Cleanses

It's the beginning of 2015 and inevitably its time to see all the "I'm doing ___ cleanse or ___ detox to rid myself of toxins."  Or even worse, I see ads for people trying to sell this cleanse or this detox, promising instant results, instant gratification.  But you know what else will give you instant weight loss?  

Chopping your arm off!

So whenever I read about this stuff, it gets me really agitated because it seems that these people prey on peoples emotional attachment to weight loss.  And if you know me and my sarcastic nature, my immediate response to cleanses is "What is it? Drain-O? And my response to any detox is "What kind of drug are you getting off of?

Looking to clean out your pipes, get rid of that built up grime? Drain-o seems to work to clear plumbing in your bathroom, why not your internal plumbing(clearly I'm being sarcastic, please don't go and drink Drain-o)

First things first, there is no need to do a cleanse if you are eating a healthy diet. That healthy eating will, itself, make your body healthier and remove all of the “toxins."  If you want to replace all the processed garbage you are eating with fruits and vegetables, go for it.  Most likely you'll lose some amount of weight just doing that.  Remember though that there is no quick weight loss solution. If you want to lose weight, eat clean whole, natural foods. Eat a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and meat. (Shoot I would even say a well-balanced diet of vegetables and meat, which is completely the opposite of some of those fruit and sugar-laden cleanses!)

Second, the whole premise of these cleanses stems from the fact that they try to convince you that your body is like an air filter in a car that builds up junk.  This however ignores basic physiology in that the liver & kidneys are quite efficient in eliminating anything harmful to your body on a daily basis.  That's one of their main roles in the body.  If you don't believe me, you can pick up a biology book in the library(do those exist) or just Google "Function of the Liver"

There are many, but my favorite seems to be the juice cleanse and you have to ask the question of "Why a juice cleanse?"
What about them makes them so appealing?  Is it the celebrity endorsements or the exaggerated promised weight loss, weight being 100% arbitrary because you don't really care if its from water, fat(doubtful), or muscle mass.
Why is it so easy to convince people that all you need are 6 juices a day, all mushed up in a bottle, but convincing anyone to take those fruits and vegetables in the bottle, keep them whole and just freaking eat them is so hard?
It's really that simple.  Next time you think about a juice cleanse, ask yourself "Why am i doing this?"

Is it really that much healthier for me, or would I get more nutrition and more benefit out of eating all this produce? 

Lastly, if there is no physiological reason for results, if there is nothing credible behind it, then maybe its just a load of phooey.