You probably have experienced "holiday bloat." Having over indulged in food and drink over the holidays, you now want to get rid of that feeling.
A lot of people turn to "detox dieting" to flush their system and feel better. But that method is often misunderstood.
"It comes out in January, becomes extremely popular because people think they need to detox their body," says Registered Dietitian Nishta Saxena. "They're trying to get rid of the holiday fare, extra salt, processed foods, sugar and alcohol. And really detoxing is a medically supervised method of removing poison from your body. That poison could be a toxin, it could be drugs or alcohol. Our bodies with normal intake of food, do not need to detox."
In fact, Saxena says an unsupervised detox, meaning without the assistance of a registered dietitian or your doctor, can be harmful.
"Some people are using laxatives or very strong, large doses of herbal pills or teas," she says. "It can cause things such as laxation of the bowels, excessive diarrhea or you may become dehydrated. At the same time you may be cutting your calories ultra-low. If your detox or cleanse goes on for too long, past three days, you're actually going to lower your metabolic rate."
So what to do? Get more fibre and hydrating liquids into your diet.
"Canadians are still not getting enough fibre, and it's not the first thing you think about," says Saxena. "But getting 30 grams a day, because that's a great baseline to start with. Fibre is the thing your gut wants after feeling bloated and all that extra stuff."
-- With files from CTV --