Cleansing diets can range from sensible to extreme
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH - 2/13/2006
by Amy Bertrand (Q&A Column)

Q: I've been hearing a lot about detox diets. What are they, and do they actually work? - D.E., Rock Hill

A: Detox diets, also known as cleansing diets, are designed to help rid the body of toxins. Toxins come from our environment (smoke, mercury, food additives, pesticides), and some people think that the prevalence of diseases such as cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome and others is evidence that the toxins are hurting our bodies. Thus the explosion of detox diet books out there. And it's fair to say there is great variation on how you should achieve that detox. Some books, such as the "The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet" by Ann Louise Gittleman, offer sound advice, says Jen Leacock, a dietitian at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles. In this diet you eat healthful foods (whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables) for seven days, then for one day you drink a watered-down cranberry-juice concoction. Then for three days you eat healthful foods again. You eliminate all sorts of bad things: artificial sweeteners, sugars, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, processed foods. "I think in this case it's a sound way of eating. It's just marketed under the label of 'detoxification,'" says Leacock. Other detox diets, such as the "The Master Cleanser" program, have you on a liquid diet for 10 days. "Ten days is a long time to be on liquids," says Leacock. "I'm not sure that's a healthy way to do things."

Leacock says the right detox diet may work to eliminate the toxins, may help you lose weight and may have another benefit. "You become more in tune with your body. You are not just making food choices based on taste. You are making them for other reasons, to be healthier."