Emily Parks

Writing Assignment #2- 21 pounds in 21 days critique

The Martha Vineyards Detox Diet is a diet plan designed to make the client lose
21 pounds in 21 days, or a pound a day. The authors of the book and diet are Dr. Roni
DeLuz and James Hester. They claim that this diet is a healthy way to get rid of toxins in
your body. This program consists of a 21 day detox kit and a 9 day maintenance kit. It is
sold from the Marthas Vineyard Detox Diet website for $213.95. There is also a book
about the 21 day detox diet, but it is not included in the package of juices sold. The
premise of this diet is that by only drinking juices, broths and purees made of fruits and
vegetables, you can help release many of the toxins that are in your body. Some of the
health claims that Dr. DeLuz makes about this diet are that it is a 100 percent natural
way to lose weight and detox, it is not a starvation diet, it gives you energy because
glucose blood levels remain stable, and that it is a great way to give your body
maximum nutrition through small doses.
The website provides a daily schedule of what participants should consume and
when during the 21 days. The whole diet is made of juices and liquids, no solid foods
can be consumed during the diet. Breakfast consisting of 1 ounce of juiced berries is to
be consumed within one hour of waking up. Every two hours after that, more juice or
broth should be consumed in varying amounts specified in the schedule. Clients use a
juicer to juice their own vegetables and fruit to drink every day. These juices must also
be made fresh every day and must be consumed shortly after they are made to
maximize nutrient content. If people do not have a juicer or time to prepare fresh juices

every day, Marthas Vineyard Detox Diet sells powder mixes that can be added to water
and taken in place of fresh homemade juice.
This detox diet includes fruit and vegetable juices throughout the day, but it also
consists of herbal teas, digestive enzymes, and inner cleanse formulas. Three tablets
of the Inner Cleanse Daytime Formula are to be taken at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Three Inner Cleanse Nighttime Formula tablets must be taken at bedtime each day
according to the daily schedule. Digestive enzymes must be taken twice a day. In
addition to these supplements, Dr. DeLuz recommends completing at least one enema
during the 21 day detox. Strong, organic coffee is what she recommends to complete
the enema. Exercise is also not recommended during the 21 days of the detox diet.
While this diet seems to provide many vitamins and nutrients to its clients and
many testify that it helped them lose weight, there are many potential concerns with this
program. The detox diet would most likely cause significant weight loss because of the
small amount of calories consumed and only drinking juices made of fruits and
vegetables which offer little calories. However, this is not a sustainable diet. This means
that it is only a short time fix and could not be used long term. Even Dr. DeLuz, the diet
creator, warns that the program should not be followed for more than the 21 day detox
and 9 day maintenance. It could be difficult for someone following this strict, extreme
diet to transition back to eating solid foods without gaining back some of the weight.
There are tips for transition in the book that DeLuz wrote. However, it seems that with
this program it would be harder to keep the weight off because the program is not able
to be a long term lifestyle change, but rather a 21 day diet that leads back to unhealthy
habits when it ends.

Another big concern with this program is the commitment and determination it
takes to stick to and complete the diet. It is a drastic change to go from eating solid
foods at every meal to not chewing food for 3 weeks. Psychologically, regime could be
difficult for many participants to follow. None of the claimed benefits will work if
someone doesnt stick to or finish the program. Juicing every day is also time
consuming, and many people do not have time or willpower to do it.
Not only is this diet program extreme and difficult to follow and maintain, but it
eliminates two of the three macronutrients that the body needs to function. There is no
protein or fat in the diet when following this program for 21 days. Dietary protein is an
essential component of overall health. Studies show that a negative protein balance
caused by inadequate protein intake can cause muscle atrophy and decreased overall
functioning.2Proteins are made up of amino acids that are essential for protein nitrogencontaining compound synthesis in the body. There are 9 amino acids that are essential
for body functioning and are not produced by the body and therefore must be consumed
through diet. Studies show the importance of amino acids in growth, nutrient use,
reproduction, development, and overall health. 1 Cutting protein out of the diet for 21
days can cause adverse effects and the breakdown of protein in muscles to make up for
the lack of protein in the diet.
Another concern with this detox diet is the omission of all fats from the diet for 21
days. While too much fat can cause negative effects on health, small amounts of
unsaturated fats are beneficial to health. Linoleic and alpha-linoleic acids are essential
unsaturated fatty acids that must be consumed through diet because they are not
produced in the body. Lipids serve many important purposes in the functioning of the

body. One major function is to aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Studies show
that healthy, unsaturated lipids also play a role in immune and inflammatory response. 3
Eliminating both protein and fat from the diet for three weeks is not recommended, as
these macronutrients are crucial to health. While the 21 Day Detox Diet may offer an
abundance of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, it eliminates some very
important macronutrients. Anyone thinking of trying this diet should see their doctor
before they begin, because there could be many complications due to the extremity and
eliminatory nature of this program.

References
1. Wu G, Bazer FW, Dai Z, Li D, Wang J, Wu Z. Amino Acid nutrition in animals:
protein synthesis and beyond. Annu Rev Anim Biosci. 2014;2:387-417.
2. Thalacker-mercer AE, Drummond MJ. The importance of dietary protein for
muscle health in inactive, hospitalized older adults. Ann N Y Acad Sci.
2014;1328(1):1-9.
3. Miles EA, Calder PC. Fatty acids, lipid emulsions and the immune and
inflammatory systems. World Rev Nutr Diet. 2015;112:17-30.