Episode #42: Interview with Prajakta Apte
Ever wondered if detoxing really works or if it's just a fad? Dive into our chat today and discover what it really is, if it's necessary, and bust the biggest myths surrounding it!
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Show Notes:
Part 1: Introduction and Prajakta's Background
Introduction of Prajakta Apte, a registered dietitian, yoga teacher, and gut health specialist.
Discussion on detoxing and its importance.
Prajakta’s career journey from a clinical dietitian in a hospital to starting her private practice, "Right Nutrition Works."
Her husband's gut issues leading to her interest in gut health.
Part 2: Understanding the Body's Detoxification Process
In-depth discussion of the body's detoxification organs: liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and intestines.
The importance of a balanced diet for liver function.
The role of kidneys in filtering waste and the detoxifying function of lungs through breathing.
Skin's role in detox through sweating and the gut’s role in waste management.
Key Detoxification Practices
The benefits and methods of detoxing, emphasizing a balanced diet and hydration.
Advising against extreme diets and fasting.
The significance of quarterly detoxes and the inclusion of whole, nutritious foods.
The potential risks associated with incorrect detoxing, including nutrient deficiencies and dehydration.
Diet and Detox
Recommendations for avoiding common allergens like gluten and dairy during detox.
The process of reintroducing foods post-detox to identify sensitivities.
Discussion on detoxing for weight loss and its temporary nature.
Stress and Detox
The impact of stress on the body's detox process.
The benefits of mindfulness and stress management techniques in aiding detoxification.
Additional Resources
Prajakta provides a guide titled "Fix Your Gut" with a framework for improving gut health.
Key Takeaways:
Holistic Approach to Health: The importance of a balanced approach to detoxing, focusing on diet and lifestyle rather than extreme measures.
Organ Function in Detoxification: Understanding how different organs like the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, and intestines play a crucial role in the body’s natural detoxification process.
Impact of Stress: Recognizing the significant impact of stress on the body's ability to detoxify and the effectiveness of mindfulness practices in supporting detox processes.
Diet and Gut Health: The connection between diet, detoxing, and gut health, and the importance of identifying food sensitivities for long-term well-being.
Sustainable Practices for Health: Emphasizing that detoxing is not a long-term solution for weight loss, and the importance of ongoing healthy eating habits and lifestyle modifications.
Transcript:
Welcome back to Better Than A Pill. Today I am so excited to have Prajakya Apte with us. And Prajakta is a lot of things. She's a registered dietitian, she's a yoga teacher and a gut health specialist and expert.
And today we're going to be talking all about detoxing. So welcome Prajakta.
Thank you so much, Cari. It's a pleasure to be here on your podcast. I'm so excited.
Oh, I'm so excited to finally get you on as well. And, you know, I just want to start off a little bit by sharing
a little bit about your story and how you got involved in doing the work that you're doing now.
Yeah, so, uh, I, uh, you have already introduced me.
I'm a registered dietitian and I started my career working as a dietitian about 20 years back and I started working in a local hospital as a, uh, clinical dietitian and I got really good experience there, uh, learned a lot, uh, work with different, uh, you know, types of, uh, Disease conditions that people have it, but then eventually I started to realize that I was not getting a kind of satisfaction out of this work because, uh, people admitting in the hospital, they were more worried and concerned about the current problem that they are dealing with and nutrition or diet used to be, uh, Kind of a less priority at that time on the on for those people, which is understandable because they were in pain.
They were just recovering out of surgery. Um, they had some infection that they are dealing with. So their focus was different. And that's where I started to think that probably I need to, uh, slowly get out of this hospital environment and start something on my own, where people, um, are more motivated.
They are, uh, ready to, uh, you know, make changes in their diet and lifestyle. And that's how I ended up starting my own practice called Right Nutrition Works. And I have been in my private practice for almost 12 years, and it's been going good. I am my own boss, of course, and then I really can work with people who are motivated and, uh, who are ready to make the change.
And, uh, they, they want something new and positive in their, uh, in their health to happen. So, uh, it's
really a pleasure to work with those types of people. Now, getting into the gut health, that is a little bit of a story here, and I'm going to make my long story short, but my husband had some gut issues back in 2016, I believe, and he was dealing with some problems, which um, Doctors were saying that, Oh, this is normal, uh, you know, bloating just comes and goes on its own and you don't really need to worry so much.
Um, all his labs were coming. So called normal and, um, He was not able to find any answers to his, uh, problems and, um, that's when we found a functional medicine doctor who definitely guided, uh, my husband and of course me as a caregiver and, uh, really helped him come out of what he was dealing and that's where, uh, I realized that how important it is for everybody to keep our gut healthy and strong because it is a foundation for our overall health and well being.
And that's how I started doing more research and, you know, did some certification courses to kind of
gain more knowledge. Um, and that's how I... I am now looking for or working with people with different kinds of gut issues and I help them feel better, fix their gut through the healing power of nutrition and healthy lifestyle modifications.
Wow. That's so good. And I'm just gonna guess that detoxing is a part of what you're doing. Yeah.
Absolutely. Because of gut health and detox, they kind of go hand in hand. When someone is dealing
with gut problems, they normally have excess toxins overload in their body. And that could be. Through various sources, removing the toxins from their body or stimulating their natural detoxification pathways definitely help improve their gut health.
And that's how I kind of work with both and I really enjoy what I do. I see. And so basically detoxing is
getting rid of the toxins. Correct. Correct. So you can, you can think of it this way. Detox is, uh, like giving your body a little spa day, uh, from inside. And it's the way to help your body get rid of the stuff it doesn't need.
And, uh, that is kind of clearing out the clutter from your house. So inside our body, we have different
organs like kidneys and liver and digestive system or even lymphatic system, which actually, uh, help
with the detoxification and they are working constantly to keep our body's toxic burden under control.
They work very hard, they break down the toxins, they remove the toxins from our body. But, um,
Sometimes what happens is if we have an excess toxic load or what we call it as toxic burden, of course, these pathways become sluggish and they do not function as efficiently as they should be. And that's where, um, your body needs a little bit of external help.
And that external help is basically detox. I see. And that totally is a great explanation that makes sense.
Thank you. Um, so detoxing, is that something that is, that we all should be doing or, you know, do we
have to get to the point where we're, our pathways are clogged and then that's when we need to do it.
Correct. Again, I mean, if you're going to ask this question to 10 different people, you're going to get 10
different answers. I am going to tell you what I think and what is my personal take on this, but I feel that in today's world, we are surrounded by toxins. We have a very busy lifestyle. There is a lot of stress that we all deal with on a daily basis and stress of all kinds.
Um, there are a lot of, uh, differences as compared to a few years back in our eating habits. We are more and more relying on, uh, processed foods, uh, easy to grab and go type of things. Um, the foods that require minimum cooking, uh, we eat out a lot as compared to if we compare, you know, our earlier generations.
So all these things are contributing factors to our, uh, toxic burden. So. My take on this is you don't, you
don't want to wait until those pathways or those natural detoxification systems get clogged up in your
body because that's when you will start to notice symptoms like, you know, feeling tired or sluggish or
headache or migraine or digestive symptoms like bloating or constipation is a very common symptom, so you don't need to wait until you start to experience these symptoms but you It is definitely a good idea to, uh, Do your detox every quarter.
That's what my suggestion is or whenever you feel that you need a little extra boost in your health. But at the same time, it is important to remember that it is essential to do detox in a healthy way. And this
means focusing on nutrient dense, nutrient rich foods, staying well hydrated rather than any kind of
extreme diets or fasting.
Yeah. And that's, and so I'd love to learn a little more because, so what exactly do you need to do when you detox? How long should it last? And, you know, in my mind, I'm envisioning this, we're drinking only a liquid. And so when you just said, food. Now I'm thinking, okay, so it's different than what I think it is.
Yes. Um, so again, I mean, uh, you will get different opinions if you ask different people, but, uh, in my
opinion, any kind of, uh, Juicing or excessive, uh, fasting for, you know, so many days that is not the, uh,
right way of detoxing. Detoxing can involve whole nutritious foods. Juicing is actually bad, in my opinion, because it can Actually hurt and harm your body by adding more toxic burden in your body so you can support your body's natural detox, uh, processes with balanced diet and definitely, uh, eating foods in its most natural form, trying to stay away from common, um, allergens such as dairy, such as gluten, of course, added sugar, uh, um, soy products.
Those are the things you want to completely stay away from because those can cause more toxic burden in your body. So try to stay away from those. Um, The detox, um, can be done anywhere between, in my opinion, five days up to, you know, kind of 14 days, two weeks. Um, I generally run a detox challenge for my clients every quarter, and, um, I just do that for five days and, um, you know, there are so many people come back to me saying that even in five days, uh, What amazing changes that they notice and all the positive changes that they observed that happened in their body and mind just by making changes for five days.
Wow. And so during this detox challenge, Is it kind of broken down what you would need to eat for
breakfast, lunch and dinner and like snacks kind of situation. So again, I mean, everybody will be having a different experience in the sense of I'm talking more from whoever is offering what I offer to my clients.
Like a structured plan for five days. I give them different recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and
snacks. Um, I have a, um, Facebook group that I create and, uh, we kind of support and motivate each
other and along with my clients, even I do detoxing because, uh, when you do this in a group, you get
that different kind of energy and, uh, it's just fun to do it in a group because everybody is, um, in the
same boat, right?
So, uh, that's what I do, but I. I feel that you need to be giving a lot of support when someone is doing
detox because a person shouldn't be feeling lost as to, okay, you are telling me to do a whole food based detox, but what does that mean? What should I be doing? What should I be eating? Should I be drinking, uh, You know, coffee versus no coffee.
You know, all those things. People have tons and tons of questions. So the right type of framework and
structure and guidance is very, very important. Yeah, that totally makes sense and because I could see, um, how you could really harm your body and, you know, wondering that because, yeah, I mean, totally, that makes sense.
If you, and especially too, if you're taking to account somebody that may have other things going on
medically. Correct. Absolutely. Or, you know, there are a lot of detox products and supplements out there, and unfortunately, they are not always safe and effective, even if the companies are advertising that they are effective, but I have also seen a lot of side effects and negative impact on your body by doing those supplements.
I do sometimes recommend supplements, but those are all herbal and natural, but my goal is to do it
more. Thank you. From, uh, with natural, um, foods and making some lifestyle modifications because,
uh, all detox supplements and products are not created equal. And some could be really potentially
harmful and they could be completely ineffective.
So it is really important to do your research or even consult a health care professional before trying any of those detox products. And they can, they can definitely help you to kind of, you know, guide you in the right direction, whether they are safe and they are the effective options. Right. And so, you know, what are actually some potential risk or, or things that could happen or, or, or dangerous to somebody that's, you know, detoxing, you know, absolutely that's, that's very, very, um, important to be aware of the potential risk with detoxing.
And, uh, when I say potential risk with detoxing, Wrong type of detoxing. If you are going to stick to more natural ways, which is what your body accepts, you are in good, uh, you know, kind of good hands there.
But if not, then potential, uh, side effects or risks that are associated are nutrient deficiency. Um, so if you go on an extreme detox that restricts a lot of important foods from your diet, including protein sometimes, or you go on just juicing for 10 days, 14 days, then you definitely are going to miss on essential nutrients.
And this can lead to deficiencies which aren't good for your health because your body will have to. Really, really work hard and it could be like a long, uh, game to get all those nutrient levels back to normal range.
So nutrient deficiency is what I have commonly seen. I have also seen people, uh, they get dehydrated
and, uh, some detox plans.
They encourage a lot of fluid intake, but too much of good things can also be bad. Right. So overdoing
overdoing with any liquids can sometimes even lead to dehydration and which could be serious. And
plus, on top of that, with only juicing or only liquids, you're not getting enough nutrients so you're not
getting any balanced nutrition.
So for all those 5, 7, 10, 15 days, whatever you're doing, your body gets, uh, really, really, uh, deficient in
important nutrients. That's another side effect or potential risk. Um, I have also seen that, uh, medication interaction. So if you are on certain types of medications, especially for chronic conditions, certain detox methods can interfere with them.
So it is always a good idea to consult your health care provider before you start any detox program,
especially since I've seen people buying detox programs and detox kits randomly from websites online.
So it is definitely a good idea to do your research. And if you're not sure, just check with your health care provider because they will be able to guide you in a better way.
And, um, I feel that the lack of long term benefits of some detox plans, they promise big results, but they might not provide you the lasting benefits. You will see some changes, good changes happening, some benefits that you experience while you are in that process of detoxing. So, um, it is actually, in my opinion, better to focus on more sustainable and long term results.
Thank you so much for sharing that. We need to hear that. Absolutely. Yeah. Because I feel that in any
case, moderation is the key and it's always best to consult with the healthcare professional or even
registered dietitian, uh, before making any drastic and significant changes to your diet and lifestyle.
Well said. So how about, how do the kidneys and the liver and some of the other organs actually help
with the body's natural detoxing process? Absolutely. So, um, I'm going to, uh, talk about the important
detoxification organs or systems in our body. So I'm going to start with the liver because the liver is the
hub of detoxification.
Okay. It's in charge of breaking down the toxins, turning them into actually water soluble, less harmful
substances, and then getting them ready to be removed from your body. So it's like a recycling center foryour body. Okay. So the liver is very, very important. And, um, I'm not going to go too much into clinical
and in depth, but there are two phases that are involved in liver detoxification phase one and phase two.
And of course, phase one requires certain nutrients from your diet. Um, phase two requires some
additional nutrients from your diet. So if your diet has those nutrients, Then the detox process in your
liver becomes very smooth and your liver can work efficiently. But if you are already deficient in some of
those nutrients, then the liver is going to have a harder time to process those toxins and get them ready
to be excreted.
So that is why that balanced diet is very, very important. The other thing, other organs are kidneys and,
um, kidneys are like your body's natural filters. So, uh, they sit through your, uh, blood picking out some
waste and some, you know, unwanted substances, and then they turn them into urine. So, which is what
your body, uh, body's way of saying, okay, I don't need this anymore and I'm going to get rid of it.
So, uh, basically kidneys will excrete the toxins or unwanted substances in the form of urine. So that's
how kidneys work. Um, the third organ that is involved in detoxification are our lungs. And um, Yes, our
lungs definitely play a part in detoxification. They help to remove toxins in the form of gasses when you
breathe out.
So it's like, uh, it's like a breath of fresh air for your body. So that is why, um, studies have shown that
actually, uh, 60 to 70 percent of detoxification happens if you are doing, um, deep belly breathing every
day. And that actually is a great way to support your lungs for efficient detoxification.
So that's pretty amazing when I heard about that. Yeah. Sorry to interrupt, but I love that. Go ahead.
Sorry. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The, uh, uh, next organ is skin and skin, as we know, is the largest
organ. Um, it is like an outer shield and it helps to get rid of the toxins through sweat. So when you are
exercising, you're, you're working out and, uh, You get a lot of sweat.
You are actually helping your body in this detox mission because that's where your lymphatic system is
working harder to get rid of the toxins in the form of sweating. And the last organ is your intestine, or we
can call it as your gut. And these guys are actually in charge of Taking care of waste from your digestive
system, they absorb all the good stuff and make sure that the waste gets out.
And it's like a conveyor belt actually for what your body doesn't need. So, um, Pooping every day. Okay,
and not dealing with constipation is extremely important because if you are dealing with constipation, if
you're not going to the bathroom all seven days a week, if you are not pooping enough, you're basically
holding on to all those toxins inside your body.
So having a good healthy bowel movement every single day of the week is very, very important. And that
shows that you're, um, yeah. The gut or your intestines are working, uh, fantastic in a detoxification
process. Right. Oh, that's, that's very helpful. And you know, if somebody is, let's say on a detox and
they're not, um, eating certain foods or staying away from things like gluten or dairy or, or, you know,
things that could cause problems, what's the difference between that and then just eating that way
permanently?
So, uh, obviously I mean, uh, gluten and dairy and there are a few other, uh, Foods such as soy or added
sugar. These are all considered as, uh, Commonly identified allergens and those allergens definitely build
your toxic burden. They kind of, uh, you know, they don't help your natural detoxification systems of your
body to do their job efficiently.
And that's why it is highly recommended to stay away from. These foods while you're detoxing, because
that's the way you're supporting the natural processes and natural detoxification systems in your body.
So that is the main purpose. Now, some people will be eating these foods while you're putting those
foods back into their diet, which is totally fine.
And, um, after detox is done, you can slowly introduce one food at a time to see how your body is
reacting. Some people even may realize that when they start to reintroduce foods back into their diet,
they start to notice some of the symptoms are coming back. And that's an indication, in my opinion, that
You're probably sensitive to those foods and you definitely want to stay away from them because if you
keep eating those foods, you're definitely going to be experiencing some symptoms.
And number two, it is slowly increasing your toxic burden. Okay. And if somebody, let's say, wants to lose
weight, um, how, how does detox possibly help with that? Okay. So the, uh, first thing what, um, I would
like to say here is, um, doing a detox, even if you are doing it in a correct way, um, it is not a long term
solution.
for weight loss. Of course, some people will experience weight loss while they're detoxing, which is good.
Um, but you want to make sure that the weight that you are losing is, um, either the toxin or inflammation
related to you, you may lose some body water, which is normal. But the wrong type of detox programs,
uh, people will be losing actual muscles, especially, um, programs that are, uh, that only focus on juicing
or only focus on liquids.
Uh, those will actually, uh, you know, you will waste the muscles and that's how you will lose weight,
which is definitely not a good thing. So, uh, weight loss, uh, from detoxing is usually in my opinion,
temporary, which means while you are on, you are following a detox program, you will lose weight. But in
my opinion, uh, it is not a long term solution.
After the detox program is over, if one goes back to the regular eating habits, some of the weight may
come back. But what I feel is if you are going to continue eating healthy and continue with those good
eating habits and lifestyle modifications, the weight that you will gain back That weight will be probably
the muscle weight and not the body fat weight or not the inflammation weight.
So, um, even in between the detox programs for a lot, for all of us, I feel that the goal should be to try to
eat healthy as much as you can and try to stay away from the, um, bad foods, processed foods, foods
with added colors and, you know, additives and preservatives. Try to stay away from those or at least
minimize those.
Right. That makes sense. And so looking at ways to actually help nourish your body. Correct. Exactly.
Because, uh, it is not, I mean, detoxing is not the best strategy for long lasting weight management. For
some people, the root cause for their weight gain or weight challenges is their gut health and their gut
health is not balanced.
It's not strong. There is some problem there and that's the reason they are noticing, uh, weight
challenges. So whatever is the root cause that needs to be fixed. Detox definitely helps, but it is more of
a supportive strategy. Thank you. That makes sense. And so what about stress, how does that affect the
body's ability to detoxify and, and what can things like, like, like let's say mindfulness or stress
management techniques, how can they help?
Sure. Yeah. So stress can be like a. speed bump in your body's detox process. Uh, when you are
stressed, your body focuses on dealing with that stressor, right? And sometimes that can slow down the
detoxification process. It is like your, uh, body's resources. They get diverted now mindfulness and stress
management practices help calm down your nervous system, which lets your body get back to its regular
detox job.
So when you practice mindfulness, like, you know, deep belly breathing, or it could be meditation or it
could be yoga. It's like telling your body. It is okay. You can take a breather. It is fine. And this helps your
detoxification organs, especially your liver and your kidneys do their detox more efficiently.
So reducing Stress through through mindfulness and other techniques is a powerful way to support your
body's natural detox process. And it's like giving your body a clear path to do its job more effectively.
Right. And so as you were talking, it came to my mind is what about, let's just say, we know stress,
there's so many forms we could have, like, let's say the emotional stress or, you know, whatever could be
going on, but what about like physical stress?
And I mean, in the form of just basic exercise, is that something that you should avoid? Let's say like, for
example, walking or weightlifting, like during a detox. Um, okay. So again, my take on this is, uh, you,
while you are in the detox program, whether that is five days, 10 days, whatever it is, um, assuming that
it's a good way of detoxing and good, good detox program.
Um, You can continue with exercise, but I generally, uh, tell my clients not to do too much weight lifting.
You can bike ride, you can do, uh, yoga, you can do walking, you can even go for a jog, but anything that
is too intense and, uh, lifting probably should be avoided. Okay, that's very helpful to know too.
And that makes sense because that would be too much of a stressor. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Mm hmm.
Wow. Well, thank you so much, Prashada. This has been wonderful. You've just been a wealth of
knowledge and I know everybody has benefited from this today. I know I have. So thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Oh, you're welcome.
It was a pleasure and I really enjoyed talking about this topic. That's one of my favorites. Excellent. So for
everybody that's listening today, if you would like to learn more about Prajata's work, I have included the
link to her website, um, which is right nutrition works. com in this episode, as well as she is created a
guide and it is called fix your gut.
And, um, I'll let her explain a little bit more about that. Yeah. So, um, it is a guide that, uh, you can
download and it's a free download. Um, the name of the guide is Fix Your Gut. Basically, the guide will
explain you, um, and give you the complete framework and step by step instructions on, um, how to fix
your gut, um, how to fix your gut through the healing power of nutrition and lifestyle modifications.
I have also included my, um, secret four hour Program or a protocol. You can call it as how you can
follow that protocol and see a difference with, you know, balancing your good microbes and your bad
microbes. And once you create that balance, you will have a stronger gut health, which, as I said before,
is a foundation for our overall health, health and wellbeing.
And we all need to have this foundation very, very strong.
Great. And thank you so much for that guy. That sounds awesome. So remember everyone, we do new
episodes every week on Wednesday and I look forward to having you join me then.
