Ben Greenfield Fitness: Diet, Fat Loss And Performance

When you’re scrambling to slim down for the New Year or burn fat fast to get ready for swimsuit season, doing a quick crash course cleanse may seem like an easy way to get things done. After all, detox diets promise to help you shed pounds fast, flush out toxins from your gut, liver, kidney or colon, give your digestive system a much-needed break, eliminate brain fog, maximize energy levels, cure your food cravings, and even improve your hair, skin and nails. The problem is, detoxes can be dangerous. Often, much of the weight loss is due to muscle wasting, self-cannibalization and dangerous levels of dehydration. This can result in a long-term lowering of your metabolism, hormonal imbalances and a body that easily becomes fatigued, overtrained, skinny-fat, and more likely to gain weight in the future. Worse yet, as I discussed in the recent root canals podcast, many detoxes (especially heavy metal detoxes) leach metals and other toxins into the bloodstream. If you have a leaky blood brain barrier caused by la