"Body Detox" : Bursting the Myth

Detox - Its simple and your own body does it - no need to go to a specialized center or clinic

Festive After Detox:

Now that the festivities are over, we are loaded with extra calories due to food that was high in fat and sugar (considering all the various sweets and fried Indian snacks we had). 

We are not complaining, rather we enjoyed it!

But, now we need to lighten the burden on our digestive systems.

Detox is something we all have heard many times. What does it mean or rather does that really works ?

The human body is a marvel and has its own mechanism to detoxify, so actually, we don't need special intervention but treat it right. 

Bursting the myth: Any type of long-term fasting, special cleansing diets or colon cleansing etc are not scientifically proven

Let's explore this further:

1. Find your calorie requirement for you based on age and BMI (height and weight measurements). If you have diabetes or other diseases which may have special dietary restrictions, discuss them with your doctor and nutritionist.

2. Do's and Donts for your diet:

- Fasting: It can be a good start, but remember, anything more than one or two days is bad for the health.

- A day or 2 day of a diet based on fruits and juices can be a good start and inspiring, but not a long-term fix

- Avoid Alcohol, reduce caffeine, reduce sugar & eliminate processed food

- Plant-based diet be preferred over an animal-based diet. Don't eat frequently to avoid insulin spike. Click below to read about it 

https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/2006329258319235096/5038448769659544487

- Adequate hydration (2 ltrs a day is good enough for a healthy adult)

3. Sleep & exercise

- Good and timely sleep allows your body's machinery to do its work

- Exercise at least 45 minutes a day

4. Food allergens: 

- Food allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 of the USA, identifies 9 allergen in food. 

- These are Milk, Wheat, Peanuts, fish, shellfish, soya, tree nuts, sesame, and eggs.  If you are allergic to any of this food, avoid it. 

References:

1. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/detoxes-and-cleanses-what-you-need-to-know

2. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-allergensgluten-free-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/food-allergen-labeling-and-consumer-protection-act-2004-questions-and-answers

3. https://www.narayanahealth.org/blog/detox-foods-detoxification-is-an-essential-part-of-optimal-health/