To Cleanse or To Detox? That is the question! And I’m sure that many of you wonder if there is a difference, or if one is better than the other.
To start with, whenever you see something about a 14 day detox or cleanse, generally this is just a temporary thing. And this can actually be more stressful on your body than good. If you truly want to do a liver cleanse or detox, this takes more than 14 days.
A real detox or cleanse needs to be done with the guidance of a qualified nutritionist or naturopath, as there are 3 stages that need to be addressed. But before you can begin that treatment plan, you need to have a proper consultation. Here I need to address things from your past and present, that can all directly or, indirectly effect your present status.
What is a detox or cleanse?
Now for me, if you are going to go to the trouble of doing a proper detox programme, after you have finished you need to keep in place some of the changes that you have made. Because a happy healthy liver, means a happy and healthy you!!
And for that matter, a 14 Day lemon cleanse/detox could actually make you really sick, or trigger some other underlying issue/s. You should not do this as an easy fix to lose weight before a wedding, or other special event. This is something that used to really get up my nose, when I worked in a health food store. There are no quick fixes, or at least none with no side effects.
If you are wanting to do a cleanse, which in of itself is a great thing, you want to keep up with some of the changes that you implemented. Now, I’m not sure what exactly ‘doing a cleanse’ means for most of you. But I take it as giving your digestive system a little break, clearing out any build up in the intestinal system. And depending on how many days you intend to do it for, it could also include a little bit of gut healing…but that’s a topic for another day.
I feel that in this day and time, these two words have been greatly abused, with the meaning down the toilet (literally). Tell me, what do these words mean to you?
Is it worth it?
Again, if you’re going to subject yourself to doing a 14 celery juice cleans, be prepared to feel quite sick, loss of energy, poor sleep and mood, just to name a few.
Ask yourself what are you trying to gain from this?
Because after you have finished, what have you learnt? If you lost some weight, you will most likely put it all back on, because you are going back to your old eating habits. And generally, it is fluid that you have lost. Not ‘fat’ loss.
Will you be able to cope with the cleanse that you have started? Will you be able to cope with work, you family and other commitments?
These detoxes and cleanses that you see out and about, can be a little intense, and do not offer the support that you need. What is bascially happeing is that you are eliminating lots of fluid and experiencing a laxative effect.
Though they may say things like “eliminating toxins, glowing skin, happier outlook…..” you may not experience these things, in fact the opposite. For some, your skin may break out, you may have less energy, become extremely moody, etc, before you see the benefits of the cleanse. IF you experience any benefits.
Some cleanses that you see are actually done well, and it can be an opening for you to improve your way of eating. As once you start this process, you want to keep the momentum. And I assume that you started this because you want to change your eating habits, and improve your general wellbeing.
Should you keep up with the changes, you will notice that you feel better, your digestion is better, your skin looks and feels better, etc. And to get even better results you could do this with the guidance of a nutritionist or naturopath. As they will be able to see where you need more support - dietary/lifestyle modifications, vitamins, minerals and/or, herbs.
My advice is, if you want to do either of these things seek guidance. As a cleanse or detox is more that just drinking lemon or celery juice, or anything else involved with the particular product.
Don’t get me wrong, as Celery has a lot of medicinal properties. It can help with inflammation, is a great source of fibre, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc.
But doing a liver detox or cleanse, involves a lot more other actions - monitoring, assessing and guidance. These things have to be done slowly, as when releasing toxins that have been stored in your adipose tissue or other areas of your body, it can make you feel really sick. So you want to pace yourself, and have on hand the tools to work through this.
So think about why you are wanting to do a cleanse or detox. Is it a quick fix thing, or is it because you are wanting to change your ways????