What Is A Cleansing Diet?
Cleansing diets seek to detoxify your body.
Though specific techniques vary by programs, you can expect a cleansing diet to include:
- Herbs to help you detoxify
- Two liters of water daily
- Whole unprocessed foods such as grains, nuts, or seeds
- Plenty of vegetables and fruit
- Organic food and drink without any fungicides or pesticides.
Video: Transition to a Raw Food Diet
These are things you should avoid while on most cleansing programs:
- Alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drugs
- Processed or refined foods
- Certain supplements.
Why Go On A Cleansing Diet?
Unfortunately, we’re not always good to our bodies. When we eat processed foods, artificial sweeteners, saturated and trans fats, it can create needless waste that continues to exist in the body. If you’re feeling tired, lethargic, or lacking in energy, it may be that waste that is dragging you down.
A cleansing diet works to rid the body of toxic bacteria accumulated over years of an unhealthy lifestyle. Proponents of these diets say they not only improve health, but they:
Provide a boost in energy- Aid weight loss
- Increase metabolism
- Promote better health habits
- Dissolve and eliminate body congestion and toxins
- Cleanse the kidneys and digestive system
- Increase skin elasticity and youthful appearance
- Improve health of the bloodstream
- Relieve pressure and irritation in the arteries, blood vessels, and nerves
- Purify the body’s glands and cells
- Rid the body of all unusable waste and hardened material.
Natural Cleansers
You can create your own natural cleansing diet using a few simple, easily found foods. Here’s how:
- After you wake up, drink a slightly warm glass of water with fresh lemon or lime. This stimulates the lymphatic system, liver, and bowels.
- Eat two pieces of fresh, organic fruit for breakfast. Fruit is a strong antioxidant. If you wish to add protein, wait 10 minutes after the fruit and eat one or two high-Omega 3 eggs. This helps strengthen the liver and assists in the detoxification process. Adding tomatoes and spinach will contribute to a nutritious breakfast.
- For lunch, have a fresh green salad with non-dairy dressing. This will help create strong enzymes that in turn help digestion. If you wish to add protein, try turkey or lean chicken. Sprouts, beans, or nuts are also a wise choice.
- For a snack, try sugar-free yogurt to aid digestion and boost immunity.
- Finally, for dinner, pair a small bit of lean protein with steamed veggies. This will allow your body to continue cleansing into the evening.
Video: Oprah Winfrey's Cleansing Diet
Getting Started
There are many cleansing diets from which to choose, but perhaps the best known is the Master Cleanse, also known as the Lemonade Diet and the Maple Syrup Diet. Based on the Peter Glickman Book Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days, the diet’s proponents recommend you stay on it for a minimum of 10 days.
Oprah Winfrey’s 21-Day Cleansing Diet is based on the Kathy Freston book Quantum Wellness and achieves what Winfrey calls a “higher level (of) conscious eating” by eliminating caffeine, sugar, alcohol, gluten, and animal products from your diet for three weeks.
Dr. Sandra Cabot’s Liver-Cleansing Diet, based on her book of the same name, aims to improve health by targeting the liver, which can result in improved weight loss and internal body cleansing. Cabot recommends staying on her diet for eight weeks.
Regardless of the cleansing diet you choose, you can expect several benefits if done correctly. These include increased energy, accelerated weight loss, healthier skin, and the desire to continue healthy habits throughout your lifetime.