Ah, the rainy season. For the next few months, it’s going to be cold, wet and the weather outside will be having something that resembles an identity crisis. Come spring however, those who stuck to their workouts will be ready to show off their warm weather bodies and those who didn’t… they’ll be looking to catch up. Over the past few years, cleanses have become all the rage. Most promise ridding your body of toxins, dropping a few pounds, increasing your metabolism and giving you more energy. The exact science behind cleanses is still unproven; the general consensus is that they might not deliver everything as promised, but developing cleaner dietary habits is never a bad thing. In this blog, we’re going to take a brief look at some of the more popular cleanses.
- The Master Cleanse- It’s been around for decades but has been popularized over the past few years by Beyoncé and Orange is the New Black. It’s straightforward and strict: 6-12 glasses a day of water, cayenne, lemon, maple syrup and a detox tea, nothing else for 10-14 days. It’s been endorsed by celebrities and is one of the more reliable cleanses. It is however, a severe change to anyone’s diet, likely to cause sluggishness, irritability, and a general loss of energy.
- The Green Smoothie Cleanse- 10 days of drinking smoothies roughly the color of Oscar the grouch. It’s not the most difficult cleanse because your body is still receiving vitamins, natural sugars and fiber, and it probably won’t taste that bad either. It’s still 10 days of little-to-no solid food, depending on your plan. The biggest downside of this one, like many cleanses, is no protein for the entirety of the program. A loss of energy is definite and intense workouts will have to be postponed until a few days after your cleanse.
- Raw Food Cleanses- These are very common and everyone has their own specific plan. In general, a raw food cleanse asks that you eat no processed foods, cook your own meals (if you cook at all), lessen your caloric intake and stay low protein, high fiber. These are often a little bit more labor intensive than others because they require a lot of shopping and meal prep. The obvious benefit over other cleanses is that you actually get to eat. Unfortunately, these tend to be very expensive due to the costs of buying lots of different organic foods and can be difficult to follow perfectly.
- Herbal or Diuretic Cleanses- These tend to be marketed as a catch-all cleanse. These programs typically use some kind of proprietary product to flush your system of all toxins over the course of a few short days. They vary in their dietary restrictions but emphasize the importance of the product. Some have been endorsed by celebrities or those with large social media followings. They likely do something to help you lose weight, but health professionals warn that the strain these products can put on your liver or kidneys simply isn’t worth it. A large percentage of these products operate by sending your liver into overdrive to flush everything out which can actually lessen your body’s ability to get rid of toxins and derive nutrition from your food.
We hope we’ve given you an idea of what cleanses are, and what they can do for you. Of course, the nutritionists at our gyms around Voorhees,NJ and across South Jersey are available to help you decide which options are best for you.