Despite the absolute lack of scientific basis to support the use of the so-called detox diets, With the change of season and clothes every spring, the odd celebrity poses in the ‘photocall’ of communication campaigns for companies that enrich themselves at the cost of a supposed healthy effect.
As explained to Infosalus Eva Rodríguez, nutritionist at Hospital Delfos in Barcelona and collaborator of ‘smartsalus.com’, in most cases after disbursing a significant economic sum, the most that these products contribute is a placebo effect derived from the control of those who they take it on their own body.
The so-called ‘detox’ diets point to the existence of toxins in the body that according to Rodríguez do not exist, since if the objective is to lose weight, fat cannot be considered toxic. The only toxic products most commonly present in the body may be those derived from alcohol, tobacco or other drugs and the treatments aimed at combating them include giving up the habit and clinical therapies.
These diets usually have as a common denominator the use of an exclusive product as a food supplement or diet substitute for short periods of time. As a general rule, Rodríguez points out, they are usually followed by healthy people and since they are short-lived, they do not usually have serious repercussions on health. However, its use is not without risk, since being extremely unbalanced diets can cause problems of tiredness, weakness, apathy, headaches, constipation or gout attacks.
Rodríguez points out that these actions seek to satisfy those who try to achieve the maximum results with the minimum effort. “This dietetically does not exist”concludes the nutritionist who warns of the rebound effect that leads to subsequent weight gain after stopping the diet.
Dangerous hallmarks
Dr. Rodríguez points out to Infosalus the characteristics of these diets that should make consumers mistrust and allow their most harmful qualities to be identified:
1. Extremely unbalanced: The use of a single type of food in the diet produces such an imbalance in the body that only the fact that they are short-lived protects the body from suffering serious damage to health. The balance in the nutrients of the diet is the only key to a better functioning of the body.
2. They have a very short duration: Actions on nutrition can only have a healthy effect if they last for a long time and are sustained. The changes in the organism must be carried out progressively to avoid the rebound effect that extreme diets entail that promote rapid weight gain when they end.
3. Binge eating cannot be compensated for: When at times like Christmas or vacations you consume too much alcohol or food or succumb to a binge, you cannot compensate for this exaggerated consumption the next day or the days after by stopping eating or doing a lot of physical exercise. The only option is to return to a balanced diet and avoid these exaggerations whenever possible.
3. They represent a significant financial outlay: the only success they report is for their creators and is based on the high costs of following these treatments.
4. Be wary of terms like ‘natural’ in advertising messages: something natural is not in itself healthy, scorpion venom or some types of toxic mushrooms are also natural. The promoters of these diets rely on the use of some types of vegetables or herbs to add the name ‘natural’ to the principles on which they are based.
5. These diets do not reduce cardiovascular risks They do not improve health or quality of life in general terms: a balanced diet that continues over time does achieve all the healthy effects that are sought, such as reducing weight, blood pressure or sleep quality.
6. Diuretics are involved in many cleansing diets: This encourages those who follow them to urinate a lot, which encourages the false belief that they detoxify and lose weight. As Rodríguez points out, when you urinate or sweat a lot, what comes out of the body is water and not fat.