Can a detox cleanse transform your health? We have been looking at this issue recently. The short answer is: yes, but some detox diets are much better than others. Now there is a new detox diet called Primal Body Detox by Laura Fitzpatrick. I recently had a chance to look through this product. The following is my Primal Body Detox review for other people who are curious about it.
Our Recommended Fat Loss Alternative: Read More
What My Review Is Based On
- I purchased the product and read through the entire 350 page (!) ebook
- I researched many of the health claims Laura makes to see if they add up
About Laura Fitzpatrick
Laura Fitzpatrick is the creator of Primal Body Detox. She is a “health coach” in her mid-50s. Both she and her husband, Tim, were obese at one point. When she experienced “symptoms of a heart attack” she became determined to change her health.
Apparently she was able to lose weight and end her cravings for unhealthy comfort food by using the methods taught in Primal Body Detox. Then she got her husband and the rest of her family to lose weight doing the same.
How Primal Body Detox Works
Like most detox diets, Primal Body Detox aims to help kickstart your health by eating (and drinking) only certain foods for 10 days. It’s only supposed to include foods that your body can easily digest, which helps your body feel less irritated and burn fat mor easily.
Instead of prescribing one detox diet for everybody, Primal Body Detox has different diet plans for different blood types. Your plan will be individualized based on whether you are type A, B, AB, or O. The individual plans are actually very similar, though, and the science behind blood type diets is fuzzy, so it’s hard to say how important this aspect of the diet is. (Most detox diets claim to have some unique selling point, so this is pretty normal.)
Phase One (The “Cleanse”)
Primal Body Detox begins with a 10-day cleanse that is meant to remove various toxins from the body. These toxins include environmental toxins, as well as foods that your body is not able to digest well. According to Laura, most people lose weight during this phase.
Phase One involves having one large detox smoothie each day (big enough for three “meals”), and snacking on green and yellow vegetables. All while avoiding processed foods, sodas, and pretty much everything else. You also drink lots of water, and can drink different detox teas.
Phase Two (The “Repair”)
Immediately after completing the first phase, you will begin a 21-day eating plan that is meant to “repair” your body from years of damage due to poor diet. This phase is less restrictive, allowing you to have cheat days and choose from different meals and snacks.
Just like in Phase One, you choose your meals and snacks based on blood type. The book actually has an enormous list of foods to eat (and foods to avoid) based on your blood type.
Dieting Based on Blood Type?
One of the big claims of Primal Body Detox is that you can choose a detox plan based on your blood type. Your blood type is determined by whether or not certain markers are present in your blood cells. The four main blood types are types A, B, AB, and O.
Dieting based on blood type was recently made popular by a naturopath named Peter D’Adamo. There is strong disagreement as to whether this is scientifically valid.
As far as I can tell, diets based on blood type or other genetic factors hasn’t been studied enough to conclude anything. With advances in science and genetics, diets based on your genetic makeup will soon be a huge market.
There is also a workout book included with your order, which gives you exercises based on your blood type. Again, I couldn’t find much research about this, so it’s hard to comment on its effectiveness. But most exercise is healthy for you no matter your blood type, so I don’t see the harm in following the exercise program too
Superfoods
Like other detox diets, Primal Body Detox strongly encourages including superfoods in your diet as much as possible. Some of these superfoods are the following:
- Chia seeds (rich in protein and healthy fats)
- Flax seed (contains essential Omega-3 fatty acids)
- Rolled Oats (for an easily digestible form of fiber)
- Turmeric powder (for fighting inflammation)
- And several more…
Prices and What You Get
Laura Fitzpatrick’s Primal Body Detox program costs only $37 as a one-time fee. When you purchase the program, you will instantly receive:
- The Primal Body Detox ebook (354 pages)
- Primal Body Detox dessert cookbook (78 pages)
- The Primal Body Detox exercise book (25 pages)
- A PDF with all the recipes that you can print out
What I Liked About Primal Body Detox
- Provides guidance for a full 30 days, ensuring that you don’t undo all the benefits from your initial detox
- Very flexible. You can choose from a variety of snacks during Phase One, and you have even more eating flexibility in Phase Two
- Uses superfoods. The superfoods used in this diet are about as good for you as any foods out there, and are used liberally in this diet.
- Individualized diet plan. Even though there is limited evidence that diets based on blood type are effective, most diets ignore the fact that people’s bodies are different. I commend Primal Body Detox for going above and beyond here.
- Includes exercise program. I haven’t seen any other detox diets that tell you exactly which exercises to do during the detox. Maybe you already have exercise you prefer, but if you don’t then their plan is a good start.
- Suitable for vegans and vegetarians. While you have the option of eating meat and animal products, Laura makes sure the detox is easily adaptable if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet.
What I Didn’t Like About Primal Body Detox
- Not everybody knows their blood type. As I said above, I don’t know how important it really is to customize based on blood type. I suspect it’s not a big deal if you don’t know, you can probably just pick a type and still benefit from this diet. But if you want to choose based on blood type then you’ll have to first know your blood type. This can easily be done with a simple blood test.
- Not everybody agrees with the science. Blood type diets have not been well studied, so it’s hard to say for sure if all the claims are valid. Much of the evidence is so far anecdotal, and well-designed research studies are needed.
- It’s a bit complex. There are lists of foods you should eat lots of (called “green light foods”), foods to eat in moderation (“yellow light” foods), and foods to avoid. And parts of the list are different depending on your blood type. If you want an ultra simple diet plan that you hardly have to think about, this might not be for you.
- Only available as an eBook. It would be nice to have a hard copy of the book, and maybe even corresponding videos. But I guess we save trees this way.
Primal Body Detox Review: The Verdict
If you’ve tried other diets and failed, this might be a good diet for you. That’s because it uses the unique approach of customizing your diet based on your blood type. The jury is out on whether there is supporting evidence for this.
Setting aside the blood type issue, this is a solid detox diet. You eat raw, whole foods, and the smoothie recipes look tasty. The superfoods are a huge plus, because they are well-known for having powerful health effects.
Final verdict: Try something else. Like this one.