We at Wellness and You have used cleansing as a wellness tool for more than 10 years. I’ll share some details about our approach a little later, but first I want to tell you about a couple of cleanse techniques that I believe are unhealthy and do not produce a positive outcome.
Juice Cleanse
The first is a Juice Cleanse. As the name inplies, you only have juice for the duration of the cleanse. While it’s true that the fruits and vegetables selected for a cleanse are generally fresh and organic, juicing removes an essential part of these foods, namely, the fiber. Fiber’s bulkiness keeps you feeling satisfied. Fiber supports the digestive system and helps to remove waste. Without it you can be quite uncomfortable. Additionally, when fruits and vegetables are pressed through a juicer, the result is a very high sugar content in the end product. Doing a juice cleanse for several days will leave you feeling quite unsettled and in a hyperglygemic state.
Extreme Low Calorie Cleanse
An Extreme Low Calorie Cleanse is just what it suggests and usually limits caloric intake to 800-1000 calories per day. (Normal adult intake is 2000-2500.) Some people experiement with this restrictive diet one day per week with some success, but in a cleanse one is expected to do it for 7 days or more. When the body is severly deprived of its usual calories, it reacts by going into an emergency state, and it will slow your metabolic set point. A severly restrictive diet may also lead you to think constantly about food because you can’t have much, thereby causing you emotional discomfort.
Elimination Cleanse
If you’ve been plagued by symptoms ranging from mild to severe and cannot seem to figure out the cause, an elimination diet or cleanse may be the answer. Sometimes people have a sensitivity to some foods that are not severe enough to cause an overt reaction, but they meddle with your body. It can happen that you have a sensitivity to one or more foods, and when taken together you become symptomatic. Some foods and additives are common culprits: dairy, eggs, gluten, aspartame, sulfites, nightshdes. During a cleanse you abstain from all of the suspected causes of your discomfort for 2 weeks and slowly introduce them back into your diet one at a time, (Don’t add the aspartame back - it’s of no benefit and may be harmful
Seasonal Cleanse
A Seasonal Cleanse is just what the name implies. It is a planned lifestyle at the start of a new season, usually Spring and Autumn, where foods complementary to that season and are locally grown are eaten in abundance. It is mainly vegetarian/vegan and is coupled with the absence of inflammatory foods for the duration of the cleanse. Focus is on abundance and gratitude; effects include reduced body pain, better sleep, mood and energy. Some also experience weight loss. A cleanse of this nature has a focus on food and spirituality and is limited to no more than 7 days.
For information on my upcoming Autumn cleanse, follow this link.