Do You Need a Detox Diet?
Detox plans and Cleansing Diets are all the rage.
From short 3 Day Cleanses and Coffee Enemas to The “Master Cleanse” and everything in between.
Celebrities swear by them. Beyonce once boasted about losing 20 lbs through cleansing. Oprah has also talked openly about her cleansing plan.
Shock jock Howard Stern’s sidekick Robin Quivers w
as a huge proponent of the “Master Cleanse” which is a combination of 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup, a pinch of cayenne pepper and one cup of water. Ads boast you can lose 20 lbs in 10 days just by drinking this “tasty” concoction throughout the day.
And then you read reports like the one where John Wayne died with 40 lbs of fecal matter built up in his colon! Gross, right?
If it were true, yes.
But it’s not.
It defies what the human body is possible of and is an internet hoax that is often pushed by different groups promoting their own “cleansing” products.
What’s the truth? Isn’t cleansing a great way to lose weight? And doesn’t the liver need to “detox” from all the junk we eat?
We hear this all the time.
The body is in fact fantastic at cleansing itself – eat more fiber and that helps “move things along” very nicely. Eat more high nutrient fruits and veggies and the body will respond by looking and feeling better.
Will a 7 day cleanse give you a weight loss jumpstart? No doubt –you’re starving yourself. But it’s far from sustainable.
There are much better ways to lose weight…
…what good is starving for 1 week if you’re then just going to binge later on when the cleanse is over?
But our goal is to try to find the positive in everything.
So maybe we can meet in the middle and look at it from the perspective of detoxing from all the junk that permeates the typical diet.
Try this “Mohr Cleanse” for 1 week – eliminate:
- Added sugar
- Soft drinks
- Fast Foods
- Candy, cookies, or any other dessert foods
- Trans fat
- White flour
Very simply — CLEANSE YOUR CUPBOARDS AND KITCHEN OF CRAPPY, OVERLY PROCESSED FOODS!
And replace all those with fruit and veggies – aim for 10 total per day – use tea and water with lemon as your only beverages, and eat nothing that comes out of a box, can, or is handed to you through a window.
Sound extreme? Maybe sipping on maple syrup and cayenne pepper is "sexier."
Eat real foods. Don’t subject yourself to a coffee enema. “Cleanse” yourself from the junk in your diet with only clean eating.
You’ll lose weight doing this, too!
Want more ideas on the best foods to eat to detox the body?
Remember that your thoughts can help you lose belly fat!
January 21st, 2010 at 6:14 am
Thanks for being there. Media sure knows how to make you think they know what's going on. You start to wonder maybe I should go out there and spend hard earned money to see if my colon is full of stuff but I'll stick to eating right and getting lots of God made veggies and other proven foods.
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Ashley R Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:17 am
Actually, if you want a great detoxification program that solely uses organic methods, go to http://www.newmedicinefoundation.org
I believe this is the healthiest detox and weight loss program on the market. We have seen great results from this program! You need a prescription from a physician based out of Florida. He is an MD and his wife is a Chiropractor, and they have built this program together. They are dedicated to helping people feel better, and results are proven!!
Check the website out! Or for more information, you can email: nmfomaha@gmail.com
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January 21st, 2010 at 6:14 am
Amen!
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January 21st, 2010 at 6:16 am
I ACCEPT the Mohr Cleanse challenge!!! I will begin this Sunday! Thank you so much for your opinion on this.
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January 21st, 2010 at 7:44 am
If these cleanses do not work how does one explain the success behind MLM companies that promote 30 day cleanses that have many success stories? I have been approached by one such company at least twice and their program is promoted by Medical doctors, Chiropractors, Dietiticians, Massage Therapists and various athletes.
I am not a distributor nor do I use their products ( I am happy with my prograde). However I will say they do promote a healthy lifestyle.
Is it possible that what you suggest is not enough and what these cleanses offer is kick start? You are the experts and obviously I am not. Just a my toonies wort:)
Thanks again for the info!
Mike
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:03 am
Great questions, Mike. The same can be said for many infomercial products or other gimmicks, though. Marketing works wonders! Why do many fat loss supplements make 10′s of millions of dollars, yet aren’t effective? What I suggest will also give people a “kick start” — with the majority of people eating out around 4 times/week, cleaning that up alone will make a huge difference. Thanks!
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Mike Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Thanks for the reply. I will attempt the "Mohr Cleanse" next week. Perhaps it will get me past my "sticking" point. I guess I will have to give up my Tim Horton's extra large double -double :)
Mike
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Brien Malone Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 11:45 am
Just to lend support to the "don't buy into the marketing" angle, Dateline NBC did a fantastic experiment where they set up a fake 'skin moisturizer' pill filled only with Nestle's Quik. They found an informercial marketing company to sell it in spite of repeatedly saying, "we have no proof it works", they got a doctor who was willing to endorse it for a measly $5000, and a whole panel of 'extras' to vouch for the product's efficacy.
The transcript of the show is here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14856571//
It is long, but well worth a read.
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January 21st, 2010 at 9:32 am
I have wondered many times about this idea of "cleansing" . I agree with your list of foods to avoid…..I feel "cleansed" when I avoid all of those items, so I couldn't agree more! Thanks for your perspective on the topic.
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January 21st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Glad to read this. I'll admit I've been tempted by Gwenyth Paltrow's cleanse as well as another one but worried the cleanse would leave me too woozy to workout. Thanks for keeping me from straying!
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January 21st, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Thank you for putting this information out there in such a straightforward manner! Are you familiar at all with Kathy Freston's book about the 3 week cleansing diet? It talks about eliminating caffeine, alcohol, sugar, etc.
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 6:43 pm
I have not seen that book, but will check it out…
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January 22nd, 2010 at 10:56 am
Amazing! My husband and I have doing the Daniel Fast for the past couple of weeks which sounds exactly like your recipe for cleansing. Check it out! Thank you so much for all your great advice.
Glenda
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January 26th, 2010 at 10:19 am
HI I have to say that in my opinion, you are partially correct. I also do not believe in the Master cleanse, however a day a week or 2-3 day of fasting with fruits and vegetables (or juicing) are excellent for gut health. I have attended many seminars and read many books on detoxification, hence my business name of everybody needs detox! Because we do! We are SO overloaded with toxins that simply relying on our food and body to do so is a bit nieve in my eyes. Last year at the functional medicine conference the entire conference was just on detox! We are all killing ourselves daily with our exposures to 12 CATEGORIES of toxins. You also did not mention organic foods. What about hormones, antibiotics and pesticides in food that is not organic? WOW there is tons of research to support what I am saying and look at the statistics from even the World Health Organization… they state that 60% of ALL degenerative diseases relate to toxins! Why do you think we have astronomical increases in cancer? And autoimmune diseases? I have heard you speak at FNCE in Chicago and do respect your background, however, there is A LOT more to detox then you list. Feel free to contact me if you want to further discuss the topic.
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February 9th, 2010 at 4:44 am
if your colon is full of mucosal plaque lining its walls then there is absolutely no point in even trying to do a detox, cos if your colon is clogged up it cant do its job properly
the master cleanse gets rid of the mucosal plaque quicker than anything, so if you do a 7 day master cleanse 1st then you will have cleaned out your colon. then when you start a propper detox diet of just eating whole foods, healthy foods, the detox will actually work cos the colon will be able to do its job
but if you just jump in 1st with the detox diet eating whole healthy foods , without 1st cleaning the colon, then you will be wasting your time
if you are using the master cleanse for weight loss then yes it's a bit of a scam, but if you are using it to clean your colon of mucosal plaque so that you can properly detox your body afterwards then i dont see how anyone can call it a scam.
it does an excellent job of removing mucosal plaque. and it actually does a far better and faster job than a healthy diet does
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April 16th, 2010 at 12:29 am
I feel as if 7 days is a bit too long to do this to your body. However, am I able to only do it for 2 or 3 days? Will I still get the benefits (feeling better, not necessarily weight loss)?
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November 5th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Detoxification is very important. You body cells will be restored and organs will function well when you detoxify.
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