Detox Diet Food Do’s and Don’ts

If you’re planning a brief detox diet, you’ll want to make sure you eat the foods that increase your chances of success and avoid the foods that will hurt your efforts. Here is a list of the best and worst foods to eat while you’re on the diet.

Best Detox Diet Foods

• Fruit: You can eat any fruit including fresh, frozen, dried or canned in natural fruit juice. This includes apples, bananas, pears, oranges, grapefruit, satsumas, sultanas, raisins, pineapple, mango, kiwi fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, nectarines, peaches, and melons.
• Fruit juice: Either make homemade fruit juices or smoothies from fresh fruit, or drink ready-made juices. Make sure ready-made juices are labelled as pure or unsweetened.
• Vegetables: Eat any vegetables including fresh, frozen or canned in water (without salt added). This includes carrots, onions, turnip, swede, sprouts, cabbage, peppers, mushrooms, corn, peppers, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, salad, tomatoes, and cucumber.
• Beans and lentils: Eat any beans, including those that have been dried or canned in water. This includes red kidney, haricot, cannellini, butter, black eye, pinto, red lentils, green lentils and brown lentils.
• Potatoes: Eat all types
• Brown rice and rice noodles
• Rye crackers and rice cakes
• Fresh fish: Eat any fresh fish including cod, mackerel, salmon, lobster, crab, trout, haddock, tuna, prawns, Dover sole, red mullet, halibut, lemon sole, monkfish, and swordfish. You can eat canned salmon and tuna in water.
• Unsalted nuts: Eat any, including Brazil, peanuts, almonds, cashew, hazel nuts, macadamia, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio, and walnuts
• Unsalted seeds: Eat any, including sunflower and pumpkin.
• Plain popcorn: Eat without sugar or salt
• Live natural yogurt
• Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Garlic, ginger and fresh herbs
• Ground black pepper
• Honey
• Water: Drink at least eight ounces of tap or mineral water a day.
• Herbal or fruit teas

Foods to Avoid During Your Detox

• Red meat, chicken, turkey, and meat products such as sausages, burgers, and pate
• Milk, cheese, eggs, cream
• Butter and margarine
• Any food that contains wheat including bread, croissants, cereals, cakes, pies, pastry, quiche, or battered and breadcrumbed foods
• Salted nuts
• Chocolate, candy, jam and sugar
• Processed foods, and ready-made meals and sauces
• Alcohol
• Coffee and tea
• Sauces, pickles, store-bought salad dressing, and mayonnaise
• Salt
• Carbonated drinks, both sugar and diet

Now that you know the dos and don’ts of detox diet foods, you’re halfway to success!

By guest blogger Joan Yankowitz.

Joan writes on a wide variety of health and fitness topics. She can show you the pros and cons of a cleansing detox diet at HealthyLivingTimes.com