A quick Q & A about detox diets

It's late and I almost gave up on a post for take it off tuesday, but I still suffer from guilt when I don't do posts on a daily basis. Fortunately I found this quick-and-easy ready about detox diets from Fitness magazine. LeShan and I once tried a juice fast--the results weren't pretty including lightheadedness, cold sweats and nausea. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a real detox diet but a juice fast is one way people try to cleanse their system. We haven't tried anything since, unless you consider subsisting solely on brownies and caffeine a detox diet.

In "Can a Detox Diet Improve My Looks?" Fitness magazine focuses on one reason many people detox, and as you can tell it's not for the internal benefits:

Toxin-flushing detox diets are still popular, despite crazy ingredients, weeks-long durations, and extreme restrictions. But can a detox diet really improve your skin and hair, or will it do more damage than good? Top experts reveal the real effects detoxing can have on your looks.

Out of the four questions, my favorite is, "What will I look like after a few days on a detox?" The answer?

Not pretty. You can drop up to five pounds in a week -- primarily water weight. "Losing water that fast can make your skin dry and wrinkly," Blatner says. And going a week without protein can weaken hair, which is 97 percent protein, says Tara Gidus, RD, of the American Dietetic Association.

That's all I need to know! You'll want to read the full mini article, especially since it also answers the question, "Do I need to eliminate toxins with a special diet?" I'll give you a hint: the answer starts with an "n" and ends with an "o." --Emily