Post-cleanse check-in, and a rundown of the most popular detoxifying cleanses.
It averaged 95 degrees and about 2000% humidity last week in Philadelphia, so sticking to juice and tea (which yes, I iced) wasn’t as hard as it has been in the past. That’s not to say that I didn’t miss food. Terribly. I think the most difficult thing about doing a cleanse is exiting it with grace and dignity (i.e. not pounding a lox-and-cream-cheese-sesame-bagel as your first breakfast). While on the cleanse, I felt pretty confident and, though I muddled through a few headaches, lethargy and more than one mood swing, I also felt the occasional high energy and euphoria we all look for in a fast. A not-to-be-underestimated benefit of a cleanse is the strength and clarity of mind you gain while on it. As I mentioned last week, cleanses are a time to reflect and meditate not just on your daily habits but about the larger questions of life. A time to give yourself perspective.
If you’re sold on cleanses, I’ve listed the most popular ones below. They range from easy to quite difficult so you can choose the one that’s right for you — mind, body and spirit. If you cleansed with me last week, please share your experience/results in the comments below. As always, I love to hear everyone’s perspectives and words of wisdom. Shine on!
Goop Annual Detox
Method: A gentle diet that encourages healthy eating. Avoids gluten, dairy, corn, soy, caffeine, alcohol, added sugar, red meat, shellfish, white rice and nightshades. The website includes full meals with recipes.
What It Does: Cleans up your eating habits and resets your palette. Gives your gut a break and helps strip away extra pounds.
Length: 1 week, or as long as you’d like
Difficulty: Easy
Elimination Diet
Method: Eliminate gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, fast food and alcohol for 23 days. On day 24, choose one of the items you eliminated and bring it back into your diet. Over 48 hours, closely monitor how you feel to decide if you have a sensitivity or allergy to that food type. Move onto the next item.
What It Does: Helps you to understand how your body reacts to certain foods to figure out to what you have a sensitivity or allergy. When you avoid these foods, you may find that your skin looks better and you have less bloating, gas and indigestion.
Length: 23 days, plus 48 hours per food type
Difficulty: Easy
Live Juice Cleanse
Method: A liquid fast to encourage detoxification and healing. Raw fruit and vegetable juices, green drinks and herbal teas, sandwiched by 2 days of raw fruits and vegetables.
What It Does: Gives your body a break from the digestive process, thereby allowing your body to detox and heal. Encourages mindfulness about food and eating.
Length: 5, 7 or 10 days
Difficulty: Medium
Liver and Gallbladder Flush
Method: Live juices, teas, spices, liver tinctures and olive oil taken daily to flush the digestive tract, liver and gall bladder, sandwiched by 2 days of raw fruits and vegetables.
What It Does: Actively cleanses the liver and gallbladder, relieving the liver of stored fat and sugar thereby reducing toxemia, sluggish liver function and lowering the risk of chronic diseases.
Length: 5 days
Difficulty: Medium
Master Cleanse
Method: 6-12 glasses of a lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup drink, plus a salt water flush in the morning and Everyday Detox Tea at night. Sandwiched by three days of raw fruits and vegetables.
What It Does: Rapid weight loss and cleansing of the colon, which stores undigested meat proteins. Encourages healing and detoxification in the body, and may be especially helpful for those with chronic illnesses.
Length: 10 days
Difficulty: Difficult
+ Which cleanse would you try? Let us know in the comments!
One of friends told me that we should not use Lemon on our face, it can cause some serious problem because of acidic property of lemon. Is it true?
I find that lemon juice on my face can tone and zap my acne. I heard that it can help with scaring and I feel that it has! I don’t think it’s bad at all.
Most research has shown your body does just fine ‘detoxing’ itself. I do think some of the ‘easy’ ones mentioned at the beginning for a couple days could be helpful in rethinking sugar/portions/cravings that are environmentally triggered by stress, etc., but honestly, this blog post sends a pretty unhealthy message and doesn’t back it up with research. Thanks guys! Keep up the good fight!