What Is a Full Liquid Diet?

A full liquid diet is one that consists strictly of liquids. You can drink teas, freshly extracted fruit or vegetable juices or pulverized fruits in a thin "slush," or sip clear soups.
The reason people go on a full liquid diet is to lose weight or to do a directed detoxification program that includes drinking herbal teas such as dandelion leaf, buckthorn root, yellow dock or burdock.
In the 1970s, the Master Cleanse, a lemonade made from lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper, was a popular fast to lose weight and cleanse.

Identification

If you are interested in consuming a full liquid diet for more than one day, consult your doctor.
Liquid diets include consuming only water and teas such as peppermint, chamomile or detox teas with senna leaf and cascara sagrada to cleanse the colon.
To sustain a liquid diet for more than a few days, consider a juice diet consisting of fruits and vegetables processed through a powerful juicer. You will get the vitamins and minerals from these foods without the fiber, making them easy to absorb.
Clear vegetable broth can be made by chopping up several kinds of vegetables and boiling in a pot with 4 to 5 cups of filtered water for an hour. Strain and drink throughout the day.

Types

Simple liquid diets consist of water and herbal teas. These are the shortest diets, as the body is not receiving any nutrition and this is best done under a doctor's care.
Liquid diets that include fresh fruit and vegetable juices do provide vitamins and minerals and can be carried out for several days for healthy people.
Consuming detoxification teas such as yellow dock, burdock root or red clover will have a cleansing effect on the colon and other internal organs.

Function

The primary function of full liquid diets is to ease the burden of digestion on the body by not consuming any solid foods. When you eat solid foods, enzymes must be produced to digest the foods. The stomach must produce hydrochloric acid (HCl), and waste is formed.
Consuming a liquid diet bypasses these processes or involves them only minimally. This will give the digestive system a much-needed break for many people who overeat or do not chew their food well.
By producing less waste, the body can "clean house" and remove the waste it already has in "storage" in the colon.

Benefits

People often lose weight on a liquid diet. This is often water weight, but if the liquid fast is for more than 10 to 12 days, the weight loss may be more permanent.
As a result of the detoxification, many people report that minor skin blemishes clear up and they are able to cleanse the colon thoroughly if they are consuming detoxification teas.

Misconceptions

It is not appropriate to drink only water for any length of time as this is generally too harsh for most people. Those who do will often develop headaches and fatigue and may become constipated, as they are not consuming fiber to move their bowels.

Prevention/Solution

During any liquid fast, it is important to have at least one, if not two or more, daily bowel movements. Drink detox teas with senna leaf, cascara sagrada and other herbs to move the bowels.
Otherwise, you will not cleanse properly and the liquid diet becomes counterproductive. You may feel more toxic.