-
Cleanse diets work by restricting what a dieter eats. Often a cleanse diet will only allow a very small number of foods---or sometimes only liquids---to be consumed while on the diet. Ideally, the allowed foods are optimized for nutritional value and contain few if any more unhealthy ingredients, like sugars and fats. These foods are also often easily digestible.
The ease of digestion plus the high nutritional value of cleanse foods allows the body to take in a high amount of things that it needs while not having to work so hard to rid itself of things it does not need. This in turn, allows the body to divert more energy to ridding itself of stored pollutants.
When unhealthy material has been moved out of the body, the body can function more efficiently in other areas. -
In the vitamin section of many major food stores, you can find many brands of cleanse products. Each cleanse tends to be created to suit different needs. Some are pills that you can take in conjunction with a limited diet. Some are made of meal-replacement bars and shakes. Some focus on moving food out of the body while others focus on certain vitamins and minerals people tend to leave out of their diets.
Master Cleanse: One of the most popular cleanse diets is the "master cleanse." It was originally created in the 1940s, and many people still use it today. The main part of the master cleanse involves consuming a combination of lemonade, maple syrup and cayenne pepper as your main source of nourishment. The master cleanse not only works to help your body expel toxins, but with its radical elimination of foods, it teaches the dieter to resist and reduce cravings for unhealthy foods.
Colon Cleansing Diets: These cleanses focus on helping the dieter's colon work more effectively to push material out of the body. Colon cleanses use a variety of specific herbs to stimulate the colon and lots of liquid to help the colon do its work. Colon cleanses also often employ the use of colonics---procedures that push water into the colon, then allow the body to release the water and wash out the organ.
Juice Cleansing: Juice cleansing involves making natural fruit and vegetable juices at home and using those nutrient powerhouses to revitalize the body. Juice cleanses tend not to advocate the use of store-bought juices since those juices often have lots of added sugars. Instead, using juicers and blenders, dieters make juices at home so that they can control the content. -
Some doctors disagree on the long-term effectiveness of cleanses. Because the diets are so strict and only used for a short period of time, dieters run the risk of losing weight too quickly, restricting too much, suffering from fatigue or dizziness, and putting any lost weight back on quickly as a rebound from such strict dieting.
However, it is clear that eating healthy foods is, well, healthy. And the emotional benefits of learning to do without unhealthy foods can help put people on track to making better food decisions in general.
Consulting your doctor before, during and after your cleanse is the best way to make sure that you are not doing any damage to your body.
