Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Should You Try a Detox Diet?

You've heard that Beyonce, Gwyneth and Naomi (as in Campbell) are doing it—and you're eager to shed some pounds quickly. But are celeb detox diets worth trying?

Most cleanses work by changing what you consume for only a short period of time—meaning you may go back to your same old eating habits when the cleanse is over, causing you to regain any of the pounds you've lost. Some cleanses can also lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, fatigue and a loss of muscle mass from calorie deprivation.

Plus, most health experts agree that you really don't need to "detoxify" your body. That said, if you're really keen on a cleanse, we take a look at which may be dangerous and which you might be able to try as safely as possible.

Do You Really Need to Detox?
Demi Moore recently tweeted that she and Ashton Kutcher were doing the Master Cleanse. The fasting power couple joins a long list of Master Cleanse devotees including Naomi Campbell and Beyonce. Sales of cleanse products and laxatives hit almost $103.7 million in 2009, up 11 percent over the year before, according to Spins Inc., which tracks the natural product industry. Though cleanses and detoxes can cause rapid weight loss, most health experts agree you don’t need to detoxify your body. “The body, through the kidneys, is built to detox,” said Judy Penta, a nutritionist with Patients Medical in New York. Find out if any detoxes work, which don’t and which could be dangerous to your health.

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