Great American Detox Diet
Alex Jamieson, a Health Coach, vegan chef, and graduate of IIN, originally created this diet for her husband, director Morgan Spurlock, who gorged himself on McDonald’s for approximately 30 days in his popular documentary, Super Size Me. Her diet helped Spurlock drop the weight and spawned a new set of followers, which prompted her to write her book, The Great American Detox Diet.
In her book, Jamieson focuses on lifestyle changes rather than following a set of strict dietary rules. She describes her own journey from growing up in a household where wholesome, healthy meals were readily available, to sugar-addiction and poor eating habits that lasted through college and after, hitting her “like a ton of bricks” once she settled into a desk job.
The Great American Detox Diet stresses the importance of whole, natural foods to help detoxify the body and reverse the damage done by processed sugars, flours, meat, dairy, wheat, caffeine, and alcohol. By eating more whole – preferably organic – foods, Jamieson says you’ll lose weight, eliminate allergies, improve chronic ailments, increase energy, restore balance in the body, and overcome addictions and cravings.
The author notes that “the FDA acknowledged that nearly one billion pounds of chemical additives are put into our food each year and the average American consumes over 50 pounds of additives a year.” In addition to the diet, she recommends drinking plenty of filtered, distilled water, and eating fiber and at least one serving of leafy green vegetables a day.
Foods to include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Beans
- Tempeh
- Tofu
- Complex carbohydrates
- Sea vegetables
- Raw chocolate
- Olive oil
Foods to avoid:
- Meat
- Dairy
- Refined carbohydrates
- Refined sugar
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
Pros:
- Lots of recipes provided
- Whole, fresh foods and clean eating encouraged
- Could be lifestyle approach rather than diet
Cons:
- Veganism won’t work for everyone
- Diet may be restrictive
Sources:
Alex Jamieson’s The Great American Detox Diet
The Great American Detox Diet – Review www.homemadebodycleanse.com (Links to an external site.)
Delicious Vitality www.nutritionforempoweredwomen.com (Links to an external site.)
