Around the new year, people are determined to get in shape and be healthier in general. This usually includes going to the gym more often, limiting your late night trips to the golden arches, and dieting. With so many people facing similar goals and challenges, diets have become almost an annual fad that we see in the early months of every year. In recent years, we’ve seen the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, and so on. One of the most recent diets that society seems to have taken a liking to is the “Master Cleanse” diet.
While the Master Cleanse diet isn’t exactly new, it’s one of the diets that’s really gotten some momentum as of late. The Master Cleanse diet consists of no solid foods and a lot of juice. The bright side of sticking to this diet is that you will definitely lose weight, and you’ll probably lose it very quickly. As a detox diet, those in favor of the diet would argue that the Master Cleanse flushes all of the toxins out of your system. Our bodies are full of pollution from alcohol, caffeine, cigarette smoke, etc., and a detox is supposed to cleanse your body from all of those pollutants.
Studies on this diet have proven to have interesting results, though.
Keri Glassman, a registered dietician, went on a morning TV show and explained some of her concerns. Among her primary worries were: We don’t know if our body needs the extra help removing toxins (that’s why we have the kidneys and liver), people lose weight too quickly, after dieting they put on more weight than they originally lost, fatigue, some juice cleanses lack the necessary nutrients. She did say, however, that if you’re going to do a detox, you should do a modified version, and make it slightly more healthy than simply avoiding solid foods for a full month or two.
Part of why these diets have become so popular is because of a recent documentary of an overweight man struggling to lose weight and become healthy. He goes on a rigorous juicing diet for 60 days and has incredible results. While juicing had positive results for the dieter, that doesn’t mean that your body will have a similar reaction. There is little to no scientific evidence that supports this method of dieting, and most dieticians, like Ms. Glassman, will suggest you to try a different, modified version of a strict juicing diet.
Your desire to lose weight is a great thing. Not everyone has the motivation to do so, so you are well on your way to achieving your goals. A detox and a juicing diet will certainly help you lose weight, but that doesn’t necessarily make it healthy. This kind of diet is incredibly taxing on the mind and the body. Your best bet it to ask your doctor about your options, and make sure to choose the diet that is best for your body and your needs.
