“It is extremely difficult for the average person to meet his or her nutritional needs in less than 1,200 calories a day,” Gans continues. Most of them lack in protein, fiber, fat, and calories.” Those are all nutrients that trigger satiety, and therefore help prevent overeating and weight gain. “But it’s not enough to sustain an individual long term. “A lot of times, juices will propose to have a lot of vitamins or minerals in them,” says Gans. While one study found that fresh juices did contain even higher amounts of the immune-boosting antioxidant vitamin C than blended drinks made with the whole fruits, in most other nutritional categories, juices fall short. Many come prepackaged and delivered to your doorstep, sold by companies that claim that juice provides all the nutrition you need while keeping your digestive system from being taxed. On a juice cleanse, only the extract squeezed from fruits and vegetables is consumed for anywhere from one day to two weeks. That was before companies like Pressed made cold-pressed a household term. There was a time when juice was considered a kids’ drink - and not a very healthy one, at that. “More energy is one of the big claims these diets make,” she says, “and if you’ve been eating a traditional Westernized diet, one with lots of sugar and processed food, then cutting all that out will make you feel less lethargic - at first.” But after two or three days, she says, surviving on so few calories and little to no protein or healthy fat takes a toll, and people complain of fatigue. Gans believes that one of the reasons detoxes and cleanses may have gained so much traction is they do help people feel better initially, particularly if they were eating a diet rich in processed or packaged foods to begin with. Not to mention, no randomized controlled trials - the gold standard for scientific research - have ever found that giving your gastrointestinal (GI) system a break from digesting food is beneficial in any way. “That’s why we have a liver and kidneys.” In other words, every time you pee, poop, or sweat your butt off at the gym, you’re getting rid of waste products that could otherwise harm your body. “Our bodies naturally detox themselves every single day,” says Keri Gans, RDN, owner of Keri Gans Nutrition in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet. Nutrition experts don’t buy into the idea that we need any additional help eliminating toxic substances. The terms “detox” and “cleanse” are mostly used interchangeably, and most plans fall into one of three major categories: those that replace solid food with liquid sustenance (juices, smoothies, or soups, sometimes with herbal supplements thrown in) those that claim to support your body’s natural detoxification systems by supplying nutrients that boost liver and kidney function and those that focus on cleansing your digestive system from the opposite end, the colon. Drinking lots of water is also a key component in many popular cleanses and detoxes. They promise to cure these ills by a designated period of fasting or restricting solid foods or certain kinds of foods (alcohol, sugar, gluten, or dairy), often supplementing juices or other drinks as a source of vitamins and minimal calories. Most cleanses claim that unspecified toxins - from nonorganic foods, environmental pollution, and other chemical contaminants - are wreaking havoc on our bodies, taxing our digestive systems, and leading to weight gain and serious ailments. But in homeopathic circles, the idea of purifying the body and flushing out toxins took root and grew alongside the movement to “eat clean.” After all, until the last decade or so, detoxing was medical jargon for treating serious conditions, such as alcohol poisoning or kidney failure. The modern detox movement grew out of largely naturopathic origins. What Are Detoxes and Cleanses, and How Did They Get So Popular?
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