Monday, January 23, 2012

Why Detox Diet Is Good For Your Gastrointestinal Tract?



Everyday, plenty of toxins and unnecessary substances enters into our body particularly through the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract is composed of the mouth, teeth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and the large intestine.

Digestive organs like the salivary glands, pancreas, gall bladder, mucous glands, and liver are also part of the gastrointestinal tract. In the book, "The New Detox Diet," Elson M. Haas and Daniella Chace it was mentioned that the absorption of most nutrients happens in the small intestine. The colon assimilates water while the bile salts.

Minor disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract may cause abnormal absorption of nutrients and increased barrier permeability. One of the best ways to get rid of toxins and unnecessary substances in the body is through detox diet.

But what are these toxins and unnecessary substances that are harmful to your gastrointestinal tract?

The GI tract are adversely affected by refined foods and sugar; excess fatty and rich foods; overeating and failing to chew more than once or twice per mouthful of food; drinking too much; food chemicals, pesticides, and environmental toxins; persistent use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine; use of prescription, over-the-counter, and recreational drugs; lack of fiber and whole foods, specifically lacking fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes in the diet.

Detox diet aids in healing ulcerations and other tissue problems in your body. It also helps in maintaining the tone and shape of your small and large intestines. Detox diet maintains the PH balance and eliminates bad bacteria like candida and harmful yeasts.

 What many people don’t know is that even minor metabolism disruption like constipation if unguarded can lead to a big threat in your health. Constipation also causes stress and discomfort and limited physical activity. This is why regular elimination is very crucial to overall health and maintaining the level of toxins in the body.

One way of detoxification is eating fiber rich foods and increasing water intakes. A special type of herb called dandelion root is one of the popular medicinal plants that aids detoxification. It is a natural diuretic that increases urine production by propping up the excretion of salts and water from the kidney.

The Chinese uses this herb in treating digestive disorders and appendicitis. Dandelion now already comes in the form of teas. However, extra precaution must be taken in taking this herb as it may increase stomach acid and heartburn. Patients with gallbladder and gallstones are also prohibited to take this herb.

Aside from drinking teas and water, you may also try drinking fresh fruit juices to detoxify. But taking this detox diet is more effective if you would also cut down intakes of meat and fatty foods and other foods and chemicals that adversely affects the function of your gastrointestinal tract.

 It is very important to plan your meal when in a detox diet. It can be a little tricky particularly because being in this diet makes you feel hungry and overdoing can cause you hyperacidity.

Another important factor to consider in undergoing a detox diet is your present weight and PH balance. It is best to consult an expert before taking a detox diet.

For more information visit
http://www.amway.com/toilucky

Monday, January 16, 2012

What is a Juice Detox Diet




There are many types of detox diets. If you don’t to chew it, you can try drinking it using what is known as Juice Fast.

Juice Fast is a short term detox diet consisting of raw fruits and vegetables. It is considered by many as an extreme form of detoxification since you will not eat any solid food but you can drink water during certain periods.

When we say that the Juice Fast diet is only for the short term, it should only last for 1 to 3 days. If you want to continue with it, you are advised to have a medical professional on hand to make sure that you are still getting the right amounts of nutrients.

A lot of people who have tried Juice Fast recommend that this should be done during the warmer months of the year.

A week before you start the program, you are already advised to reduce eating certain foods such as animal meat, eggs, fish and wheat. You should also reduce the intake of alcohol, coffee and tea. This is the preparation phase of the program and whatever you reduce should be substituted with beans, organic fruits and vegetables.

When you begin Juice Fast for a day or three days, you should drink between 32 and 64 ounces of juice. Naturally, you don’t have to drink this all at once since you have to balance this out through the day.

So you don’t get tired of drink the juice, mix it up a bit with various fruits and vegetables such as apple, beet, cabbage, celery, cranberry, greens, pineapple and spinach. Never mix citrus fruits with it. At the same time, make sure you drink at least 6 glasses of water for the duration of the fasting.

The fruits you use for the fast should be organic as these don’t have any harmful chemicals when these are planted and harvested. If organic produce is not available, you will have to peel off the skin or wash these first before mixing.

There are certain side effects which you may experience when you try the juice fast diet. Some of the common ones include acne, bad breath, body odor, constipation, fatigue, headaches and hypoglycemia.

At times, you may also experience diarrhea, dizziness, heart arrhythmias, hunger, kidney problems, low blood pressure and vomiting. If it should happen, you are advised to stop the program and seek medical help.

Not everyone can try the Juice Fast detox diet. These include women that are pregnant or are nursing.

You should not also try it if you happen to have addictions, suffer from anemia, diabetes, low blood sugar, any eating disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, malnutrition, have impaired immune function, infections, nutritional deficiency, low blood pressure, ulcerative colitis, cancer, terminal illness, epilepsy, other chronic conditions and are underweight.

Patients who have just had surgical procedures should also not try it so their bodies will have time to heal.

If you are taking certain medication, you should also consult your doctor before trying the juice fast diet because it will reduce blood proteins and may have an effect on the way the drugs react in your body.

The Juice Fast Detox Diet may be what you need to cleanse your system. So see a doctor and find out if such a program is feasible for you.

For more information visit

Monday, January 9, 2012

What is A Detox Diet




What is a detox diet? It is a method which helps remove dangerous toxins inside our body for optimum health.

There are many types of detox diets around. You can do this by mixing some chemicals together, eating raw food, fruits and vegetables which are all designed to increase the frequency of your bowel movements and urination. Before you try any, it is best to consult your doctor.

You might not buy this if you don’t feel anything wrong but studies suggest that something will go wrong eventually when there is a build up of these harmful chemicals in your body.

Most of us only take action when we experience a hormonal imbalance, impaired immune function, nutritional deficiency and an inefficient metabolism but why wait when prevention is the best defense against any problem.

In fact, this is the common mistake of a lot of people who decide to visit the doctor only when they don’t feel so good.

The detox diet has a lot of benefits aside from expelling harmful chemicals. It also improves your concentration, digestion and energy. If you like at your body, you will even notice that you have clearer skin.

One thing you should know when you decide to start a detox diet is that there are side effects. The most common happens to be the common headache which occurs during the first few days especially if you regularly drink coffee. You can control this by reducing the amount of caffeine you drink until you no longer consume it.

Another side effect is diarrhea that if untreated, can lead to dehydration and electrolyte loss. The opposite may also happen which is constipation. You can prevent both from happening by drinking lots of fluid. Other side effects associated with a detox diet are acne, fatigue, hunger, irritability and weight loss.

There are a few things people should keep in mind about a detox diet.

First, not everyone can go on a detox diet and this includes pregnant or nursing women as well as children.

If you are diagnosed with anemia, any eating disorder, autoimmune disease, cancer, terminal illness, certain genetic diseases, diabetes, kidney disease, thyroid disease, and other chronic conditions you should only try this diet under the supervision of their primary care provider.

The detox diet is short term because if this is done for a long period of time, it may result in nutrient deficiencies specifically protein deficiency which is why this should only be done once or twice a year.

For those who are taking medication, you should still continue to take them unless this is advised by your doctor.

Once the detox diet is over, you can go back to your old diet with a few changes like eating more fruits and vegetables.

The detox diet is quite new and even if there is little or no evidence that it works, there are people willing to try it if they believe that this can be good for them.

Now that you know what a detox diet is, you can make up your mind whether you want to try this on yourself or not. Before you do it, consult first a doctor to check your overall health condition so you can be sure that it is safe for you.

For more information visit

Monday, January 2, 2012

Body Mass Index (BMI): Are You at a Healthy Weight?

The body mass index, or BMI, helps clarify an important distinction between being overweight or being obese. If you weigh too much, you're obviously overweight. But if you have a very high proportion of body fat, you're obese. Based on your body mass index, your doctor or other health professional will classify your weight as healthy, overweight, or obese.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the BMI "describes body weight relative to height and is correlated with total body fat content in most adults". In almost all cases, this means that the BMI will accurately reflect your weight and proportion of body fat as a function of your height and weight when categorizing you as healthy, overweight or obese.

Calculating your approximate body mass index is relatively straightforward, although you'll probably need a calculator just to save time. To get your BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703. Next, divide that result by your height in inches. Then divide that result by your height in inches one more time.

As an example, let's say you weigh 180 pounds and are 5 feet 10 inches tall.

Multiply 180 by 703 to get 126,540. Next, divide this by 70 (70 inches is the same as 5' 10") to get 1807.7. Now, divide 1807.7 by 70 one more time. The result -- 25.8-- is your approximate BMI or body mass index. 

If the above example sounds you, you might be surprised to learn that you're ever so slightly heavier than your doctor might like. A BMI from 18.5 up to 25 is considered healthy, from 25 up to 30 is classified as overweight, and 30 or higher is obese.

Generally, says the NHLBI, the higher a person's BMI, the greater the risk for health problems. In addition to causing your BMI to skyrocket, excess body fat is a well recognized health risk. Men and women with waist lines in excess of 40 and 35 inches, respectively, are much more at risk for health problems like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Like every rule of thumb, this one also has it exception. Body builders, for example, often have a body mass index above 25 and sometimes even above 30. In this case, however, the higher BMI reflects the fact that body builders have more muscle mass without having more fat.

Finally, there's still only one sure way to lower your BMI if you're overweight or obese: Eat less and exercise more. Your body will burn more calories than you eat and your body mass index will go down over time.

For more information visit

http://www.amway.com/toilucky