After gorging ourselves with rich, heavy and delicious foods during this Thanksgiving break, we drag ourselves out of a life of stuffing our faces and back to the reality of smaller, less comforting meals.
For some, this means that we don’t miss a beat and take ourselves straight to the gym, so eager to burn off the calories that we consumed in the past week that we run tirelessly on the treadmill and lift weights like we’ll never put them down. Another method to rid ourselves of the calories is to do a diet cleanse.
I’ve always heard of cleanses, whether it was a celebrity swearing by them in a magazine or hearing my really healthy friends talking about how great they were, addressing both how cleanses made them not only lose weight but feel healthier as well. But, to me, the idea of not eating any tangible food and drinking gallons of water mixed with lemon and mint leaves seemed like a recipe for creating a very “hangry” and overall unpleasant version of myself. If cleanses do result in these benefits that people often rave about, would they be worth it? I’ve always wondered what’s true and what’s not when it comes to cleansing.
To research, I read an article in the Huffington Post by Woodsen Merrell, physician, chairman of the Department of Integrative Medicine and author of “The Detox Prescription.” He talks about how one of the major benefits of cleansing the body is to allow for major components of the digestive system to rest and revitalize. Drinking juice concoctions of fruits, proteins and vitamin supplements make the stomach, liver and cells’ jobs of breaking down foods easier. So, in doing less work, they can rest and gain energy for when the cleanse is over. This can, presumably, improve their overall function and increase metabolism. Since most people eat highly saturated and processed foods every day, the liver is often working overtime to break down the foods that we consume.
Additionally, it helps to rid the body of these extra toxins that have accumulated in our body over time. Oftentimes, people lose pounds of fat and extra water weight in a cleanse.
“The romance of unhealthy foods is powerful,” Merrell said. “It is essential to break the cycle of dependence of saturated foods, refined carbohydrates, excess caffeine and alcohol.”
All of these sound like great benefits, and it makes sense to think that. Because of all of the bad and fattening foods we eat every day, our bodies could benefit from taking a break and flushing out toxins. But, when reading through Merrell’s article, I also noticed that there may be some major downsides to doing a cleanse, especially for people who are living in our college environment.
For starters, in order to cleanse in the right way, where you’re not essentially starving yourself, you need to have protein powders and all organic fruits and vegetables. This can be pretty expensive if you consider that you need enough to last a minimum of three days. In a world where all we can afford is fast food and late-night, half-off deals, this may not be practical for us financially.
Also, most people who have done cleanses say that it is definitely not a pleasant experience. Not to eat anything while also being on your feet all day walking to class, working out or staying up to work on assignments seems like it would be exhausting. Without any caffeine, it would be hard especially to stay alert in a morning class when sometimes even after a cup of coffee it’s hard to stay awake. I’ve often replaced a meal a day with smoothies, but I imagine it would be really hard to do for all three.
Overall, for anyone willing to try an all-juice cleanse, I applaud you. It could have amazing benefits for the body and general health, and scientifically it makes complete sense. But, looking at it practically and considering the late hours and cost, cleansing is just not the best solution for burning off those holiday calories.
