Dr Oz 48 Hour Weekend Cleanse, Detox Diets, Liver, Kidney

Dr Oz 48 Hour Weekend Cleanse and Detox Diets

October 7, 2011

Today Dr. Oz talked about Detox diets and his 48 hour weekend cleanse plan.  He talks about whether detox diets are safe and if you actually receive benefits for cleanses.

Can you detox your body back to health?  For 1000's of years people of tried a wide array of methods to rid their bodies of toxins.  All the way back to Hippocrates people were practicing cleansing methods. Hippocrates encouraged fasting as a way to detox the body.

Today detox diets have become an essential part of alternative health practices.  Advocates of detox diets claim that they can :

• Promote weight loss
• Clear your complexion
• Improve your immune system and function

Examples of detox diets would be fasting, lemon water, or eating only raw foods.  Many of these diets are going mainstream and today Dr. Oz gives his opinion on what he thinks about these trendy diets.  He said that last year 30 million dollars were spent on herbal cleanses in America alone! But is there science behind these detox health claims?  Do they really work?


Celebrity Cleanse

Three women came on the show to talk about the cleanse that they did.  The first woman (Marcy) talked about her cleanse that all the celebrities are doing.  It consists of :

• Cleansing drink 6-12 times per day
• The drink consists of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water
• Laxitive tea at night

Marcy said that for the first 1 1/2 days everything went great. Then she said that she started to get moody and also developed headaches.  She also was more tired as usual.  She lost 4 pounds in three days on this weekend cleanse.  Dr. Oz says that while he loves lemons this particular cleanse doesn't give you enough nutrients that you need to detoxify your organs.

All Juice Cleanse

The next woman (Maureen) on the show did the "All Juice Cleanse."  This diet cleanse consists of :

• 6 fruits and vegetable juices each day

Maureen also lost 4 pounds on her weekend cleanse.  Dr. Oz liked this cleanse better because 6 servings of fruits and vegetable servings is loaded with nutrients that your body needs.  What he didn't like about this particular cleanse is that it doesn't have any Omega fats in it.  He said that when you do a cleanse you should also detox your brain.  Omega 3's are good for this.  He also didn't like the fact that there isn't much fiber in this cleanse.  He said that you will experience highs and lows as your blood sugar fluctuates.

The next woman did a cleanse that consists of :

Day 1

• Protein shake every two hours
• Dinner salad with lean protein and olive oil

Days 2 and 3

• Fruit every 2 hours and an 8 ounce glass of water
• Dinner consists of a protein drink, and salad with olive oil

The woman who tried this detox diet said it went well. She said that she wasn't hungry and she lost 6 pounds (in just one weekend!) Dr. Oz asked her if she felt well while she was on the diet and did she feel rejuvenated. The woman said that yes she felt great after the detox.

Dr. Oz said these detox diets are not designed for weight loss. He said that your body goes into starvation mode within 24 hours of the sudden decrease in calories.  He said that you lose muscle and not fat.

Dr. Oz said that your body has your own internal detoxification systems already in place.  He said that the liver is the most important organ that will help you detox your body. When thinking about a detox plan, you should think "How is this plan going to help my liver?"

How do you improve your liver function?

• Eat more berries.  Dark berries help your body get rid of toxins.
• Hot peppers.  They stimulate the enzymes that help to detoxify your liver.

Which organ creates the most toxins?  The intestines have good and bad bacteria.  You need to continually flush out the colon to remove toxins along with bad bacteria.  How can you improve your colon detoxification are :

• Eat high fiber whole grains - Whole grains that come out of the ground with the fiber still in them have phosphorous in the food. Phosphorous acts as a natural laxative in the body and can help to detoxify your colon.

Kidneys help your body detoxify - Dr. Oz said that most people think of the kidneys as just a way to get the water out of your body. They also filter your blood. In fact your kidneys will filter all of the blood in your body in only 40 minutes.  To boost your kidney function you should :

• Eat soy products - Tofu, edamame, and other soy foods act as a diuretic and help your kidneys get rid of fluids along with the toxins that are inside.
• Cruciferous vegetables - Broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables.  Doctor Oz said that of all the detoxify foods out there, cruciferous vegetables are #1.

For a detox diet diet to truly work you need to detoxify the liver, kidneys, and intestines.  They all need particular nutrients to help them detox.

Read Dr. Oz Ultimate Cleanse Recipe!