What is the Lemon detox diet?
The lemon detox diet involves consuming a lemon-juice based mixture for 5 to 10 days, with no solid foods. The diet claims that this detox will remove all toxins from the body tissues and from the blood stream and will also result in weight loss. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this diet and it can be harmful in some cases.
What the diet says you can eat?
Nothing! The lemon detox drink replaces all meals over the course of the diet. You consume 6–9 glasses of the lemon detox drink per day (i.e. 2–3 glasses of the lemon detox drink at each mealtime (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). This diet supplies you with 2500kJ per day. The lemon detox drinks can be purchased online or at pharmacies.
What are the potential benefits of the Lemon detox diet?
None!
What are the downsides and risks of the Lemon detox diet?
- Weight regain. Whilst weight loss will likely result after 5–10 days on this energy restricted detox program, the effect of weight loss will be temporary and weight regain will likely result after completing the detox and resuming usual eating patterns.
- Nutritionally inadequate. This diet removes all solid food for 5–10 days! This diet is not nutritionally adequate especially in regards to energy, fibre, protein, fat and vitamins and minerals. This is not a diet that should be undertaken at all.
- Hard to follow. This diet removes the social aspect of eating. This diet makes it hard to eat out; it is not a social diet.
- May not enjoy the taste of the drink.
- Unsupported by current scientific evidence. There is currently no literature that can validate the health benefits associated with the lemon detox diet. This is a restrictive, hard to follow diet that may result in nutritional deficiencies and that has no proven scientific benefits.
- Potential side effects: including headaches, fatigue, malnutrition, gastrointestinal problems.
This diet is similar to:
Any Detox and cleansing diets i.e., “The drinking detox”, or “3-day detox diet”.
The bottom line:
DO NOT follow this diet.
There is no need to ‘detox’. Your body does a great job of removing toxins from the body itself. The kidneys, lungs, liver, skin and intestines are all organs that work to ‘detox’ your body so there is no need for you to follow detoxing programs; your body is doing this for you.
To find out if your diet is healthy check out our Healthy Eating Quiz.
