Crash course
Cleanses are popular, but critics say they're unnecessary and could be harmful
Along with the furtive purchasing of strappy sandals, home-pedicure sets, and twirly summer frocks, the imminent arrival of warmer weather means one thing for many people: a crash diet.
Few, it seems, can resist the allure of quick weight loss. Even Angelina Jolie has reportedly embraced a strict liquid diet to shed her few remaining curves for her upcoming film, "Salt." She's just the latest star to embark on a so-called detox regimen, which temporarily restricts food for the sake of allegedly ridding the body of accumulated chemicals and additives. And, of course, weight.
Although these sometimes sadistic-sounding programs - recall Beyoncé's taking up the Master Cleanse fast of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and water to drop a quick 20 pounds for "Dreamgirls" - have been in vogue recently, doctors contend the health benefits don't live up to the hype.
"They sound different, they sound exotic, but they're based on fallacious reasoning," Dr. Richard Curtis, chief of gastroenterology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, says of the regimens. "People would say you need detoxification, but there's nothing to support that."
The idea of cleansing and purification is age-old, Curtis points out, with fasting an important ritual in a number of cultures and religions. Today's detox regimens repackage the concept of cleaning out evil humors in order to regain balance, he suggests.
While Curtis and others dispute the notion that the body needs any help flushing out toxins, some of those who have tried the programs say they've liked the results.
"It was actually pretty positive," says Jim Watson, 52, a self-defense instructor in Malden who recently finished a 13-day Master Cleanse, his first. (The regimen, developed in the 1940s, is recommended for a minimum of 10 days.) Watson did the cleanse not to lose weight, but because he felt like he was "in a rut."
"I felt toxic and sluggish," he says, "like I needed to clean myself out."
Watson says he no longer drinks coffee or alcohol, which he did regularly before the fast.
"When you change some routine in your life, it allows you to look at things afresh," he says. "It changes your mentality. Once you detox yourself, you don't want to go back to putting toxins in your body."
Some of the side effects of the Master Cleanse, which Watson says he did not experience, include headaches, nausea, and a white film on the tongue, which are said to coincide with toxins leaving the body. (Even proponents of the regimen discourage certain people - children, pregnant and breastfeeding women - from following it.)
Dr. George Blackburn, director of the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, argues that detox regimens are a waste of time even for those healthy enough to withstand them.
"There's nothing anybody has done that the GI [gastrointestinal] tract couldn't do itself. It's exquisitely expert at protecting itself," Blackburn says. "It protects us from poisons and toxins that get into us. No improvement could be done."
In fact, a so-called cleansing program could be harmful if a bacteria or parasite has damaged the tract, he adds. "If you have a subclinical disturbance in your GI tract and then you get into one of these cleansing regimens, you can in fact aggravate recovery or make it slower. You need to be resting your GI tract, not assaulting it."
Besides the Master Cleanse, some of the better known detox plans include the Martha's Vineyard diet, a precisely scheduled program of fruit juices, broths, and herbal supplements (along with the recommended coffee enema), the Blueprint Cleanse, various juice regimens, each targeted to different levels of health-consciousness; and the Fat Flush, a low-calorie diet that prohibits caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy products, grains, and most oils.
Kate Leighton, 31, a food and cleanse coach and colon hydrotherapist at Isis Clinic & Spa in Brookline, follows Standard Process, a three-week program that allows vegetables, fruit, and some protein in addition to nutrient-dense shakes.
"I'm not a fan of the Master Cleanse," says Leighton, who does a detox once or twice a year. "Personally, I believe it's not enough. Your body needs fuel to truly detox. We need something to carry [toxins] out of our bodies."
It's easier to end programs that allow food, she adds, since one is less tempted to gorge afterward. "On average, people lose 10 pounds [on Standard Process]," she says. "But that's not 20. It's not off the charts."
Critics contend that people looking to lose weight would do well to skip cleanses altogether and think about longer-term strategies instead. Lori Lieberman, founder of the nutrition practice Lori F. Lieberman & Associates, says pounds dropped in these regimens result from muscle loss as well as fat loss, meaning fewer calories are needed to maintain body weight.
"Fast-forward to after the 21-day cleanse, and you'll be struggling more than you were before, both physiologically and psychologically," she says. "You'll increase the likelihood of rebound binge eating and worsen your relationship with food, perpetuating the weight struggle."
A better strategy, Lieberman adds, is to take a "non-diet" approach to weight loss, one that "relies on internal sensors, such as hunger and satiety, versus diet rules and counting." 