It is that crazy season once again of consuming funny concoctions and starving our bodies after indulging during the festive season. People will go to great lengths to clean their systems in detox programmes.
Why do we overindulge and then go on this craze of detox every year? Is it not just simpler to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout the year?
Here are some few facts about detox plans: Detoxification is a natural process the body uses to get rid of unwanted material and improve body functions.
It is a process of internal cleansing. Problem is, it is hard to know when our internal cleansing organs are not functioning properly or when our cleansing methodologies are not working or are actually causing more harm.
When people detox, they just help the body improve and optimise its own detoxification system.
There is no diet, liquid or solid that can automatically do this. Our bodies have natural systems of removing toxins: The liver, skin, urinary system, and gastrointestinal tract are continuously helping cleanse our bodies through sweat, urine and faeces.
Toxicity occurs in our body when we take in more than we can utilise and eliminate.
The balance naturally found within the body functions is disturbed when we feed ourselves more than we can utilise or consume substances that are toxic.
These toxins are produced through normal body functions. When these these substances are not eliminated, they can cause irritation or inflammation of the cells and tissues, affecting normal functions of the organs.
Detox diets are diet regimes that claim to remove toxins from the body. Most of these “detox diets” lack supporting factual evidence.
The daily detox regimens taken for long can cause dehydration, lower blood glucose, deplete electrolytes, and impair normal bowel function. They can also disrupt the normal microorganisms that perform useful digestive functions.
A person who goes on this diet repeatedly may run the risk of developing metabolic acidosis, a disruption of the body’s acid-base balance, which results in excessive acidity in the blood.
Severe metabolic acidosis can lead to coma and death.
However, some of these detox diets, if done properly within a considerable period can help reboot the body system especially if one has overindulged during the holidays. So if you are healthy, concentrate on giving your body what it needs to maintain its self-cleaning system on a daily basis.
Make healthy eating a lifestyle regardless of the seasons.
Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink adequate fluids, exercise and sleep well, instead of relying on detox plans.
The writer is a Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant at Afya Bora Nutrition & Wellness Centre. Suite 16, 5th Avenue Office Suites on 5th Ngong Avenue.