Detox diets have the main purpose of helping us get rid of accumulated toxins. The attitude of mainstream medicine to these diets is that they don't make any contribution to our well-being but if used sensibly they won't do any harm. However, over indulgence in diets can be more lethal than eating too much junk food.

The Seven Day Detox diet is one of many weight loss detox diets. The basic claim for this diet is that you can lose seven pounds in a week. This diet claims to help us eliminate toxins, ease bloating and lessen water retention.

A quick summation of the seven day diet goes something like this: On day one eat any fruit you want except bananas. On day two eat nothing but vegetables. On day three eat vegetables and fruit, but again, no bananas. On day four eat eight bananas and drink four glasses of milk. On days five, six and seven eat four steaks and lots of green vegetables. Although the seven day diet has lots of supporters it is quite low in calories and generally unbalanced.

It's a fact that a large part of the weight you lose if you undertake a detox diet will be water. You can also expect to lose some muscle mass and fat. A detox diet helps us to get rid of excess sodium in our bodies, which in turn sheds water weight.

There does not seem to be any direct connection between detoxing and losing weight but it is true that our bodies do take in many toxins. It is also true that a fast and a good rest make us feel refreshed with a renewed attitude to our health.

If the idea of limiting what you eat for seven days does not appeal to you, a three-day diet may be more within your reach. The three day diet is a low calorie diet that has many fans but critics say that any weight loss is reversed within days. There is also a diet regime called the three-day water fast. You must use only purified water and reduce your normal level of physical activity.

There are certain foods that will not contribute to weight gain. You can snack away to your heart's content and you won't gain an ounce. That's what the experts say, anyway. Food that does not add calories is not good as an entire diet plan. You would be depriving yourself of nutrients.

Snack foods that do not contribute to weight gain typically have only about four to six calories and you will use more energy than that just in the act of eating them. Such foods as celery, grapefruit, beans, lemon, lettuce, radishes, spinach, tomatoes turnips and watermelons all make great snacks with little or no preparation.

You can replace whatever you usually snack on with these so-called "negative calorie" foods. They fulfill all the needs of a snack in that they fill a few minutes of time between useful work and they give your stomach that full feeling.

Another diet plan that helps you lose weight as well as toxins involves eating only one kind of food at each meal. For instance at breakfast you could eat some kind of melon, at lunch only oranges and in the evening just apples. You can eat until you feel full and you can vary the fruits you eat on a daily basis, just eat one kind at each meal.

If you take on a detox diet make sure you are able to reduce you physical work so that you don't use up too much energy. Rest is a big component of the fasting process, so make sure you can get as much as your body needs.