Detox diets are a scam - no medical proof refutes it!

Detox diet debate   Programs are trendy among celebrities, but health experts are skeptical   By Amy O'Brian, Vancouver SunJanuary 12, 2009     Story Photos ( 1 )

    Detox programs are trendy among celebrities, popular among those looking for a quick weight-loss fix, and controversial among health professionals. Photograph by: Getty Images, Getty Images

At this time of year, after all the nog and noshing of the past few weeks, it is understandable to want to give your body a break from indulgence.

That break might take the form of a New Year's diet or a resolution to stay away from fast food or chocolate. It might be a promise to yourself to not eat a single chip for the entire year or a vow to finally sign up for a yoga class.

But for many people, it will be something far more extreme -- a cleanse or detox program that aims to flush the liver, kidney and intestinal tract of toxins.

Detox programs are trendy among celebrities, popular among those looking for a quick weight-loss fix, and controversial among health and wellness professionals.

"The bottom line is there is no scientific evidence supporting any detox diets," says Ali Chernoff, a Vancouver-based registered dietitian.

"When you fast, you actually do more harm to your organs. They're not receiving the proper nutrients and in some cases, it can cause low blood pressure, it can decrease sugar levels and in the extreme, it can actually cause heart or kidney failure."

There are dozens of different cleanses, fasts, and detox plans. Some prescribe nothing but water with cayenne and lemon, others will have you eating homemade cabbage soup for 21 days, while others allow full and healthy meals, without the refined sugars, flours and processed ingredients that have become common conveniences for many of us.

"The most common ones that happen around this time of year, though, are the lemon juice, the cayenne, the really extreme ones. The diet in a box," Chernoff said.

"Those ones are definitely nutrient-deprived. . . . It's very dangerous."

But not all health practitioners see detox as a dirty word. Many naturopathic and homeopathic doctors use various types of detox programs and cleanses to treat a variety of conditions.

"Detoxification comes in many shapes and sizes. And there are some out there that you do have to watch out for because some of them can be fairly extreme," said naturopathic doctor Caleb Ng.

Scientific studies on the effectiveness of detoxification are scarce, partly because the parameters of such programs vary wildly. But Ng says there is evidence to show that cleansing helps remove hormones, heavy metals and pesticides from the body.

"We do know that it has that effect and clinically, we've seen people improve from medical cleanses or detoxifications," he said.

While other naturopathic doctors might recommend liquid cleanses for specific conditions, Ng said he stays away from them because he finds them too extreme.

For the most part, he recommends cleaning up one's diet so it doesn't include processed or packaged foods, fatty foods, or red meats. He also often prescribes a hypoallergenic, rice-based, high-protein detoxification powder that can be mixed up like a shake.

But registered dietitian Dani Renouf is wary of anything that calls itself a cleanse, even when there are supplements involved and even when there are claims of scientific proof.

"There are a lot of scientific reasonings behind the claims. I would encourage people not to believe what they read on websites," Renouf said.

"A lot of them, their marketing pitch is, 'This one won't strip your body of vitamins because we've added it into the solution.' But again, it's a problem because synthetic vitamins don't have the same absorption capacity that real food does."

Rather than depriving yourself with a detox or cleanse diet, Renouf suggests taking smaller, more reasonable steps towards better health. She suggests trying to cut down on caffeine and alcohol intake and replacing those beverages with water. And for those who are stuck on the idea of detoxification, she suggests eating plenty of foods that are high in soluble fibre.

"There are foods that we can eat to help clear out the toxins," Renouf said.

"Fiber is a big one. Especially soluble fiber -- the kind of fibre we find in fruits and vegetables, the flesh of fruit and the flesh of vegetables. Apples tend to be high in soluble fibre, as well as oats.

"Those types of fibres tend to bind water and they take a long time to go through the system, so all the toxins that build up in our intestines get kind of sucked into the fibre mass as it goes through."

For those thinking a liquid cleanse would be a quick way to lose weight, Renouf and Chernoff strongly advise against it.

"It's probably the worst thing you can do for your body because weight loss needs to occur over time," Renouf said.

"As soon as you start eating again, your body is very smart, so it's thinking, 'I'm going to have to store all of this because this might happen again and I need to be prepared.'

"The whole weight-loss approach backfires because your weight gain will be much more substantial."

So if it's the effects of seasonal overindulgence that you're looking to tackle -- the weight gain, bloating, and general feeling of sluggishness -- a liquid cleanse is probably not going to do you much good.

Instead, all three of our experts recommend taking smaller steps to clean up your diet and rid yourself of bad habits.

Go have a glass of water. You've earned it.

aobrian@vancouversun.com