NYT: “A Strange Green Journey”

Posted By elissa on Oct 29, 2010 | 3 comments

Although it’s an “n = 1” record, it’s refreshing to see a healthy dose of skepticism applied to the BS “detox” claims made by proponents of juice cleanses… and in the “Fashion & Style” section of the New York Times, no less.

If you’re going to have liquids, said Dr. Colbert, a staunch believer in unprocessed foods, there is certainly good to be had from eating fresh vegetables and fruits and nuts pulverized into liquid. “But most people aren’t Einsteins,” he added. “Often their idea of a juice fast is having nothing but orange juice or apple juice for a week. In which case, you might as well call it the Toblerone diet, because that’s how much sugar you’re pouring into your system.”

This is pretty much what I did. And it’s dumb. “Many people are undiagnosed diabetics, and these cleanses can cause spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels that could be quite dangerous,” said Nancy Kalish, a certified health coach in Brooklyn who advises clients against juice cleanses. “In addition, even if you have nothing wrong with you, this kind of cleansing puts a lot of stress on your body. Your body wants and expects food. And as with most crash diets, which is really what this is, your body thinks it’s starving. It doesn’t know it’s going to get more food. So it lowers your metabolism, and if you do this enough, it can lower your metabolism permanently.”

Moreover, many doctors see juice fasting as just another form of American extremism — as Dr. Colbert put it, “somewhere between religiosity and craziness.”

Marianne Gillow, a psychiatrist in private practice in Manhattan who consults for, among others, the Fashion Institute of Technology, sees a lot of patients with unresolved food issues. “My biggest concern about juice cleanses is that they fuel obsessive thinking,” she said. “People who have trouble managing their weight tend to be all or nothing about things. Cleansing doesn’t allow you to make peace with real food.”

Dr. Gillow recalled one recent client who was “somewhat prone to magical thinking.”

“She had a fantasy that juicing would rescue her from her overeating — and the underlying neediness,” she added. “So she juices intensely, loses 20 pounds, goes on a vegan diet for the next three months, breaks down, and resumes her romance with cheese fries. The weight quickly piles back on.”

BINGO! The key words/phrases are “all or nothing;” “obsessive thinking;” and “religiosity.” And that’s what these regimes are all about – there’s zilch science behind them. I’m still waiting for the day when a proponent of these products actually identifies the so-called “toxins” that are eliminated, and coughs up some credible data to prove it.

Bottom line: when you quit eating crap for a while, you’re bound to feel better. But it’s not necessary to starve yourself to accomplish this.  Skip the goofy (and expensive!) cleansing/detox products, and just follow Dr. Colbert’s advice above. Your body will thank you.