Is a Detox Diet Safe for Children?
Environmental toxins affect children just like they do adults. If anything, they might actually affect
children more because their bodies are still growing and developing. This is why women are
discouraged from doing certain things during pregnancy, such as smoking or drinking. If toxins
find their way into a fetus, the unhealthy nutrients that they would be receiving due to toxins could
cause developmental issues. Having the knowledge that children are just as exposed to toxins
as adults are makes many parents wonder whether or not they can safely put their children on a
Detox diet.
Various research has shown that childhood problems such as aggressive behavior, ADD and
autism may be linked to the toxic chemicals that children are exposed to. If you’re concerned
about keeping your child healthy, you probably want to know for sure what principles from a Detox
diet you could apply to your child’s diet to help them be less susceptible to the harmful effects of
toxins. Most Detox diets are too rigorous for children if followed completely, but there are a few
things that you can take from them to help your children.
Extreme Detox diets such as Master Cleanse should not be tried on children. They are too
powerful and could cause too much potential harm. Cathy Wong discusses how it’s harmful for
children and nursing women to undergo any type of fasting or Detox diets in her article “The
Master Cleanse.”
Even though you can’t put your child on a rigorous Detox diet, there are still a lot of healthy fruits,
vegetables, drinks and vitamin supplements that are perfectly safe for children to consume. “The
Detox Revolution” by Slaga and Kueneke explains what a wide variety of natural detoxifying fruits
and vegetables there are available. You can find fruits and vegetables like onions and garlic,
broccoli sprouts, grapefruit, oranges, spinach, apples, tomatoes, blueberries and more that are
going to help your child’s body naturally rid itself of some toxins. This book teaches parents how
to put together different snack mixtures for their children such as dried blueberries and
cranberries, walnuts, almonds and healthy seeds so that children can reap the benefits of toxin
removal as well.
Most children are used to sugary diets, which isn’t really good for children and can cause them to
be hyperactive, moody or to display inappropriate behavior. Even if you monitor your child’s
sugar intake, they can still get sugar in lots of other places such as school or a friend’s house.
The Detox diet tips mentioned here can help you regulate the amount of sugar that your child
consumes, leading to a healthier, happier child.
There are particular Detox diet remedies for children that focus mostly on ridding your child’s
body of sugar, such as those mentioned in a book entitled “The New Detox Diet.” It assists with
weaning children off sugar by suggesting natural nutritional supplements, such as chromium,
which counteracts sugar cravings. Vitamin B and Vitamin C are also helpful in removing sugar
from a child’s diet. Keep in mind that this approach to detoxifying your child’s body should only
be used on children that are at least 6 years old and that you should give them small doses. You
should also focus on whole grains, lots of vegetables and proteins when trying to eliminate
sugar from any diet.
It is possible to put your child on a milder form of a Detox diet, but they can’t go on the same type
that an adult would because it could be harmful to their developing bodies and their health. As
long as you are smart and do your research, you are sure to be able to find a healthy alternative
to help clean toxins out of your child’s body.



© the10daydetox.com 2009