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Why Detox?

For those of you who struggle with weight, who are skinny on the outside but fat on the inside, or who have FLC (feel like crap) syndrome, food addiction is often at the root. Addiction to sugar, flour, and processed foods hijacks your life and leads to metabolic chaos—increasing cravings and hunger, slowing metabolism, and packing on belly fat. Although the idea of a detox may sound extreme, I strongly believe that it is the only way to balance your hormones and blood sugar, reduce insulin spikes, cool off inflammation, improve digestion, and boost your metabolism. Think of it as a delicious, energy-boosting, scientific method for detoxing from foods high in sugars and refined carbohydrates and processed food.

We tracked more than 600 people who tried the 10-Day Detox Diet program and found that they experienced dramatic results. On average they lost 8 pounds and 3.4 percent of their body weight, 2 inches off their waist, and 1 inch off their hips. Some people lost up to 10 inches around their waist, and up to 11 inches around their hips. The average drop in fasting blood sugar was 18 points. The average blood pressure fell 10 points. Even better, they had more energy, reported better sleep, and experienced improvements in their mood. They had a 62 percent reduction in symptoms from all diseases. There is no drug on the planet that can do that. One seventy-year-old man told me he lost 45 pounds, got off 52 units of insulin, and completely reversed his diabetes. Another told me his rheumatoid arthritis went away in ten days, and yet another reported that her daily migraines had vanished. These results came not from pill bottles but from food.

In the following pages, I feature three quizzes that will help you identify if you are addicted to food in any way, or if your relationship to food is interfering with the quality of your life, or if food is doing anything other than helping you thrive and feel amazing. If so, then you need this detox. If you have diabesity—the continuum of metabolic damage ranging from a little belly fat to pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes, or if you just don’t feel well, then the 10-Day Detox Diet can profoundly improve your health and the quality of your life. And because I encourage you to keep track of your progress during the detox, you will see the results right away.

ARE YOU A FOOD ADDICT?

I’m fed up with the food giants and even many health professionals who perpetuate the myth that a calorie is a calorie—that the 500 calories you wolf down in a Big Mac have the same impact on your body as 500 calories of broccoli. Not all calories are equal. Calories from sugar and refined carbs spike blood sugar, trigger insulin, and lead to a cascade of hormonal and brain chemistry changes that promote fat storage, hunger, and a slow metabolism. Science also supports the notion that your Big Mac, Double Gulp, and other hyperprocessed fat, sugar, and salt bombs are addictive.

While at Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, my friend and colleague Kelly Brownell, PhD, created a scientifically validated food questionnaire to help you determine whether you are a food addict. I’ve adapted the quiz below.

QUIZ: Are You Addicted to Food?

Ask yourself how often you experience any of these feelings and behaviors (hint: the more often you experience them, the more addicted you are):

  • You consume certain foods even if you are not hungry, because of cravings.
  • You worry about cutting down on certain foods.
  • You feel sluggish or fatigued from overeating.
  • You have spent time dealing with negative feelings from overeating certain foods, instead of spending time in important activities with family, friends, work, or recreation.
  • You have had withdrawal symptoms such as agitation and anxiety when you’ve cut down on certain foods (do not include caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, or energy drinks).
  • Your behavior with respect to food and eating causes you significant distress.
  • Issues related to food and eating decrease your availability to function effectively (daily routine, job/school, social or family activities, health difficulties).
  • You need more and more of the foods you crave to experience any pleasure or to reduce negative emotions.

If you see yourself in these clues, don’t worry—you’re far from alone. Millions of people in every corner of the world have fallen into the food addiction trap. The 10-Day Detox Diet helps you discover once and for all the path that leads you out of biochemical imprisonment and into food freedom. This cookbook helps support you on your journey.

DO YOU HAVE DIABESITY?

As if food addiction isn’t destructive enough on its own, the industrial foods that have this druglike effect can also lead to diabesity. Type 2 diabetes now affects one in two American adults (and one in four kids).

In the following quiz, you’ll discover whether you’re suffering from the symptoms of pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes—inflammation, high triglycerides, unhealthy cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. If you answer “yes” to even one of the following questions, you may already have diabesity or are headed in that direction.

QUIZ: Do I Have Diabesity?

1. Do you have a family history of diabetes, heart disease, or obesity?

2. Are you of nonwhite ancestry (African, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Indian, Middle Eastern)?

3. Are you overweight (body mass index, or BMI, over 25)? Go to www.10daydetox.com/tools to calculate your BMI based on your weight and height.

4. Do you have extra belly fat? Is your waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men?

5. Do you crave sugar and refined carbohydrates?

6. Do you have trouble losing weight on a low-fat diet?

7. Has your doctor told you that your blood sugar is a little high (greater than 100 mg/dL) or have you actually been diagnosed with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or type 2 diabetes?

8. Do you have high levels of triglycerides (over 100 mg/dL) or low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol (under 50 mg/dL)?

9. Do you have heart disease?

10. Do you have high blood pressure?

11. Are you inactive (less than 30 minutes of exercise 4 times a week)?

12. Do you suffer from infertility, low sex drive, or sexual dysfunction?

13. For women: Have you had gestational diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)?

ARE YOU SICK?

You’ll also want to find out just how sick you are by taking the Toxicity Quiz (adapted from the Immuno Symptom Checklist created in 1989 by Immuno Laboratories). Most of us walk around tolerating chronic symptoms (not just weight issues) that are connected to what we eat, including digestive issues, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, depression, autoimmune diseases, and more. Most of us just don’t connect the dots. If we eat crap, we will feel like crap. This quiz will give you a baseline for your existing symptoms, which are indications of being toxic and inflamed. Score it now and again after you’ve completed the program, and you will experience for yourself, after just ten days, a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel.

For the “before” part of the questionnaire, rate each of the following symptoms based upon your health profile for the past 30 days.

Point Scale

0 = Never or almost never have the symptom

1 = Occasionally have it, effect is not severe

2 = Occasionally have, effect is severe

3 = Frequently have it, effect is not severe

4 = Frequently have it, effect is severe

Digestive Tract

  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Bloated feeling
  • Belching or passing gas
  • Heartburn
  • Intestinal/stomach pain
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Ears

  • Itchy ears
  • Earaches or ear infections
  • Drainage from ear
  • Ringing or hearing loss
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Emotions

  • Mood swings
  • Anxiety, fear, or nervousness
  • Anger, irritability, or aggressiveness
  • Depression
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Energy/Activity

  • Fatigue or sluggishness
  • Apathy or lethargy
  • Hyperactivity
  • Restlessness
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Eyes

  • Watery or itchy eyes
  • Swollen, reddened, or sticky eyelids
  • Bags or dark circles under eyes
  • Blurred or tunnel vision (does not include near-or farsightedness)
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Head

  • Headaches
  • Faintness
  • Dizziness
  • Insomnia
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Heart

  • Irregular or skipped heartbeat
  • Rapid or pounding heartbeat
  • Chest pain
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Joints/Muscles

  • Pain or aches in joints
  • Arthritis
  • Stiffness or limitation of movement
  • Pain or aches in muscles
  • Feeling of weakness or tiredness
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Lungs

  • Chest congestion
  • Asthma or bronchitis
  • Shortness of breath
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Mind

  • Poor memory
  • Confusion or poor comprehension
  • Poor concentration
  • Poor physical coordination
  • Indecisiveness
  • Stuttering or stammering
  • Slurred speech
  • Learning disabilities
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Mouth/Throat

  • Chronic coughing
  • Gagging or frequent need to clear throat
  • Sore throat, hoarseness, or loss of voice
  • Swollen or discolored tongue, gums, or lips
  • Canker sores
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Nose

  • Stuffy nose
  • Sinus problems
  • Hay fever
  • Excessive mucus formation
  • Sneezing attacks
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Skin

  • Acne
  • Hives, rashes, or dry skin
  • Hair loss
  • Flushing or hot flashes
  • Excessive sweating
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Weight

  • Binge eating/drinking
  • Craving certain foods
  • Excessive weight
  • Compulsive eating
  • Water retention
  • Underweight
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Other

  • Frequent illness
  • Frequent or urgent urination
  • Genital itch or discharge
  • Record your before total
  • Record your after total

Grand Total Before

Grand Total After

Key to Questionnaire

Optimal health: less than 10

Mild toxicity: 10–50

Moderate toxicity: 50–100

Severe toxicity: over 100