Madison life - health-tips - Debunking detox wives tales

The beginning of a new year often comes with a new health routine but with so many detoxes, cleanses and fad diets on the market what is fact and what is false? We speak to nutritionist and health scientist Kristen Beck to help clear things up.

Wives tale 1. A fruit juice cleanse is the easiest way to lose weight

False: A good quality, 100 percent fruit juice can be a valuable dietary source of antioxidants, vitamins B and C, but this does not mean that juice alone will provide all of your nutritional requirements! In order to effectively cleanse your body and get back in shape, the best thing to do is to firstly stop the bad stuff (you know what I mean – alcohol, coffee, refined carbohydrates, fatty foods ). Then revisit your diet to ensure that it is providing foods from all core food groups.

Wives tale 2. Fruit juices are full of sugar

False: While it is true that some fruits are higher in sugar than other foods, the reality is that a fresh piece of fruit contains lots of water and dietary fibre and is almost always going to be a healthier snack than anything else you are going to choose. Nobody ever became obese from eating too much fruit! Wherever possible, stick to the most seasonal, fresh fruits and veggies.

Wives tale 3. Eating a healthy balanced diet is near impossible

False: Juicing can provide vital nutrients and antioxidants in a highly-absorbable and pleasant drink. When it comes to juicing, I would suggest still incorporating a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice, or 2 small glasses of fruit and vegetable juice mixtures. Vegetable and fruit mixtures are a great option as they offer a different array of nutrients and will tend to contain more beta-carotene and far more magnesium (vital for stress-busting) as well as containing less sugar.

The rest of your diet should be focusing on at least 2 palm size servings of lean protein (preferably in two separate meals), 2 servings of reduced-fat dairy, and plenty of wholegrain breads and cereals (the grainier and darker the better), vegetables and fresh fruit.

Wives tale 4. You should eat big for breakfast, smaller for lunch and a tiny proportion at dinner

False: The idea of eating larger meals for breakfast, then smaller meals throughout the day is a great concept, but, like with all things relating to nutrition, it is important not to lose perspective. Of course eating regularly throughout the day is preferable to one big meal, but it is about the overall dietary intake balanced with your total energy output. Simply put, if you eat less kilojoules than you burn, you will still lose weight.

Wives tale 5. Snacking during the day is a fast track to getting fat

False: Snack instead on plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat yoghurt, cottage cheese, hummus, small handful or almonds or brazil nuts.

Wives tale 6. Too much water can be unhealthy

True: Like everything, you can certainly drink too much. During the summer months, especially if you are aiming to lose weight, you should be aiming to drink around 2 litres of water per day. Drinking excessive amounts of water, especially if you are exercising and sweating a lot can lead to electrolyte (mineral) loss and can also dilute your digestive enzymes, which will therefore reduce your ability to effectively digest and absorb important nutrients from your food.

Wives tale 7. The fad “rainbow diet” is the fastest way to lose weight and still get much needed vitamins

False: Like most celebrity fad diets, the idea does have a small amount of nutritional merit (e.g. you would, over the week, know that you have consumed a good range of particular nutrients (e.g. on red day you would have consumed a lot of beta carotene and lycopene and on green day, you would have taken in a lot of magnesium) however the main driver for weight loss on this regime would be that the vast majority of your food choices are not available each day, so you eat far less.

Major drawbacks of this diet is that it is not nutritionally balanced each day for nutrients such as protein, and, perhaps just as importantly, this diet is completely unrealistic and unsustainable in the long term (unless you have your own personal chef and nutritionist) so you are not likely to stick to it and will gain that weight back on.

The concept of the Sunday “eat all of the colours” is what we should be sticking to every day, maximizing our nutritional intake of the widest range of vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients.

- Sarah Sayers