Monodiet

The monodiet is a favorite way of eating only one food. It’s uncommon for a mono-diet to continue for more than a couple of days due to its restrictive nature. Over a weight reduction, detoxification mono-diet is assumed to lead to detoxification of the body’s organs. This is a contentious regime.

Attributes of this monodiet:

A single food consumed for several hours
This can be practiced 3 consecutive days, one day a week or one meal a day
The foods most commonly consumed during a mono-diet are apples, celery, and rice
Water and infusions are to be consumed at will

The foods consumed in the mono-diet detox diet are cereals or plants rich in antioxidants and micronutrients.

The monodiet consists of swallowing the same meals for three consecutive days. The food chosen can then be consumed at will during those 3 days. It’s recommended to pick the variations. One food ought to be selected to not provide the digestive system any work. Water, tea and herbal teas are also available in this period and it is important to aim for a minimum consumption of 1.5 to 2 liters of fluids daily. It is also to not be physically active in this period.

How does the monodiet contribute to weight loss and detox?

Monodiets, including”detox” diets, compare your body into the engine of a car that clogs up with time, accumulates toxins and waste, and can result in fatigue, dull complexion, and hair thinning, weakened immune systems, digestive difficulties, etc. The toxins will come in the body itself but also from outside through pollution, medications, smoking, alcohol, etc. The body would not be able, at some point, to eliminate all this waste, and that’s the reason a detox cure could be critical. Technically, foods given in mono-diet diets contain nutrients that are important to health, like antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is important to mention that the body, and largely the liver and kidneys, are the organs in the treatment of the body’s waste. It is taken care of by our organs and is removed naturally, although yes, the body generates waste. The liver participates, among other things, in the formation of urea before its elimination in the body, in the metabolism and elimination of alcohol and drugs, with the support of the kidneys, at the degradation of fatty acids, etc. The kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood to get rid of waste products daily of an individual. Were you aware that the kidneys filter an individual’s total blood volume more than sixty times a day? There is you don’t have to be concerned about the quality of our blood if the kidneys are functioning well.

Finally, we recognize the foods are meals containing a significant amount of antioxidants. Remember antioxidants have a part to play in neutralizing. These compounds with antioxidant properties are selenium, vitamin E, vitamin C, and carotenoids. It’s therefore perhaps, for this reason, the foods given in a mono-diet are the richest in selenium, vitamin E, vitamin C, and carotenoids.

How long can the monodiet be followed?

The traditional mono-diet lasts three days, at the end of which a mild diet must be reintroduced; additional formulations that are mono-diet must be completed one day a week each week of the year or one meal daily. The main idea is to pick out a formula that matches your lifestyle for the maximum out of it.

Which food to choose throughout a monodiet?

The most popular foods used in these diets are:

Apples
Grapes
Cherries
Fishing
Melon
Carrot
Asparagus
Celery
Rice
Quinoa

Note water, herbal teas, and tea are also available at will during this period of mono-diet detoxification.

Food is prohibited

During the three days of the diet, all foods other than the one chosen for consumption at will are prohibited. Some foods like sweet products, industrial dishes or alcohol will have to be avoided to obtain efficient results.

Similarly, smoking and all sources of external stress should be avoided if the mono diet period is to be truly effective and beneficial.

A typical day of monodiet detoxification

	3-day version
Morning	In the morning: 1 herbal tea Apple (quantity varying according to your appetite: about 2-3)
Noon	Apple (quantity varying according to your appetite: about 2-3) Herbal tea
Snack	Water Apple (quantity varying according to your appetite: about 2-3)
Evening	Herbal tea Apple (quantity varying according to your appetite: about 2-3)

Advantages and disadvantages

The positive points of monodiet detox

Easy to set up
Economic regime
Adequate dietary fiber intake
Foods generally of good nutritional quality
Punctual and short-term method

The negative points of the monodiet

Extremely low protein intake
Challenging holding because it is repetitious
Frequent feeling of hunger
Mostly water loss
Incompatible with a social life
Frequent weight gain

Recommendations and precautions to be taken

Are there any risks?

Although mono-diet diets offer healthy foods, it is important to note on days when such a diet is practiced, calorie intakes are far too low in calories to reach the recommended intake of vitamins and minerals. The American College of Sports Medicine indicates women should consume at least 1200 calories per day, and men should consume at least 1800 to cover their needs. Besides, a diet containing less than 1600 kcal per day does not seem to achieve the recommended intakes of vitamin C, E, calcium, and magnesium. It is therefore not recommended following this diet for several days. The weight that will have been lost is mostly water because the body is emptying itself of its glycogen reserves. Depending on the food chosen to represent the mono-diet, but protein intake is low or even zero, which can lead to muscle wasting. Unfortunately, the foods most often named in mono-diets like apples, celery, grapes or peaches are included in the list of foods containing the most pesticides.

Finally, it should be noted our bodies need healthy fats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to function properly. No food contains all these nutrients and that’s why it’s recommended to eat everything. There is also no single food that contains the nine essential amino acids to build the proteins that make up our muscles, nails, hair fibers, etc.

Is this a diet for you?

A mono-diet of three consecutive days is not advisable, whatever your situation. However, it is much less harmful to practice the mono diet one day a week. For example, on Monday after a weekend rich in hearty meals. In these cases, the body cleans itself more easily and without suffering the potentially dangerous effects of 72 hours of food deprivation.

Is it a diet compatible with sport?

It is generally not advisable to practice intense physical activity on mono-diet days, but around these few days of a specific diet, moderate physical activity is always an excellent idea. It also helps the body to function optimally and eliminate toxins.

What to eat after a mono-diet to avoid gaining weight?

To preserve all the benefits of this mono-diet, it is necessary, when returning to normal, to eat a balanced diet rich in vegetables and fruit and low in processed foods. Also, it is not recommended eating animal protein and legumes for about three days after the end of the mono-diet, as they are more difficult to digest.

A few figures to go further

No well-founded scientific studies have assessed the impact of mono-diets. It is guaranteed that weight loss accompanies this type of diet because it is low in calories. However, as mentioned above, these regimes mainly lead to a loss of water. Also, these very-low-calorie diets slow down the basic metabolism (energy expended by the body at rest). Therefore, weight gain is almost inevitable at the end of the diet when the person starts eating again as before.

Mono Diet: Our opinion

Mono diets are drastic, very-low-calorie diets that will cause you to lose water. Substances called toxins are eliminated regularly but mainly naturally by our body and more particularly by our liver. No single food or nutrient can act on the liver and help it in its functions. The important thing is to eat a healthy diet daily, rather than eating a single diet a few times a year. Rather than eating three consecutive days of a single diet, it is better to get into the habit of eating less as soon as the body requests it (following end-of-year meals, for example).