After a busy or stressful period in our lives, our mind and body can benefit from a dedicated health and wellness reset. When our gut isn't healthy or we have toxin buildup, we can start feeling an array of symptoms ranging from lack of deep and restorative sleep, brain fog, mood swings, lack of energy, digestive issues, and skin problems. That's when it's time for a cleanse. This article explores a 3-day detox plan, incorporating green tea, to help you reset your body, boost energy, and enhance mood regulation.
Understanding Detox Diets
A 3-day cleansing diet is a short-term diet plan that focuses on consuming whole and natural foods to help detoxify the body. It typically includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. Drinking plenty of water and herbal teas are important too, as they help to flush out toxins.
A detox diet works by helping your body rid itself of unwanted toxins. When on a detox diet, you typically focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods that are rich in nutrients and naturally detoxifying compounds.
The Green Tea Detox
The green tea detox is popular because it’s easy to follow and doesn’t require any major modifications to your diet or lifestyle. It is advertised as a simple way to flush out harmful toxins, boost energy levels, and promote better health. Proponents claim that simply adding a few daily servings of green tea to your diet can clear up blemishes, enhance immune function, and increase fat burning.
Typically, a green tea detox involves adding 3-6 cups (0.7-1.4 liters) of green tea to your normal daily diet for several weeks. It’s recommended to exercise and follow a nutrient-rich diet during the detox.
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Potential Benefits of a Green Tea Detox
While research on the effects of the green tea detox is lacking, plenty of studies have demonstrated the benefits of green tea itself.
Promotes Hydration
Staying hydrated is important to many aspects of your health, as nearly every system in your body requires water to function properly. Proper hydration is essential for filtering waste, regulating your body’s temperature, promoting nutrient absorption, and helping your brain function efficiently. Green tea consists mostly of water and can help you meet your daily fluid requirements.
On a green tea detox, you will likely drink 24-48 ounces (0.7-1.4 liters) of fluids each day from green tea alone. However, green tea should not be your only source of fluids. It should be paired with plenty of water and other healthy beverages to help you stay well hydrated.
Supports Weight Loss
One year-long study in 173 women found that drinking more water was associated with greater fat and weight loss, regardless of diet or exercise. Green tea and its components have been shown to boost weight loss and fat burning.
One study in 23 adults found that consuming green tea extract increased fat burning during exercise by 17%, compared to a placebo. Another large review of 11 studies showed that certain compounds in green tea, including plant chemicals called catechins, could decrease body weight and support weight loss maintenance.
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Nevertheless, these studies used highly concentrated green tea extracts. Studies on regular green tea and weight loss have found that it might have a small, but statistically non-significant, effect on weight loss.
May Aid in Disease Prevention
Green tea contains powerful compounds that are thought to help protect against chronic disease. Test-tube studies have shown that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a type of antioxidant in green tea, may help block the growth of liver, prostate, and lung cancer cells.
Drinking green tea may also help decrease blood sugar levels. One review found that drinking at least 3 cups (237 ml) per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of developing diabetes.
Some research shows that drinking green tea may be linked to lower risks of heart disease and stroke. A review of 9 studies found that people who drank at least 1 cup (237 ml) of green tea per day had a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Those who drank at least 4 cups (946 ml) per day were less likely to have a heart attack than those who didn’t drink any green tea.
That said, additional studies are needed to understand if following a short-term green tea detox can help prevent disease.
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Potential Drawbacks of a Green Tea Detox
Despite the potential benefits of a green tea detox, there are downsides to consider.
High in Caffeine
A single 8-ounce (237-ml) serving of green tea contains approximately 35 mg of caffeine. Drinking 3-6 cups (0.7-1.4 liters) of green tea per day can pile onto your caffeine intake, adding up to 210 mg of caffeine per day from green tea alone.
Caffeine is a stimulant that can cause side effects like anxiety, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and sleep disturbances, especially when consumed in high amounts. It’s also addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms like headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and mood changes.
For most adults, up to 400 mg of caffeine per day is considered safe. However, some people may be more sensitive to its effects, so consider cutting back if you experience any negative symptoms.
Impaired Nutrient Absorption
Green tea contains certain polyphenols, such as EGCG and tannins, which can bind to micronutrients and block their absorption in your body. In particular, green tea has been shown to reduce iron absorption and might cause iron deficiency in some people.
Although enjoying the occasional cup of green tea is unlikely to cause nutritional deficiencies in healthy adults, a green tea detox may not be advisable for those at a higher risk of iron deficiency. If you are at risk of iron deficiency, stick to drinking green tea between meals and try to wait at least one hour after eating before drinking tea.
Unnecessary and Ineffective
Drinking green tea can benefit your health, but the green tea detox is likely ineffective and unnecessary for weight loss and detoxification. Your body has a built-in detox system to clear out toxins and harmful compounds.
Additionally, while a long-term, regular intake of green tea has been shown to benefit your health in many ways, drinking it for just a few weeks is unlikely to have much of an impact. Furthermore, although adding green tea to your diet may result in small and short-term weight loss, it’s unlikely to be long-lasting or sustainable once the detox ends.
Therefore, green tea should be viewed as a component of a healthy diet and lifestyle - not part of a “detox.”
Sample 3-Day Detox Meal Plan
This plan is free of caffeine, alcohol, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and sugar substitutes. It is approximately 1,500 calories per day. If you require more or fewer calories, you can simply alter the portion sizes, but do not skip any of the meals or snacks.
Day 1
- Breakfast: In a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, make a 3-egg-white omelet filled with 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese and ½ cup of sliced tomatoes and onions (or other vegetable of choice).
- Lunch: Washed baby spinach leaves (or other dark green salad greens) topped with 4 ounces of grilled chicken, 8-10 sliced red grapes, sliced red onion and 2 tablespoons slivered almonds. Dress salad with fresh lemon juice and 2 teaspoons olive oil.
- Dinner: Bake a 5-ounce piece of cod or tilapia (or other white flaky fish). Place fish in a baking dish, top with 2 teaspoons olive oil, fresh lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt and pepper.
Day 2
- Breakfast: Green tea.
- Lunch: Top a 6-inch whole-wheat tortilla with ¼ of a sliced avocado, 2 slices of tomato, 2 slices of part-skim mozzarella cheese, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and 1 romaine lettuce leaf.
- Dinner: Bake a 5-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast with fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of capers or sliced green olives (in oven-proof baking dish at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cooked through).
Day 3
- Breakfast: Green tea.
- Lunch: Washed baby spinach leaves (or other dark green salad greens) topped with 4 ounces of grilled chicken, 8-10 sliced red grapes, sliced red onion and 2 tablespoons slivered almonds. Dress salad with fresh lemon juice and 2 teaspoons olive oil.
- Dinner: Broil a lean 4-ounce ground sirloin burger (or lean ground turkey burger) and serve it on a whole-wheat English muffin topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions.
Important Considerations
- Hydration: Drink adequate water - about 64 ounces per day. Almost all of your liquids should be pure, unadulterated water.
- Sleep: Get at least seven to eight hours of sleep per day.
- Listen to Your Body: Go easy on your body during a cleanse. You don't have to stop working out altogether, just make sure you're doing gentle, low-impact movements to help your lymphatic system expel toxins.
The Military Diet: A Different Approach
The 3-Day Diet, also called the Military Diet, is a fad diet that claims that by drastically cutting calories for three days, you can drop 10 pounds in a week. This diet only allows 1,100 to 1,400 calories per day and spells out exactly what you should eat for three days. It doesn't allow you to snack in between meals.
The menu is made up of three breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. For instance, one lunch consists of one cup of cottage cheese, one hard-boiled egg, and five saltine crackers. For dinner, you can have one cup of tuna, half a banana, and one cup of vanilla ice cream.
While this diet may result in short-term weight loss, it's important to note that it's not a sustainable or healthy approach to weight management. Health experts don't recommend eating significantly less than the average adult needs (about 1,600 to 3,000 calories each day). It's important to talk to your doctor before starting any new diet, especially one that cuts out food groups or drastically reduces your calories.
The Elimination Diet
The Elimination Diet is an important pillar in functional medicine. It involves eliminating foods that we might be sensitive to or that are causing some sort of inflammation. The Elimination Diet consists of removing Dairy & Eggs, Gluten, Sugar, Coffee, and Alcohol. It is also suggested to remove all processed foods.
Liquid Meals
Liquid meals help free up energetic and nutritional resources for our bodies to use. They help speed up the digestive process since they are practically ready for absorption. Since the body does not have to work as hard to digest the food, more nutrients can be absorbed at a faster rate and with a smaller energy requirement. As you reduce the energy and nutritional requirements for digestion, you free up these resources for other body systems and functions to use.
Other Detox Options
If you want to take a step further in resetting your body, try a 7-day cleanse or 21-day cleanse program. You'll not only continue supporting your body with nourishing and clean food, but you'll also enhance your body's processes and functions with supplements that support detoxification and gut health, and help restore the much-needed balance we seek in our busy and modern lives.
Potential Side Effects
Cleansing diets can cause unwanted side effects such as headaches, nausea, chills, skin rashes, and even bad breath. Side effects typically mean your detox is working, since they can often be the unfortunate result of your body releasing built-up toxins.
Is a 3-Day Green Tea Detox Right for You?
Healthline gives the green tea detox diet a 2.79 out of 5. It’s easy to follow and promotes hydration but can also impair nutrient absorption.
The green tea detox is unnecessary and ineffective. Not only is it very high in caffeine, but it also may impair your nutrient absorption. As its health claims are overblown, it’s best to avoid this detox.
It's important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any detox diet, especially if you have underlying health conditions.