Nutritious Delicious And Kosher

Eat Clean Instead of Cleansing

By: BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD, CDN

Whether it was kugel, kishka or canadles, if you’re like most of us, you probably overdid it over the holidays. Special days usually prompt us to pull out traditional recipes that are often loaded with fat, sugar and enough calories to drive us to detox. Cleansing and detox diets have become an incredibly hot topic in the media these days … but proceed with caution before you embark upon any of these potentially dangerous plans.

 The premise of the detox diet is to rid your body of toxic or poisonous materials that accumulate from the environment or from your diet. Well, save yourself some time, money and gastrointestinal anguish: your body already has the ability to eliminate toxins naturally, without you going to any extreme measures. This natural process occurs every time you urinate or move your bowels, and cleansing diets just make this course of action happen more quickly. The intended basis for such diets, whether aiding indigestion, alleviating fatigue or creating weight loss, may actually create the problems you’re looking to battle. Such programs are particularly harmful for children, pregnant or lactating women, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders or kidney disease.

In most cases, a detox plan includes lots of fluid along with a cocktail of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Some plans also embrace a combo of veggies and fruit or produce purees.  These programs discourage protein, whole grains and healthy fats, leading to muscle weakness and gastrointestinal distress. The "euphoric" feeling described by followers is often the result of lightheadedness due to an inadequate caloric intake. These diets are not consistent with sound scientific recommendations and instead, they support improper eating habits, producing more harm than help.

But if you want to safely cut some calories after some holiday indulgences, instead of cleansing, try eating “clean”.  Here’s what you can do:

• Pay close attention to the sources of fat in your diet, like butter, margarine, spreads, and oil. Although oils like canola and olive oils are healthier choices, they are far from being low in calories. At around 2,000 calories a cup, these fats play a huge role in escalating those numbers on the scale.
• Try to slash the sugar you add to recipes. Unless you are baking a delicate cake, in most cases, sugar can be reduced. If you cut back on sugar and add honey, you didn’t make any improvements, you just changed the flavor.
• Trim portions on your plate and the portions you serve to your family. If you’re trying to cut calories, try to let everyone take their meals from serving plates on the countertop instead of serving family style. It’s fine to keep the veggies and salad bowl at the table, but leaving a steamy platter of the noodle pudding in front you during dinner is a greater challenge than most people can endure.
• Slim down the side dishes.  Try to make veggies take up at least 1/2 your plate. I’ve never counseled a patient that was overweight because they ate too many vegetables.

So remember that variety and balanced eating will help you to lose weight without losing energy. If cleansing diets really "flushed out" fat and toxins, I think we’d be spending more time in the bathroom than in the kitchen. The one thing you can count on is that a detox diet will be a moving experience!

Author Bio:

- BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD, CDN authors Kosher.com’s "Nutritious, Delicious and Kosher: Tips for Healthy Kosher Living and Eating," providing nutritional insight to site visitors/users. She is a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and Director and Owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants with offices on Long Island and in New York City. She is also a specialist in behavior and lifestyle modification, nutritional psychotherapy, obesity and weight management. - Read more...