Water and juice fasts are popular methods of detoxing. These fasts, as the name suggests, eliminate all solid foods from your diet for a limited time and replace them with fluids. The elimination of food from your system is said to give your body time to focus on ridding the body of toxins while not being continually overloaded with food to process. A high liquid intake furthers this process by helping to flush out the liver, the kidneys and the bowel.
We have all been warned about the dangers of dehydration, being told to consume at least 2 liters of water a day. But how does this help the detoxing process? Well, when the body doesn’t have enough water it can’t properly hydrate the cells. Thus the cells panic and draw water from the bloodstream. This keeps the blood from flowing at its ideal rate and the dehydration even prevents the kidneys from adequately purifying the blood. And in a domino like effect when one organ is not functioning optimally other organs step in to try and relieve some of the burden. This puts unnecessary stress on the body resulting in many minor and chronic health problems such as constipation, bloating, dry skin, acne, urinary tract infections, headaches etc.
Flooding your body with liquids prevents this dehydrating effect from happening. The large quantity of water being introduced into your system immediately stimulates the kidney, liver and digestive system function that in turn accelerates toxin and fat elimination.
Whether to choose a strictly water fast or to include juices as well is a strictly personal choice.
A water fast is definitely the more difficult of the two methods, as it means that your body is receiving no calories, hence no energy. Yet water is the body’s ultimate natural detox tool and provides many benefits when people have the determination to stick to it. With no added calories nor harmful toxins your body will aggressively begin to rid itself of toxins. Often this means unpleasant side effects such as headaches or dizziness that are perhaps not as pronounced when incorporating food or even juice to your detox regime.
Thus, juice fasting, on the other hand, is a little bit easier as your body has a steady intake of fresh vegetable and fruit juices. In fact, according to Laura McCarthy, author of Holding Fast, juice is often preferred to water because it requires minimal digestion; it helps stabilize blood sugar levels; is easily absorbed by the body; and supplies nutrients and calories to keep energy level while clearing body waste.
It is important to limit the length of the liquid detox diet, as it severely limits caloric intake, and provides virtually no protein or fat. A strictly water fast should not be done for longer than 48 hours, unless medically supervised, and juice fasts are also not recommended for more than a week or two.
Click here for more detox diets!
4 Comments
One thing that I should warn to all those about to try any detox technique, make sure you drink lots and lots of water. Without water, you can't expect to experience great results.
Looking for good detox tips, happy I found this page.
I have just recently decided to learn more about all things detox. I have been eating unhealthy foods for years and wish to repair all the damage. Your site has inspired me to make the proper changes! Thank you!
Acai Pure Detox Facts
Acai Pure Detox is an internal cleansing product that promises to help you lose weight, purify and clear your system by using only the highest grade Acai powder available. If you are like many others, you have attempted countless weight loss regimens only to hit a wall that made it seem almost impossible to lose [...]
Colon Cleanse XR Side Effects
Colon cleansing is a relatively new concept taking the health world by storm. Colon cleansing has grown in popularity in recent years but it has been around for thousands of years. Colon Cleanse XR is meant to remove the waste particles and toxins accumulated on the walls of the colon; however, the side effects of [...]
Colon Cleanse XR Truth
If you tend to be skeptical of any method of weight loss that does not follow traditional guidelines, then there is no question that you may be doubtful about colon cleansing products conquering the health world. The truth behind Colon Cleanse XR is that it is a truly effective solution with many proven benefits to [...]
Colon Cleanse XR Facts
Colon Cleanse XR seeks to reverse years upon years of an unhealthy diet full of processed foods and unhealthy decisions. Colon Cleanse XR is capable of doing this by flushing out the digestive system and strengthening the colon in the process. Due to our modern lifestyles based mainly on convenience and a strict devotion to [...]
March 11th, 2010
Very helpful tips. One thing I have learned from many detox dieting is that buying in season and locally is the vital to a healthy lifestyle. Thanks