MyPyramid.gov. U.S. Department of Agriculture. [cited
May 5, 2007].http://www.mypyramid.gov/.
Helen DavidsonDental healthseeOral health and nutrition
Detoxification diets
Definition
Detoxification diets, or detox diets for short, are a
group of short-term diets intended to release accumu-
lated toxins and waste products from the body. They
are based on a theory of digestion and elimination
usually associated with naturopathy, an alternative
medical system that emphasizes the role of nutrition
in restoring or improving the body’s own self-healing
properties. In general, detox diets emphasize the
following:
Minimal intake of chemicals on or in food by choos-
ing organic or non-processed foods
Increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and other
foods thought to aid the process of detoxification
Increased intake of foods and fluids that speed up the
processes of urination and defecation
Detoxification diets can be categorized into several
subgroups: raw food diets, which are based on the
premise that uncooked foods prevent the accumulation
of toxins in the digestive system; mono diets, in which
the dieter consumes only one or two foods (sometimes
in liquid form only) for a period of 10–14 days; juice
fasting, in which the dieter consumes large quantities of
fruit and vegetable juices along withwaterand herbal
teas for one to three days; and vegetarian or semi-
vegetarian detox diets, which allow the dieter some
variety of cooked whole grains, steamed vegetables,
fresh fruit, and small amounts ofproteinfoods as well
as several glasses of water and herbal teas each day.
Origins
Detoxification diets as a general practice can be
traced back for over 5,500 years to an annual ritual of
bodily and spiritual preparation known aspancha
karma, which is part of the practice of Ayurvedic
medicine in India. Ayurveda is a traditional system
of health care that dates back to about 3500BC; its
name is Sanskrit for ‘‘science of long life.’’ Pancha
karma is undergone for disease prevention, which in
Ayurvedic practice requires spiritual renewal and the
breaking of negative emotional patterns as well as
physical purification. It has three phases: a prepara-
tion phase, in which the person eliminates sweets,
caffeinated drinks, and processed foods from the
diet, as well as spending more time in meditation and
taking walks in natural surroundings; the cleansing
phase, which includes bloodletting, emesis (forced
vomiting), nasal cleansing, and the use of enemas
and laxatives as well as a very restricted diet of grains
and vegetables; and a rejuvenation phase, in which
solid foods are gradually reintroduced to the diet.
Practitioners of Ayurveda in Canada and the United
States generally omit vomiting and bloodletting in the
second phase of pancha karma.
In Europe and North America the most important
factor in the popularity of detoxification diets is natur-
opathy, an alternative approach to health care devel-
oped out of the natural healing movement in Germany
and North America in the late nineteenth century.
Naturopathy is closely connected withvegetarianism,
particularly its raw-food offshoot. Naturopaths of the
twenty-first century use a variety of techniques in treat-
ing patients, including hydrotherapy, spinal manipula-
tion, and physical therapy as well as nutrition and
dietary advice. There has been a revival of interest in
naturopathy in the United States since the 1980s.
Naturopaths frequently recommend detoxification
diets as a way of ridding the body of various toxins that
they identify as coming from several sources:
Heavy metals. These include such substances as
cadmium, arsenic, nickel, aluminum, chromium,
mercury, vanadium, strontium, antimony, cobalt,
and lead, which are used in various manufacturing
processes and some medical procedures as well as
being present in batteries, electronic equipment,(Illustration by Stanley Publishing/Thomson Gale.)Detoxification diets