Detox diets are 'nonsense' and 'waste of money'  

If your New Year's resolution involves detox diet, then here's a piece of information for you - the weight loss plan is "nonsense" and a waste of money, leading dieticians have warned.

The British Dietetic Association, which represents 6,000 dieticians across Britain, said that there was no "potion or lotion" which could "magically" rid the body of chemicals.

Health experts have dismissed the theory behind detox that dangerous toxins build up in the body. Instead, the experts said that the body was constantly cleaning itself, reports the Telegraph.

Slimmers undergoing a detox are usually advised to cut out a wide range of "unhealthy" foods and supplement their diet with vitamin drinks.

However, the BDA insists that there is no such toxic build-up, and branded the industry "pseudo scientific".

Dr Frankie Phillips, a spokesperson for the BDA, said, "The whole idea of detox is nonsense. The body is a well-developed system that has its own built-in mechanisms to detoxify and remove waste from top to toe.

"Skin, the gut and liver and kidneys are all chemically-controlled powerhouses that respond to signals in the form of, for example, hormones, to remove waste products - typically detoxifying the body constantly. There are no pills or specific drinks, patches or lotions that can do a magic job.

"If you have over-indulged on alcohol, for example, the liver works hard to break down the alcohol into products it can remove. Being well-hydrated is a sensible strategy. It sounds predicable, but for the vast majority of people, a sensible diet and regular physical activity really are the only ways to properly protect your health for the year ahead."