Detox Diets & Green Tea

As cleansing diets are designed to bring your body back to ideal health in as little time as possible, it makes sense to use all of the weapons at your disposal when embarking on a detox. Green tea is one such powerful item, being rich in both antioxidants and a thermogenic--a fat-burning agent. While you might not think that such a little change would make a big difference, including green tea in your detox plan can bolster the effects from the diet itself.

Detox Diets

Detox diets are short-term, heavily restricted dieting solutions designed to rid your body of accumulated impurities. Detox diets vary in type, ranging from the relatively benign (such as the Fruit Flush Detox--protein, fruits and vegetables) to the outstandingly bizarre (such as the Master Cleanse, which confines you to nothing but lemonade and syrup for weeks at a time). No matter your plan, most any detox can benefit from the inclusion of green tea.

Green Tea

Green tea has been enjoyed for centuries in Eastern countries, but it has only been recently discovered in the West. Green tea contains the highest number of antioxidants out of any of the main types of tea. Furthermore, green tea also contains a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a thermogenic. EGCG causes the body to burn additional calories throughout the day, making green tea advantageous for individuals looking for simple tricks to lose extra weight.

Green Tea Detox

The best form of green tea detox is not a heavily restricted plan like the Master Cleanse, but a more mild, natural form of cleansing. While on your green tea detox, consume mainly fruits and vegetables, especially ones that are rich in color (such as leafy greens like spinach and all types of berries). Substitute healthier grains such as quinoa and buckwheat while eliminating all consumption of white flour and sugary items. Furthermore, add plenty of nuts and legumes to your diet, as the additional fiber will help flush out your digestive tract. Throughout all of this, consume green tea liberally in place of coffee to reap its fat-burning and antioxidant benefits.

Green Tea Benefits

According to Dr. Nigel Perricone, a guest on the "Oprah Winfrey Show," the benefits of green tea are so powerful that you could lose up to 10 pounds in just six weeks. Perricone was referring only to the possible weight-loss benefits of switching your daily coffee for green tea, so those benefits could be even greater if green tea is part of a fully optimized detox regime.

Considerations

While your detox diet should not last much longer than a week or two, do not think cessation of the diet means that you have to abandon your newfound green tea habit. Continuing to consume green tea instead of coffee past the end of your detox plan can allow you to retain the health-promoting benefits of your hard work during the detox for as long as possible. In fact, aim to keep many of the habits learned during the detox diet during your "normal" eating--focus your meals around fruit, veggies and whole grains. This will help you stay healthier in general, decreasing the need for another rigorous detox in the future.