MYNIPPON

When you are overweight or obese and do not want to make sacrifices by simply consuming fewer calories and working out more, you start to look for shortcuts. That is why the diet industry is so big.  There is a reason why there are already so-called diets and new ones keep coming each year, because there are books and food to be sold.  People who do not want to deal with the real problem behind their weight (primarily overeating, unless your doctor tells you that your weight gain is due to a medical condition) are always looking for the next diet that they can go on because the previous ones either did not work or they gained all the lost weight back (a very common outcome for anyone who does not make permanent changes in what they eat and how much).

That is where crooks step in.  One of the easiest way to make a ton of money from desperate, ignorant dieters is to sell them a dream in the form of fruit and vegetable juices packaged to help you lose weight and become energetic, maybe even have glowing skin.  One such company is Cooler cleanse (Salma Hayek is one of the founders and I often wonder why being married to a billionaire she needs to engage in these dubious business schemes) that sells you expensive cleanses that are nothing but a concoction of ingredients that you can prepare yourself at one tenth of the price.  In yet another marketing spin, colleagues are taking them together as a way to get healthier and bond as coworkers.

How does a cleanse work? Anyone who does not consume lots of vegetables and fruits will notice that their bodies react both positively and negatively to consuming lots of these two in a smoothie.  If you rarely consume fruits and veggies as soon as you eat them you feel lighter (the food has less calories, hardly any fat, and it digests faster anyway because it is so highly processed compared to the other processed foods that you probably eat in large amounts and also compared to simply biting a fruit or vegetable totally raw).  The negative reaction comes from the body not being used to so much fiber and since that upsets the stomach, whatever you eat or have eaten during the last few days comes out as you spend a long time in the toilet.  Many people mistakenly believe that toxins are coming out or that they are actually losing weight.  No such thing is happening.  Whatever weight loss is happening is due to the loss of water from the body.

Can detoxing hurt? Actually, yes.  The human body is extremely good at eliminating toxins naturally and unless you are sick, the liver and kidneys eliminate toxic substances naturally as long as you drink plenty of water and eat a variety of foods.  According to Boston University associate professor of nutrition Joan Salge Blake quoted by The Times, “There’s no science to back up cleansing.”  So even if you do not lose any weight or feel lighter (both are temporary anyway and all the feelings of bloating and heartburn will return as soon as you return to your junk food diet), please do not waste time and money on this fad.  You will so much better off by simply eating balanced meals, getting plenty of sleep, and working out about five times a week for about 30 minutes each.