Juices are very calorie dense. Like soft drinks.

I don't think this is the same thing as 'detox' and I don't think it's bad advice.

Unless one is restricted in the amount of juice that would be allowed on this 48-hour diet, there very likely would not be a reduction of calories.

Most fruit juices are very high in sugars (carbohydrates) and could provide ample calories. Vegetable juices would probably provide proteins as well as carbohydrates.

Both would be low in fat, which would be good.

There are several downsides to this type of diet. First off, since nothing but juice is consumed, the digestive system will probably react to this with the effect of causing some fast trips to the toilet. This effect is probably what contributes to the belief that the diet is "detoxifying".

Second, without taking in any solid food, it will be hard to feel satiated and the dieter will likely be plagued with hunger pangs throughout, even though he may have consumed plenty of calories. When the dieter goes off the diet, he likely will overcompensate and eat excessively for the first couple meals.

Finally, although the diet may not be harmful, it's not going to be any more beneficial than eating a proper balanced diet. A person would probably get the same benefit by orienting their sofa to be seated facing north. And with less hassle than juicing all that food.

[blutoski]

Unless one is restricted in the amount of juice that would be allowed on this 48-hour diet, there very likely would not be a reduction of calories.

Most fruit juices are very high in sugars (carbohydrates) and could provide ample calories. Vegetable juices would probably provide proteins as well as carbohydrates.

Both would be low in fat, which would be good.

There are several downsides to this type of diet. First off, since nothing but juice is consumed, the digestive system will probably react to this with the effect of causing some fast trips to the toilet. This effect is probably what contributes to the belief that the diet is "detoxifying".

Second, without taking in any solid food, it will be hard to feel satiated and the dieter will likely be plagued with hunger pangs throughout, even though he may have consumed plenty of calories. When the dieter goes off the diet, he likely will overcompensate and eat excessively for the first couple meals.

Finally, although the diet may not be harmful, it's not going to be any more beneficial than eating a proper balanced diet. A person would probably get the same benefit by orienting their sofa to be seated facing north. And with less hassle than juicing all that food.

I don't think the question was about going to a juice diet - just that the new diet should be introduced with a liquid-only semifasting to prepare the stomach for smaller meals. This sounds credible based on what I have read. However, it's not necessary, either.

One combination that worked for a client of mine was to combine one of those whey-based protein powders with Crystal Light to make a flavoured shake-like meal substitute. One scoop of the protein powder was about 100Calories, and the juice had about 5 per serving. This was replacing her regular breakfast of two huge bowls of cereal with whole milk - about 1200Calories saved.

[Bfizzle]

I eat pretty healthy in general, but I was up at 5 one morning and I put on the television and some guy was talking about his Detox product. Though I was curious, I still haven't done one. But he showed, and of course this is gross, pictures of people's bowel movements and how after the detox the weirdest **** (excuse the pun) comes out of you. The implication I guess is that this weird stuff is all the bad toxins. I know other people who have done it and claim the same sort of thing happening, how they lost like 8 pounds because there was just 8 pounds of waste in their intestines.


So are these legit do you think? or is it like those things that you put on your nose to remove black heads which claim to clear your skin and reduce your pours but probably mainly just provide a certain satisfaction to see black heads one sticky paper?

[fuelair]

Just go for a high colonic with fruit and veggie juice - tell 'em Fred Phelps sent you!!! He wants his "hot chocolate" NOW !!!

[Professor Yaffle]

Clip from the BBC's The Truth About Food:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/flashapp/nonflash.shtml

Click on "Does Detox Work" under "How to be Young and Beautiful".

[The Don]

I eat pretty healthy in general, but I was up at 5 one morning and I put on the television and some guy was talking about his Detox product. Though I was curious, I still haven't done one. But he showed, and of course this is gross, pictures of people's bowel movements and how after the detox the weirdest **** (excuse the pun) comes out of you. The implication I guess is that this weird stuff is all the bad toxins. I know other people who have done it and claim the same sort of thing happening, how they lost like 8 pounds because there was just 8 pounds of waste in their intestines.


So are these legit do you think? or is it like those things that you put on your nose to remove black heads which claim to clear your skin and reduce your pours but probably mainly just provide a certain satisfaction to see black heads one sticky paper?
The same claims are made for Colonic Irrigation. As far as I am aware, the 8 lbs of waste was on its way through anyway. As soon as it's cleared out, it'll start to build up again, or more properly, the normal function of the bowel will be restored.

The notion that there are x lbs of waste that have been hanging around for months or years is fanciful unless there's something VERY wrong with you.

[fuelair]

The same claims are made for Colonic Irrigation. As far as I am aware, the 8 lbs of waste was on its way through anyway. As soon as it's cleared out, it'll start to build up again, or more properly, the normal function of the bowel will be restored.

The notion that there are x lbs of waste that have been hanging around for months or years is fanciful unless there's something VERY wrong with you.

Sir or Madam: You have maligned the memory of the revered Dr. Kellogg and I must, in good conscience, require that you meet me on the field of honor where we shall at dawn exchange fire from Kellogs' own colonic cleanser bags. Only then may honor be restored. With regards,:D

[Miss Anthrope]

I would say cutting out the booze is a great idea, because, as a former smoker myself, I know drinking brings on the cigarette craving like mad.

But a radical change of diet when you quit? Not a great idea. What you need to focus on is changing your behaviors if you want to quit smoking. You need to find alternatives to replacing the time you spent smoking, the little "breather" from it all.

Getting yourself some hot tea you can hold in your hand after a meal and other times you smoke might be helpful. If it's herbal it will help hydrate you and it's a great non-fattening alternative. Mint did the trick for me.

After I kicked the habit, I found exercising much more rewarding because of my improved cardio-vascular function. That gave me a lot of motivation to keep going, despite the temptations and urges that followed for quite some time after. I was able to diet very easily, but only after a month being smoke free. Before, I was just going bonkers trying to figure out what to do with myself.

[ObscureReferenceMan]

i am so jaded by the term "detox" alone that any positive connotations are lost on me.

Every time I hear "toxins", all I can think of is South Park (http://www.tv.com/south-park/cherokee-hair-tampons/episode/2470/summary.html), and Stan Marsh's response to Miss Information (http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9418.htm).

[RichardR]

It's mostly woo (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4616603.stm):

...the benefits people feel are not due to their body getting rid of excessive toxins.

"The suggestion that elimination of noxious agents is enhanced because of this regimen is categorically unsubstantiated and runs counter to our understanding about human physiology and biochemistry."

They say the improvements detoxers see are instead due to changing from what is likely to have been a "poor" diet.

And they stress the body is designed to "detox" itself.

"Healthy adults, even overweight adults, have been endowed with extraordinary systems for the elimination of waste and regulation of body chemistry.

"Our lungs, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract and immune system are effective in removing or neutralising toxic substances within hours of consumption."

I wrote more here (http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/06/detox_diets_don.html).

[nails3jesus0]

eat whatever the hell you need to in order to maintain your quit. really. its just going to make it harder because you get so friggin hungry when you quit smoking. find lean protein stuff to chow on to try and control your weight, and working out is a great idea to replace the stress relief of smoking.

'cleansing diets' are all bs. If pressed most of these people dont even know what 'toxins' they are flushing out or how they are being flushed.

good luck!