Are detoxes a good idea?

Q: Rylan, I have seen (insert favorite infomercial here) talking about this new detox plan with herbal supplements. Do you think that it's a good idea? I've been feeling a little sluggish and 'toxic' lately and have been considering doing a week long detox plan.

A: In my humble opinion, 99.9% of these products are simply a total waste of time and effort. A quick search on google for 'detox' will yield you countless results for everything from grapefruit detox, to herbal detox, to god knows what else.

We are a toxic society. We live and breath toxins, and I don't blame you for being concerned, but you have to pick your battles.

You don't need to go on some expensive and fancy detox plan to see fantastic improvements in your health and well-being. Your body wants to do this naturally.

But only if you stop loading it up with crap!

When a heroin addict stops their habit, they go through incredibly traumatic withdrawal symptoms as their body detoxes from the poison. They don't need to go on a detox plan to help their body out, they just need to stop filling it with garbage and let the body do it's work.

Your body will detox naturally, and safely, if given the opportunity.

Stop loading yourself with refined sugars, alcohol, refined flour products, and caffeine, and your body will gladly detox naturally on its own.

In fact, if you add certain herbal detoxifying supplements into your diet at the same time you are eliminating all the nutrition problems, you will probably feel really, really crappy, as your body is flooded with more garbage than it can handle.

This is where the headaches, shakes, and nausea set in.

Instead of worrying about whether your toothpaste is all natural or not, getting rid of that glass of wine or martini with dinner will go much farther in your quest to live a healthier life.

Make sure you drink plenty of water so your body has a way to eliminate the toxins freely, and get plenty of rest and exercise to help it along its way.

You will be so much more comfortable as you detox, it won't cost you a thing, and you will be amazed how how good you will feel in a few weeks.

RD