Cleansing and detox diets

If you're looking for a way to lose weight quickly and feel better (and who isn't?), you might be tempted to try a fad "detox" diet or a "cleanse" method." These diets start with a fast, followed by a period of consuming only raw vegetables, fruit, juices and water.
Most nutritionists say, "Don't bother."
There is no scientific evidence that "detox" (short for detoxification) or "cleanse" diets result in rapid weight loss or have any health benefits, says Heather Mangieri, RDN, LDN, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and founder of Nutrition CheckUp in Pittsburgh.
Indeed, the opposite may be true: One study published in 2011 in the journal Obesity found that beginning a weight-loss diet with a fast or cleanse could be counterproductive.
For example, researchers at the University of Illinois divided mice into two diet groups. For 10 to 12 weeks, one group of mice was fed a low-fat diet (10 percent fat). The other group was fed a high-fat diet (60 percent fat). Not surprisingly, the group on a high-fat diet gained a lot of weight. Afterward, both groups were put on a 24-hour fast. The lean mice lost 18 percent of their body weight in those 24 hours, but the obese mice lost only 5 percent. Cleansing diets aren't new. "They've been around for years and years," Mangieri says. But they seem to get a lot of press from magazines and talk show hosts. And celebrities make cleanse diets popular every time they claim to lose significant weight on them.
"The terms 'detox' and 'cleanse' have become almost interchangeable and are thrown around almost as much as the words 'calorie' and 'carbohydrate' these days," says Keri Glassman, RD, CDN, founder and president of A Nutritious Life, a nutrition practice based in New York City.
    
    Medical News Today

Cleansing and detox diets

If youre looking for a way to lose weight quickly and feel better (and who isnt?), you might be tempted to try a fad detox diet or a cleanse method. These diets start with a fast, followed by a period of consuming only raw vegetables, fruit, juices and water. Most nutritionists say, Dont bother. There is no scientific evidence that detox (short for detoxification) or cleanse diets result in rapid weight loss or have any health benefits, says Heather Mangieri, RDN, LDN, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and founder of Nutrition CheckUp in Pittsburgh. Indeed, the opposite may be true: One study published in 2011 in the journal Obesity found that beginning a weight-loss diet with a fast or cleanse could be counterproductive. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois divided mice into two diet groups. For 10 to 12 weeks, one group of mice was fed a low-fat diet (10 percent fat). The other group was fed a high-fat diet (60 percent fat). Not surprisingly, the group on a high-fat diet gained a lot of weight. Afterward, both groups were put on a 24-hour fast. The lean mice lost 18 percent of their body weight in those 24 hours, but the obese mice lost only 5 percent. Cleansing diets arent new. Theyve been around for years and years, Mangieri says. But they seem to get a lot of press from magazines and talk show hosts. And celebrities make cleanse diets popular every time they claim to lose significant weight on them. The terms detox and cleanse have become almost interchangeable and are thrown around almost as much as the words calorie and carbohydrate these days, says Keri Glassman, RD, CDN, founder and president of A Nutritious Life, a nutrition practice based in New York City. Medical News Today