Page 12 - Family Wellness - Spring/Summer 2016

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WHOLE LIFE
Detox for LIFE
Instead of trying fad diets, make a cleanse a way of living
“Detoxing” is in right now. The goal is to flush your system of toxins and other substances that are harmful to your system in an effort to boost your health and get your weight loss headed in the right direction. That sounds good, but is there science behind these diet cleanses, and how do you choose the right one for you?
PSSM’s Dr. Michael Rizkalla says detoxing can do right by the body. “The truth is, you do lose weight and you do feel better, but not because you’re adding expensive juices or combining tonics of water, lemon, cayenne pepper, and whatever the next biggest craze is,” he says. “It’s because you are giving your GI system a rest and substantially decreasing your caloric intake during that time period.”
However, Dr. Rizkalla says not all toxins are the same, which is important to know when you’re looking to detoxify and choose the right cleanse. In fact, we ingest
a variety of toxins in our food, including chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, as well as refined sugars, gluten, caffeine, or alcohol. “There are many different types of toxins, and we are unable to lump them together as toxins that are bad for our system,” Dr. Rizkalla says. “Our bodies are incredibly engineered to protect us from toxins. Your liver and kidneys work diligently to rid the body of toxins and clear your system. But we are products of what we put into our system. If we put high quality, nutritious foods we are likely to get a better output.”
Try to avoid detoxes that ask
you to avoid foods your body needs—if you deprive yourself of basic nutrients, you are much more likely to overeat and binge on all the things you were removing in the first place. The most common problem with detoxes is not that they don’t work, but that they don’t work forever, Dr. Rizkalla says. “The bottom line is that the only detox diet that is worthwhile is clean eating, replacing processed sugary foods high in fat and preservatives with natural whole foods like fruits and vegetables.”
pssmwellness.com