Introduction

Today I’m going to discuss one of those fashionable topics that appear on the web and in magazines, the use of detox shakes to lose weight.

What are detox shakes?

They are a mixture of fruits and vegetables blended with ice to make them cooler or even with vegetable drinks or milk.

The truth is that they can be made in an infinite number of combinations to suit everybody’s taste. Typically they include cucumber, spinach, ginger, celery, kiwi, chard, apple, carrot, beetroot, pear, lemon, strawberries, etc. The fruits and vegetables that you like the best in different proportions to suit the consumer’s taste.

What do they provide?

Mainly water, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Depending on the products used, they will be more or less rich in some nutrients or others. The most common minerals found in fruit and vegetables used for shakes are potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, etc. As regards vitamins, vitamin C predominates followed by those of group B and beta-carotenes, which are the precursors of vitamin A in the body.

But do they help you lose weight?

Well no, detox shakes don’t make you lose weight. There is no food that makes you lose weight by itself, and neither does a mixture of several foods.

For me, the greatest value is that by blending the fruits and vegetables you ingest all the pulp, so that the amount of fibre you eat is greater than when you drink the juices. They’re a tasty and healthy alternative, can be a good option for a snack or for breakfast and you can add a whole series of foods that can complement the shake such as dried fruit, nuts and seeds.

But they are not a panacea, they don’t cure diseases, they don’t detoxify or cleanse. In our body, cleansing is performed by the kidneys and liver, so it’s not necessary to take any shake for them to perform their function.

The vitamins of vegetables and fruit are thermolabile, that is, they are sensitive to temperature. So one of the benefits of shakes is that they are often consumed immediately and don’t go through any thermal treatment, preserving all the benefits of these micronutrients.

In order to prevent diabetes and obesity, it is very important to consume vegetables and fruit. This is the positive side of detox shakes. But consuming them will never prevent the appearance of or cure these diseases.

In summary, if you like shakes, consume them without having any pretensions, without thinking they will make you lose weight or cure any disease.

Use seasonal products and enjoy them freshly made.

Geles

Mi nombre es MªÁngeles Cano Villalba, pero llámame Geles. Soy Dietista-nutricionista y cocinera aficionada. En Natural Castelló voy a ayudarte a cuidar tu alimentación y tu salud.