THE GASTROENTEROLOGIST/
HEPATOLOGIST// DR PHILIP CHANG
YES
“The abundant processed food in the
standard Western diet is culpable in
endemic digestive issues. A brief hiatus
can give the GI tract a hard-earned
break and kick-start healing if dietary
assaults are causing internal damage.
This does lead to negative symptoms
and deleterious effects on the body, due
to changes in intestinal permeability
(leakiness) and also the native gut flora.
There are certain aspects of detoxes
and cleansing diets that draw on our
knowledge of how the body works, and
there can be some benefit for us, both
physiologically and also symptomatically,
and it’s these aspects that we should
aim to employ rather than the detox, or
particularly the ‘diet’ part.”
NO
“Detoxes that involve laxatives should be
avoided. Osmotic laxatives particularly
can lead to serious long-term medical
problems if misused. Diet teas are also a
hazard. Check whether the teas contain
senna, which is a naturally occurring
laxative and may also have long-term
consequences. Would-be detoxers
need to think beyond the moment of
feeling lighter and acknowledge the
risk of rebound weight gain with longer
detoxes. There is often a rebound effect
as the body is firstly preferentially
storing fat as it believes it is in a
starvation state. Secondly, the muscle
loss leads to a negative shift in the fat/
muscle ratio within the body, and this
muscle then needs to be regained
through oral consumption of calories
and exercise.”DIRTY-CLEAN
“The general principles of lowering
caloric intake, increased consumption of
water, and consuming natural, minimally
processed foods such as fruit, green
leafy vegetables and psyllium (natural
insoluble fibre), which are present in
many detox diets, are beneficial.”THE GP// DR FRAN BRUCE
YES
“While on a detox, most people will have
a fluid shift initially but this apparent drop
in weight typically isn’t fat loss, rather a
water loss, and is not maintained at the
end of the diet once you return to normal
eating habits.
“One thing many people get wrong
when detoxing is starving their body,
thinking it’s the only way to cleanse.
Many of the restrictive detox programs
that advocate cutting out major food
groups leave you exhausted and hungry,
a combination that is not conducive to a
busy lifestyle.”NO
“Metabolic rate may be lowered by
frequent bouts of fasting, which
essentially reduces any weight loss
benefits each time you try a fast.Although some people report feeling
more energetic during and after
detox diets, detox diets that severely
limit protein or require fasting can
result in fatigue, dehydration, light-
headedness, headaches, mood swings
and constipation. There is little scientific
evidence that detoxes can improve your
health long term, and herbal infusions can
contraindicate medications for conditions
such as hypertension.”DIRTY-CLEAN
“To healthily detox your body, simply
avoid highly processed foods that are
high in fats and sugar, reduce your alcohol
intake (if it exceeds the recommended
guidelines) and limit caffeine consumption
for a week or so. Often this is all your body
needs to feel cleansed and refreshed,
leaving you with a sense of wellbeing.”THE GP// PROF
SHIRLEY
MCILVENNY
DIRECTOR OF THE FOOD
COACH INSTITUTE
YES
“A detox can be a good way to stimulate
the liver – the body’s main filtering organ- after a prolonged period of high fat and
alcohol consumption.”
NO
“To be effective, a detox needs to
recognise the liver’s two phases of
detoxification. Rapid detoxes may not
get the job done. Rapid detoxes induce
phase one into action, releasing toxic
breakdown enzymes, while phase two is
still catching up.”DIRTY-CLEAN
“A slower, more controlled and sustained
detox with healthy nutrients that can aid
both phases of liver detoxification is the
way to go.”