How a Detox Really Affects
Your Body
By Laura Beil, Women's Health
Stripped of
essential nutrients, detox diets can be downright dangerous
Thinking of
signing up for a fruit juice cleanse? You might first consider how your body
reacts to a week with no protein or fat and fewer than 1,000 calories a day.
After the first sip
Your brain's hunger signals are answered with a dump of pure fruit-juice sugar.
And don't get any ideas--veggie-based body cleanses aren't any healthier.
The sweet
stuff prompts the pancreas to squirt out insulin, which moves sugar--now in
your blood in the form of glucose--into your cells.
After 30 minutes
As your cells suck up the glucose, your blood sugar level can start to plummet
and you may feel dizzy.
Meanwhile,
lacking enough calories, your body is operating off its supply of glycogen, a
form of short-term energy stored in the liver and muscles. (Shedding pounds
doesn't have to be about deprivation!
After two days
With each shot of juice, your insulin levels skyrocket, then crash. Your
glycogen stores are pretty much gone, leaving your tank on empty--and you
feeling weak and listless.
Since you're
getting only about half the calories you need, your body draws on two long-term
power sources: triglycerides, a type of energy stored in fat cells (woo-hoo!),
and protein, taken straight from your muscles (oops). You begin to lose muscle
mass, even if you're still exercising every day.
After three days
Your brain is not happy. It enters into semi-starvation mode and gobbles
ketones, fuel that comes from the breakdown of fat. Ketones work, but they're
like low-grade gasoline; as a result, you may feel unfocused or irritable. (Any
"mental clarity" is likely due to a strong placebo effect.)
Sans a fresh
protein infusion, your brain is also lacking amino acids, the raw materials
that neurotransmitters need to maintain your mood. If you're prone to
depression, you may start feeling blue.
The proteins in your shrinking muscles break down into ammonia and uric acid,
unwelcome chemicals that invade your bloodstream. Now your kidneys are busy
detoxing your detox.
Stay near
the bathroom: The juice's high carbohydrate load causes a surfeit of water to
enter the intestines. That extra H2O in your gut means you're apt to get
diarrhea.
After four days
With no food to digest, your small intestine feels ignored. Its villi--the rows
of tiny fibers that move food elements into the blood-start to atrophy. Your
diarrhea may get worse, leading to dehydration... and there goes your rosy
glow.
On the eighth day
Solid food! But uh-oh--you've lost muscle. Even if you go back to your regular
eating habits, you now have less muscle mass to burn those calories; instead,
the calories are more likely to be turned into fat. (Hence, one reason yo-yo
dieting makes it harder to lose weight: Your reduced muscle-to-fat ratio messes
up your metabolism and makes calories much harder to work off.)
Sources: Eric Ravussin, Ph.D., Nutrition Obesity Research Center,
Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Timothy D. Brewerton, M.D., Medical
University of South Carolina; Leslie P. Schilling, R.D., Schilling Nutrition
Therapy; Lona Sandon, R.D., and Jo Ann S. Carson, Ph.D., R.D., University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
