The Truth About Cleanses, Detoxes, & Fasts
Recently, cleanses, detoxes, & fasts have been growing in popularity boasting benefits from increased health, extreme weight loss, and disease healing and/or prevention. The problem is that most of these programs have no scientific backing and are no more than fad yo-yo diets, especially those making extreme weight loss claims. The bottom line is that there is no shortcut to healthy living. The best way to maintain your health is through daily healthy habits. With that being the case, there are a few circumstances where I think that a cleanse or detox might be beneficial. The first thing to consider is that I do not recommend going on a liquid diet for more than 3 days unless you are under the care of a physician and/or dietitian. It is just entirely too difficult to get in all of the required nutrients with just juice or even meal replacement shakes which is the main reason why I do not recommend fasting for “health reasons”. I do realize that some fast for religious or spiritual reasons and I respect those beliefs; however I would just make absolutely sure that the fast will accomplish whatever spiritual goals you are out to achieve.
- Get rid of junk food cravings or to kick off a change in eating habits. I think that detoxes that involve eating healthy, home cooked, organic foods can help end cravings and help change your eating habits. There have been studies that show that the complete elimination of refined sugar can eliminate cravings for foods high in refined sugar. I experienced this when I did the Ultimate Reset. You can read about my experiences here. Detoxes like this one do not involve starvation. It is more a clean eating meal plan with supplements packed with micronutrients to support healthy food choices. Just as a reminder anything that requires a drastic reduction in food consumption (meaning you don’t eat or eat very little) or anything that replaces a supplement with food will not provide lasting results. No matter if you are trying to lose weight or fight off a disease your body needs to be well nourished to perform at it’s best.
- When you are struggling with digestive issues or a significant negative change in eating habits. In this case, I would recommend a short 1-3-day liquid cleanse. I have done this after I have done a lot of traveling and have not been eating well or after recovering from a stomach virus. In both cases, my stomach was so upset I really did not want to eat much food. By switching to mostly liquid and easy to digest foods such as fruits and veggies I was able to keep my body nourished and allow my digestive system to heal and get back on track. Like I said I do not do these for more than 1-3 days. In this case, I recommend the 3-day refresh with is all meal replacement shakes or my 2-day cleanse which is a combination of shakes and salads. The 3-day refresh can be purchased here and my 2-day cleanse can be found here.
The important thing to consider when deciding to do a cleanse, detox or fast is the reason you want to do it. If you are trying to lose weight then I recommend seriously reconsidering. You will not see lasting results unless you change your lifestyle (eating habits & activity level). If you need individualized support contact me and I will help get you started right!