Body Cleansing Diets

There is a great deal of argument regarding the benefits of cleansing diets. There are many who swear by the efficacy of these cleanses, claiming that by purging excess toxins, they feel more energized, healthy, mentally alert and de-stressed. A number dietitians, though, believe cleanse diets are at best, a fad, and at worst, harmful to the digestive system.

Juice Only Cleanse

The juice fast is exactly what it sounds like: for a period of time ranging from one day to a week, the participant ingests nothing but freshly extracted juices of raw organic fruits and vegetables.

It's recommended that those who wish to try juice fasts start slowly by trying a one day juice fast first, before eventually attempting a few days or a week later on. It's a good idea to prepare for juice fasts by engaging in a raw foods cleanse (see below) for three or four days, leading up to the juice fast, so as to make the experience less severe. After the juice fast, engage in the raw foods cleanse again for a couple of days, to lead yourself back into your regular diet.

The fasts should not be back to back; it's best to put a week of solid foods in between one-day juice fasts, and a month between three-day juice fasts.

The benefit of juice fasting over water fasting is that the participant still gets the nutrients and calories he needs. The enzymes that are also present in freshly extracted fruit and vegetable juice are also necessary for basic functioning.

It's also a good idea to avoid nutritional supplements during a juice fast, as they can frequently cause stomach upset and nausea unless taken with solid foods.

Raw Foods Cleanse

The raw foods cleanse is one of the more agreeable cleanses, as it doesn't involve going hungry. Any complications with following the plan arise in the details: to do this cleanse, one cannot eat cooked food. Only fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and grains. No dairy, meat or egg products are allowed. Vinegar dressings on vegetables are okay, as long as the dressing is nothing but vinegar. Because many fruit juices are pasteurized, this fast would exclude them as well. Clean, fresh water will be the beverage during this fast.

For anywhere from a couple of days to a week, the raw foods cleanse participant will eat nothing but raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes and grains. If possible, try to eat only fresh, organic produce during the fast. Health food stores, co-ops and farmers markets are the best bet for what you'll need. For those who live in rural areas without health food stores or co-ops, farmers markets are much more common.

Master Cleanse

The Master Cleanse, also known as "The Lemonade Diet," is a cleanse developed by Stanley Burroughs as a detoxification process. Currently, this cleanse also is being suggested as a weight-loss regimen. The cleanse drink consists of fresh lemon juice, organic maple syrup, cayenne pepper and filtered water. No solid foods are eaten. The "lemonade" is drunk six or more times a day.

While this cleanse is effective for weight loss, it is also completely nutrient deficient and can result in muscle loss more than fat loss. Additionally, many dietitians claim that because a functioning liver already detoxifies the body, a master cleanse only serves to rob the body of essential nutrients and calories. Frequently, weight lost on a master cleanse is put back on, as much of the weight lost is water weight, rather than fat.