A detox diet is short, focused diet program focused on eliminating environmental and dietary toxins from your system. Although there are many types of detox diets, the foods that are allowed are often quite similar, unless it is a juice fast.
Foods to Include
Fruits
- fresh or frozen fruits
- unsweetened, natural juice
- dried fruit - unsweetened, in limited amounts, such as cranberries, dates, raisins, goji berries
Vegetables
- Vegetables thought to be particularly good detox foods include broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, artichokes, beets, and dark leafy greens such as kale, collard greens, and swiss chard
- sea vegetables, including kelp, nori sheets, wakame
- corn - avoid corn as it is acid-forming
- note: some people are sensitive to the nightshade family of vegetables, which includes tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, and potatoes, and may wish to avoid them
Grains and Starches
- rice, especially brown rice
- quinoa
- buckwheat
- millet
- amaranth
- wild rice
- oats
- whole grains are preferred, but products made from the above may be allowed, such as brown rice pasta, pure buckwheat noodles, rice crackers, and bread
Beans and Legumes
- split yellow and green peas
- lentils
- adzuki beans
Nuts and Seeds
- almonds
- cashews
- walnuts
- sunflower seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- sesame seeds
- chia seeds
- hemp seeds, hemp nuts
- coconut, especially young coconuts
- tahini
- nut and butters made only with allowed ingredients
- peanuts and peanut butter - usually not recommended
Choose unsalted, raw nuts and seeds.
Oils
- cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil
- hemp oil
- flax oil
- chia oil
- almond oil
- avocado oil
- coconut oil
- safflower, sesame, and sunflower oils in limited amounts (due to omega-6 fatty acids)
The detox diet food list is continued on the next page
