Are you going to need a detox diet?

Health concern is growing in some sectors of the population. Both food and body worship are current affairs and sources of business that are not left out of the world of fashion. In relation to this issue, new trends appear that come and go or are established, and for some time there has been a trend in search of the natural as a synonym for the healthiest, cleanest and purest. The reality is that the concern for health is positive, but sometimes the wrong relationships are established about the use and consumption of certain foods and health.

In relation to these fashions, a trend has been developing that advocates the need to purify the body through our diet. This trend proclaims certain foods and practices as detoxifiers and praises the benefits of these products as a method of "cleansing" the body. Commonly used foods are proposed, but as expected, these methods gain adherents after the excesses that occur during the holidays and / or Christmas parties. Let's see what is true in all this.

• The kidneys, liver, skin, lungs ... fulfill purification tasks, so a healthy person does not require any purification based on food to be "detoxified".
• Green "detox" smoothies and shakes with many attributes are not a panacea and are not the most convenient way to consume fruits and vegetables.
• The consumption of raw vegetables is preferable, rather than in a smoothie, as it maintains all the components, including fiber, which is lost in the smoothie.

After Christmas ...

They are a very characteristic period of the year in many ways, and one of them is the social events and the food that accompany them. If this year "loaded" with dinners with friends and colleagues, family gatherings linked to binges, and multiple commitments that only add to the list of excesses in our diet, perhaps a subsequent detox plan would make sense, right?

The detox trend

The fact of doing a few days of light eating after the Christmas excesses sounds quite coherent. Just as after a party we have to dedicate ourselves to ordering and cleaning the house, it seems logical to consider the same with our body. And yes, indeed, our body has “cleaning” systems that after a copious intake “work overtime” to restore “order”. We carry "standard" a kit of order and cleaning of the most complete: our kidneys, liver, skin, lungs ... perform purification tasks and a healthy individual does not require any food-based purification to be "detoxified" .

Really, we can only assess a person as intoxicated when they have taken a volume of toxic substances such as alcohol or drugs, which the body cannot cope with. And the action in these cases is through the corresponding medical and psychological treatment, not through a specific type of diet.

But… the benefits attributed to detox diets?

In reality, within what we call "Detox diets”, We can find almost everything, dietary guidelines that as a general rule will be low in calories, accompanied by periods of fasting, and complemented with peculiar foods from distant lands (and it is that things that come from afar seem to attract us more ). But something that we immediately think of when we talk about detox are the famous green smoothies.

These are nothing more than smoothies or crushed different vegetables and some fruit so that we obtain a drink that is generally little or not at all thick, since the pulp is extracted, and they have the common characteristic of their green hue.

They are attributed digestive and nutritional properties, and are "sold" as a good way to consume vegetables, which provide many antioxidants, help take care of skin and hair, regulate anxiety and even promote weight loss. Wow, maybe we should ask ourselves, what is it that these miracle shakes fail to achieve?

It seems positive, but ...

It is correct to affirm that the vegetables and fruits that compose them are usually rich in antioxidants, also that they are usually easy to digest, since in sum they are little more than water with and some other substance that we will already comment on. It is also true that some of these micronutrients are good for skin and hair care. And certainly these drinks can help combat anxiety about food if drinking them distract our attention and avoid the consumption of other types of food. But it is also true that s is recommended in other ways, better than in a shake.

Now, let's get to the heart of the matter. Is it really the best way to eat fruits and vegetables? Do we need to increase the consumption of these antioxidants and micronutrients through these green smoothies? Do they help us to have a balanced diet that can be maintained to enjoy proper habits and thereby maintain a correct weight? And what's really being touted: do we need to detox with these green smoothies? And, on the other hand: do they have risks? Let's start answering questions.

Is it really the best way to eat fruits and vegetables?

There is no doubt, the answer is: no. The best way to consume fruit is to take it fresh, neither in syrups, nor in jams, nor in compotes, nor in juices, nor in smoothies. The best thing is the whole fruit, clean or peeled, chopped or in bites, but that maintains its original structure and all its components, including the fiber that is extracted in all the smoothies and we do not take advantage of.

Do we need to increase the consumption of these antioxidants and micronutrients through these green smoothies?

It is necessary to eat a balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables. In our daily diet, fruits and vegetables must represent at least five servings. By consuming fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, we are obtaining those antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and we are also taking them in their original matrix, which is generally the form in which they present greater bioavailability, and whole fruits and vegetables provide us with many more nutrients than what we extract in a smoothie.

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Do they help us to have a balanced diet that can be maintained to enjoy proper habits and thereby maintain a correct weight?

If we occasionally consume a fruit and vegetable smoothie, in principle it does not have to do us any harm. Now, we have already commented that it is not the best way to eat fruits and vegetables, therefore it does not contribute to the acquisition of good eating habits in relation to health or long-term weight control.

Do we need to detox with these green smoothies?

As we mentioned earlier, our body has organs in charge of carrying out the “detoxification” tasks of the body, so in this sense their use is not justified either, and in fact, when they are consumed in order to carry out a “detox diet” they are usually consumed. in enough quantity, for days and to the detriment of many other interesting and necessary foods, so we are not going to recommend them in this regard.

Do they have risks?

It all depends on the dose, because a single shake we will not consider dangerous but the fact of taking them often and as a substitute for other foods can trigger relevant risks. So much so that EFSA, the European food safety authority, warns of the risks that the consumption of green smoothies can entail on a regular basis.

The most remarkable thing is that due to the way in which these shakes are prepared, with a large amount of raw vegetables, we ingest high doses of oxalic acid (with cooking it is reduced). This has direct consequences on the kidney, by increasing the risk of renal lithiasis (kidney stones), and also indirect consequences since this high intake of oxalic acid reduces the bioavailability of calcium, iron and potassium and therefore can cause demineralization problems. bone, among others. On the other hand, it is also possible that we consume too high of nitrates, present in vegetables such as chard and spinach.

With all this, it is not about that we are left with the wrong idea that it is bad to eat raw vegetables, since the question is the quantity and what we extract in the smoothies. In a salad we surely use less than half of green leafy vegetables than in a smoothie, and at the end we have the feeling of having filled ourselves with a plate. A shake, on the other hand, does not have the same satiating effect and after a while after taking one we may already feel like another. The same happens if we eat a raw orange. In this case, we will take one, on the other hand if it is the juice perhaps we will use three. When making a smoothie it is even more exaggerated, since we can use very high amounts of vegetables to make it.