Celebrities swear by them and everyone wants to try them. But, Tejasvi Desai tells you why cleanse diets are best avoided
Cleansing diets and detox plans have been in the spotlight thanks to celebrities who follow these strict regimens to lose weight quickly. Detox and cleansing programs promise everything from weight loss to improving your skin and detoxification. A cleanse diet basically means drinking juice — a lot of juice and nothing else. This pushes everything else out of your system. Detoxification is a normal body process of eliminating or neutralising toxins through your colon and liver. If you feel “congested” with too much food or the wrong kind of it, you may want to detoxify, but read on to find out why a cleanse diet is not the best way to do so:
MISLEADING “HIGH”
There’s something glamorous about following an extreme cleanse that your favourite celebrity loves. Even the word “cleanse” is part of the appeal. But, such regimens starve you of nutrients. During starvation, once the initial hunger pangs pass, you might experience feelings of well-being and euphoria. This euphoria is like a natural anesthetic that protects you from the pain of a starving body. But, your body needs real nutrients and whole foods in order to survive and thrive.
ANY WEIGHT LOSS IS SHORT-LIVED
Cleansing to lose weight is essentially crash dieting. Of course you’ll lose weight if you consume few or no calories, but it can potentially put your health at risk. Rapid weight loss rebounds quickly, so you’ll regain the weight as soon as you go back to eating normally.
YOUR BODY DETOXES NATURALLY
Your kidneys and liver are constantly eliminating toxins and waste products. Your body’s natural detoxifying capacity can get overwhelmed by extreme or rare situations — for example, long-term exposure to toxins such as mercury. But, in such cases you would need a doctor’s help, not a special smoothie.
STATE OF KETOSIS
Ketosis means your body has no carbohydrates to burn for energy, so it has to burn stored fat or whatever else is available. You feel bad and even smell bad. That's what makes you feel like hell during a (water-only) fast. Juice diets as opposed to water only or lemon juice only diets do prevent your body from going into this state but should still be avoided for long durations.
FASTING MAY DAMAGE YOUR ORGANS
You should always check with your doctor before trying a cleanse diet. But, doing your own healthy detox is guaranteed to work without any scary consequences: resolve to making great food choices. You’ll look and feel great and also lose weight.
DANGEROUS CELEB DIETS
The Master Cleanse
Celeb fans: Beyoncé, Ashton Kutcher & Pink
The Master Cleanse, famously used by Beyoncé to shed weight for the movie Dreamgirls, is a liquid fast of mainly lemonade made with maple syrup and cayenne pepper. This is nothing more than a 10-day liquid starvation diet.
48-Hour Detox Diet
Celeb fans: Anne Hathaway
The 48-Hour Detox Diet is a packaged version of The Master Cleanse, but with this regimen you subject your body to severe deprivation for just 48 hours instead of 10 days.