Cleansing is a very controversial topic. The arguments for and against both make sense. The one side says, “The body is perfectly capable of cleansing itself,” which is true and has been scientifically proven. The other side says, “Yes, but it needs help because our soil has been depleted of nutrients and our bodies are bombarded with toxins from the standard American diet, cigarette smoke,” etcetera. I actually haven’t found any studies that say our soil is totally depleted or that our fruits and vegetables are any less nutritious than in days past, but I have found studies that indicate a poor diet leads to disease. Whether it is from “toxins” or because of a diet being low in nutrients and high in calories and bad fat remains to be seen. But what about those of us who eat clean? Is cleansing the body really necessary? Maybe not.

According to Dr. Oz, doing a 10-day detox diet (in which a rigorous diet of vegetables and fruits are consumed) really has no more effect on the liver than eating a healthy diet. Surprising, huh? But what he also says is that it takes more than 10 days to get the toxins out of our bodies because toxins go straight for our fatty tissues.

So how does that affect those who eat clean? If you’ve started living a clean eating lifestyle, what is the reason for doing a cleanse if all you’re giving your body is wholesome foods to begin with? A whole food cleanse (which is the best type of cleanse, in my opinion) involves eating lots of fruits, vegetables, opting for whole grains, drinking lots of water, and avoiding processed foods, white sugar, white flour, and sugary fruit drinks and sodas. Sound familiar? Yes! If you’re eating clean, that’s what you’re doing anyway. So why bother shelling out hundreds of dollars in cleansing “products” when you’re helping your body to cleanse every single day?

While a cleanse may not be necessary for those who already eat clean, it can be a great way to jumpstart into a clean eating lifestyle.

Posted on June 13th, 2008 under Clean Eating Basics • Tags: clean eating lifestyle, cleanse toxins, cleansing, detox diet, eating clean lifestyle, healthy diet. •  Print This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback