Detoxing

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  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    There's no such thing as "detoxing" your body. Your body has a perfectly capable system for removing toxins from your body, and the best thing to assist it is water and some fiber. Faddish "systems", " cleanses" or "detoxes" are money-grabs for gullible desperate people. "my friend said she lost 10 pounds in one week"? Really? Well I have a friend who takes up smoking to lose weight. That's not a brilliant idea either. Besides, we are mostly water and carry between 5-15 pounds of waste in our intestines/bowels. Any snake oil mix with a diuretic and laxative thrown in will make it look like you just lost a bunch of weight, but its not FAT.

    agree with this!!

    I, too, have always heard that the body does not need to be "detoxed."

    I agree that we are made to detox ourselves, but we don't really allow our bodies to do it. How can someone fully detox when they are eating processed foods, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc? These are things our bodies ARE capable of detoxing, but the process is much, much slower for these foods as compared to whole foods that have not been processed such as veggies, fruits, etc. Our bodies may be able to detox that crap in time, but I don't see the harm in eating healthily, juicing and having a diet with less processed foods and weird crap that you can't even pronounce in our food. Avoiding that stuff will surely help one's body detox more and faster! I'm not saying that you have to use some weird foot pads or do the Master Cleanse, because I am definitely discouraging that. But my point is that there are healthy ways to detox that should not be written off immediately just because "the body can detox itself"...
    "Detoxing" doesn't mean what you think it means. The human body's ability to digest, process, and detox has absolutely no bearing to whether you can pronounce the words or not. Cleanses and detoxes do absolutely nothing.

    What is your definition of detoxing, then? To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves. You can't think that all the processed foods and chemicals and preservatives that go into food are GOOD for you, do you? My point by saying you can't pronounce those words was that the average person doesn't fully know every ingredient in their food and how all of the ingredients can affect your body. I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves.

    Given that this is your belief, could you accomplish the same task by eating a diet based on whole and nutrient dense, minimally processed foods, instead of putting veggies in a blender and drinking them?
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves.

    Given that this is your belief, could you accomplish the same task by eating a diet based on whole and nutrient dense, minimally processed foods, instead of putting veggies in a blender and drinking them?
    Exactly. You detox from drugs by stopping taking drugs. You detox from processed food by not eating processed food. All detoxing and juice fasting tends to do is lead to protein and fat deficiencies, which I believe is more unhealthy than eating processed foods, which consist of chemicals that your body can easily break down, and if it can't break it down, it doesn't get absorbed, it just passes right out the colon.
  • Purplelynny
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    I am certainly no expert, but back in January I did what I called a detox for 2 weeks to kick start my new healthy life-style. I started drinking water with unwaxed lemon throughout the days, cut out all processed foods (except quorn) and cut out caffeine and dairy. I basically ate fresh fruit and veg and brown rice for the 2 week period. I lost 11 lbs in that period. As i said, i did this as a kick start and it really helped me feel ready to make the next step. I was going to buy a detox kit, but they werent available, and i dont feel like i missed out by doing it all myself. A couple of colleagues at work saw my results and have also given it a go, with good results. Good luck!
  • Tourney3p0
    Tourney3p0 Posts: 290 Member
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    Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that gave me their opinions ! Thats why I posted this! I wanted to know the good and the bad of the master cleanse!

    The good: You're not eating deep fried lard. For this reason, it "works". You will absolutely not have any deep fried lard in your system after a couple weeks of eating something other than lard.

    The bad: You can eat any and all other healthy foods in moderation and achieve the same goal.
  • twistygirl
    twistygirl Posts: 517 Member
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    Dr Oz has a detox on his page and it's free.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    There's no such thing as "detoxing" your body. Your body has a perfectly capable system for removing toxins from your body, and the best thing to assist it is water and some fiber. Faddish "systems", " cleanses" or "detoxes" are money-grabs for gullible desperate people. "my friend said she lost 10 pounds in one week"? Really? Well I have a friend who takes up smoking to lose weight. That's not a brilliant idea either. Besides, we are mostly water and carry between 5-15 pounds of waste in our intestines/bowels. Any snake oil mix with a diuretic and laxative thrown in will make it look like you just lost a bunch of weight, but its not FAT.

    agree with this!!

    I, too, have always heard that the body does not need to be "detoxed."

    I agree that we are made to detox ourselves, but we don't really allow our bodies to do it. How can someone fully detox when they are eating processed foods, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc? These are things our bodies ARE capable of detoxing, but the process is much, much slower for these foods as compared to whole foods that have not been processed such as veggies, fruits, etc. Our bodies may be able to detox that crap in time, but I don't see the harm in eating healthily, juicing and having a diet with less processed foods and weird crap that you can't even pronounce in our food. Avoiding that stuff will surely help one's body detox more and faster! I'm not saying that you have to use some weird foot pads or do the Master Cleanse, because I am definitely discouraging that. But my point is that there are healthy ways to detox that should not be written off immediately just because "the body can detox itself"...
    "Detoxing" doesn't mean what you think it means. The human body's ability to digest, process, and detox has absolutely no bearing to whether you can pronounce the words or not. Cleanses and detoxes do absolutely nothing.

    What is your definition of detoxing, then? To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves. You can't think that all the processed foods and chemicals and preservatives that go into food are GOOD for you, do you? My point by saying you can't pronounce those words was that the average person doesn't fully know every ingredient in their food and how all of the ingredients can affect your body. I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    You "feel good" because of the power of the placebo effect.

    You "feel good" because of the unlimited ability of human beings for self-BS. We are odd creatures who can talk ourselves into believing almost anything.
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
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    My friend did it and lost 15lbs... BUT she put it all right back on afterward.

    Have you seen, "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead"? I have done a juice fast for 7 days. I definitely had some detox symptoms - migraines, fatigue, dizziness & nausea, but I felt so great afterward. I love that it is natural and full of nutrients too!!

    When you are on a diet that deprives your body of carbs (your body's primary fuel source), you eventually go into ketosis. This is what Atkin's diet folks are on (they eat lots of fat and protein and very little carbs).

    So, Joe, also went through ketosis which substitutes fat and meat with veggie juice--but don't kid yourself, you are going through ketosis. That is why Dr. Fuhrman wanted to run blood tests every few days on Joe, to make sure certain tests were expected.

    Atkins dieters will tell you the first 3 days or 72 hours is the toughest part, and so you also see that in the movie you mentioned. Detoxing for me means that when your body switches from carbs to fat (your fat stores), any harmful chemicals in your fat gets released so you get some skin rashes and other symptoms.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    You agree that (Kenny guy) thinks I'm trying to sale a product ? That is where this all started! I wanted more information!

    I don't think you are trying to sell anything. When I said "she wants your money", I meant the girl in the link from your original post.
  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves.

    Given that this is your belief, could you accomplish the same task by eating a diet based on whole and nutrient dense, minimally processed foods, instead of putting veggies in a blender and drinking them?

    Yes, in my opinion you can do it that way, too. I am not saying that there is one right way to do it, or even that you have to, but that is how I would do a cleanse (juicing or smoothies). Just saying... :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    I haven't tried heroin either and I hear that makes you feel pretty good.

    Why would I have an "open mind" and try something that I know is not good for me. Going 2 weeks on nothing but maple syrup, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper is nutritionally unsound and has no scientific basis for offering any benefit whatsoever.

    I always think it's so funny that none of these quacks pedaling their pseudo science can offer anything other than anecdotal evidence as to the safety and efficacy of their programs and can never explain in any scientifically valid way how it works. Yup, eat nothing for 2 weeks and you'll lose weight - it's a no brainer.
  • USMCConditioning
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    Anyone done the the Lemon Detox Diet aka Master Cleanse ?

    http://mastercleansesecrets.com/book.php?hop=simconi

    Yes, i have first hand experience. i went 10 days on the master cleanse. What do you want to know?
  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    There's no such thing as "detoxing" your body. Your body has a perfectly capable system for removing toxins from your body, and the best thing to assist it is water and some fiber. Faddish "systems", " cleanses" or "detoxes" are money-grabs for gullible desperate people. "my friend said she lost 10 pounds in one week"? Really? Well I have a friend who takes up smoking to lose weight. That's not a brilliant idea either. Besides, we are mostly water and carry between 5-15 pounds of waste in our intestines/bowels. Any snake oil mix with a diuretic and laxative thrown in will make it look like you just lost a bunch of weight, but its not FAT.

    agree with this!!

    I, too, have always heard that the body does not need to be "detoxed."

    I agree that we are made to detox ourselves, but we don't really allow our bodies to do it. How can someone fully detox when they are eating processed foods, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc? These are things our bodies ARE capable of detoxing, but the process is much, much slower for these foods as compared to whole foods that have not been processed such as veggies, fruits, etc. Our bodies may be able to detox that crap in time, but I don't see the harm in eating healthily, juicing and having a diet with less processed foods and weird crap that you can't even pronounce in our food. Avoiding that stuff will surely help one's body detox more and faster! I'm not saying that you have to use some weird foot pads or do the Master Cleanse, because I am definitely discouraging that. But my point is that there are healthy ways to detox that should not be written off immediately just because "the body can detox itself"...
    "Detoxing" doesn't mean what you think it means. The human body's ability to digest, process, and detox has absolutely no bearing to whether you can pronounce the words or not. Cleanses and detoxes do absolutely nothing.

    What is your definition of detoxing, then? To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves. You can't think that all the processed foods and chemicals and preservatives that go into food are GOOD for you, do you? My point by saying you can't pronounce those words was that the average person doesn't fully know every ingredient in their food and how all of the ingredients can affect your body. I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    You "feel good" because of the power of the placebo effect.

    You "feel good" because of the unlimited ability of human beings for self-BS. We are odd creatures who can talk ourselves into believing almost anything.

    I am aware that we can trick our bodies into thinking pretty much anything but a point I think you missed is that I have done this while supervising the changes in my blood. When I went into my first cleanse, I was deficient in protein, iron, and vitamin D among other things. When I was done with my fast I was checked again and had outstanding results. I did not do it to lose weight but rather to improve my health overall. I hardly lost any weight (maybe 3-4 lbs total)... But blood work results are not a placebo. I even went to a conventional doctor because I wanted the most unbiased opinion (didn't want to go to someone holistic who would most likely already be an advocate for cleansing). Anyway, I love juicing and smoothies but we are all different.
  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    I haven't tried heroin either and I hear that makes you feel pretty good.

    Why would I have an "open mind" and try something that I know is not good for me. Going 2 weeks on nothing but maple syrup, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper is nutritionally unsound and has no scientific basis for offering any benefit whatsoever.

    I always think it's so funny that none of these quacks pedaling their pseudo science can offer anything other than anecdotal evidence as to the safety and efficacy of their programs and can never explain in any scientifically valid way how it works. Yup, eat nothing for 2 weeks and you'll lose weight - it's a no brainer.

    I am in no way encouraging the Master Cleanse!! I am talking about juicing and cleansing by drinking green smoothies. Way different. Starving yourself is exactly the opposite of what I said, I literally said juice FEASTING. And you also missed the part where I DO have evidence with my blood work. While that may not be enough for some people, it is for me and no one has to agree with me but these forums are here for us ALL to voice our opinions.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I am in no way encouraging the Master Cleanse!! I am talking about juicing and cleansing by drinking green smoothies. Way different. Starving yourself is exactly the opposite of what I said, I literally said juice FEASTING. And you also missed the part where I DO have evidence with my blood work. While that may not be enough for some people, it is for me and no one has to agree with me but these forums are here for us ALL to voice our opinions.

    Nobody is saying that you can't voice your opinion.


    Here is my opinion:

    My only point of contention is that you're (not YOU specifically, just in general when I say "you") not removing toxins from your body by drinking juices and any weight loss is a direct result of both water and internal content losses. The mainstream belief that juice fasting is remotely desirable is basically gimmicky.

    Can it work? Yes, if you're comparing a juice diet to a previously inferior diet then the change in diet could produce good results. Doesn't mean it's optimal or even a good idea. You could take those ingredients and eat them and get the same result, and you could equivalently take whole and minimally processed foods and eat those instead of whatever highly processed diet the individual may have previously had, and you'll still reap similar benefits assuming a positive change in diet.
  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    I am in no way encouraging the Master Cleanse!! I am talking about juicing and cleansing by drinking green smoothies. Way different. Starving yourself is exactly the opposite of what I said, I literally said juice FEASTING. And you also missed the part where I DO have evidence with my blood work. While that may not be enough for some people, it is for me and no one has to agree with me but these forums are here for us ALL to voice our opinions.

    Nobody is saying that you can't voice your opinion.


    Here is my opinion:

    My only point of contention is that you're (not YOU specifically, just in general when I say "you") not removing toxins from your body by drinking juices and any weight loss is a direct result of both water and internal content losses. The mainstream belief that juice fasting is remotely desirable is basically gimmicky.

    Can it work? Yes, if you're comparing a juice diet to a previously inferior diet then the change in diet could produce good results. Doesn't mean it's optimal or even a good idea. You could take those ingredients and eat them and get the same result, and you could equivalently take whole and minimally processed foods and eat those instead of whatever highly processed diet the individual may have previously had, and you'll still reap similar benefits assuming a positive change in diet.

    Well, I can definitely agree with you that the weight you lose is definitely NOT fat and is essentially water weight/internal content. I see your point that you don't have to go to the extreme (juice fasting) to get good results, as long as you eat good food. There have been a lot of studies that say it's easier to assimilate and absorb nutrients in produce if you juice/blend it, but that may very well be wrong... who knows?! :)
  • LizKurz
    LizKurz Posts: 340 Member
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    There's no such thing as "detoxing" your body. Your body has a perfectly capable system for removing toxins from your body, and the best thing to assist it is water and some fiber. Faddish "systems", " cleanses" or "detoxes" are money-grabs for gullible desperate people. "my friend said she lost 10 pounds in one week"? Really? Well I have a friend who takes up smoking to lose weight. That's not a brilliant idea either. Besides, we are mostly water and carry between 5-15 pounds of waste in our intestines/bowels. Any snake oil mix with a diuretic and laxative thrown in will make it look like you just lost a bunch of weight, but its not FAT.

    agree with this!!

    I, too, have always heard that the body does not need to be "detoxed."

    I agree that we are made to detox ourselves, but we don't really allow our bodies to do it. How can someone fully detox when they are eating processed foods, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc? These are things our bodies ARE capable of detoxing, but the process is much, much slower for these foods as compared to whole foods that have not been processed such as veggies, fruits, etc. Our bodies may be able to detox that crap in time, but I don't see the harm in eating healthily, juicing and having a diet with less processed foods and weird crap that you can't even pronounce in our food. Avoiding that stuff will surely help one's body detox more and faster! I'm not saying that you have to use some weird foot pads or do the Master Cleanse, because I am definitely discouraging that. But my point is that there are healthy ways to detox that should not be written off immediately just because "the body can detox itself"...
    "Detoxing" doesn't mean what you think it means. The human body's ability to digest, process, and detox has absolutely no bearing to whether you can pronounce the words or not. Cleanses and detoxes do absolutely nothing.

    What is your definition of detoxing, then? To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves. You can't think that all the processed foods and chemicals and preservatives that go into food are GOOD for you, do you? My point by saying you can't pronounce those words was that the average person doesn't fully know every ingredient in their food and how all of the ingredients can affect your body. I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    You "feel good" because of the power of the placebo effect.

    You "feel good" because of the unlimited ability of human beings for self-BS. We are odd creatures who can talk ourselves into believing almost anything.

    I am aware that we can trick our bodies into thinking pretty much anything but a point I think you missed is that I have done this while supervising the changes in my blood. When I went into my first cleanse, I was deficient in protein, iron, and vitamin D among other things. When I was done with my fast I was checked again and had outstanding results. I did not do it to lose weight but rather to improve my health overall. I hardly lost any weight (maybe 3-4 lbs total)... But blood work results are not a placebo. I even went to a conventional doctor because I wanted the most unbiased opinion (didn't want to go to someone holistic who would most likely already be an advocate for cleansing). Anyway, I love juicing and smoothies but we are all different.

    I'm genuinely curious as physics tells me you cannot make something from nothing. How did your vitamin d, protien and and iron go up in number when you weren't consuming any vitamin d (generally found in Fish, seafood and fortified cereals), iron (found in red meat, eggs and dark leafy greens like spinach)' or protien found in meats, eggs, dairy, beans, Nuts and seeds.....none of which you consumed?
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
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    The master cleanse is a terrible diet. There is not much nutrition and there's a lot of sugar from the maple syrup in it.
    There are good components of it: fresh squeezed lemon juice helps stimulate the liver, cayenne pepper helps blood circulation, water of course is good and maple syrup is good in moderation but it will leave the body starving for nutrients.

    Clean eating is basically the best way to detox. There is a great book, Clean by Dr. Junger that explains the diet and the science behind it.

    I do believe eating the right fruits and vegetables will remove some toxins in your body by either stimulating the liver and/or binding with cellular toxins that are released with clean and balanced eating. But just eating fruit and vegetable juice is not a balanced diet and should not be done for a extended amount of time.

    Adding green smoothies to your diet is a great way to become healthier. I helped me add kale, spirulina, chlorella, etc. to my diet. Green Smoothie Revolution is a good book on the topic.
  • syam3000
    syam3000 Posts: 37
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    There's no such thing as "detoxing" your body. Your body has a perfectly capable system for removing toxins from your body, and the best thing to assist it is water and some fiber. Faddish "systems", " cleanses" or "detoxes" are money-grabs for gullible desperate people. "my friend said she lost 10 pounds in one week"? Really? Well I have a friend who takes up smoking to lose weight. That's not a brilliant idea either. Besides, we are mostly water and carry between 5-15 pounds of waste in our intestines/bowels. Any snake oil mix with a diuretic and laxative thrown in will make it look like you just lost a bunch of weight, but its not FAT.

    agree with this!!

    I, too, have always heard that the body does not need to be "detoxed."

    I agree that we are made to detox ourselves, but we don't really allow our bodies to do it. How can someone fully detox when they are eating processed foods, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc? These are things our bodies ARE capable of detoxing, but the process is much, much slower for these foods as compared to whole foods that have not been processed such as veggies, fruits, etc. Our bodies may be able to detox that crap in time, but I don't see the harm in eating healthily, juicing and having a diet with less processed foods and weird crap that you can't even pronounce in our food. Avoiding that stuff will surely help one's body detox more and faster! I'm not saying that you have to use some weird foot pads or do the Master Cleanse, because I am definitely discouraging that. But my point is that there are healthy ways to detox that should not be written off immediately just because "the body can detox itself"...
    "Detoxing" doesn't mean what you think it means. The human body's ability to digest, process, and detox has absolutely no bearing to whether you can pronounce the words or not. Cleanses and detoxes do absolutely nothing.

    What is your definition of detoxing, then? To me, detoxing is purifying your body and ridding it of all the crap that we eat these days and the only way to REALLY do that is to avoid foods that are processed and packaged with god knows how many additives to keep them from spoiling on shelves. You can't think that all the processed foods and chemicals and preservatives that go into food are GOOD for you, do you? My point by saying you can't pronounce those words was that the average person doesn't fully know every ingredient in their food and how all of the ingredients can affect your body. I don't know this either. I am just going by personal experience and research. Have you ever tried a detox? If not, have an open mind and try it and let me know how you feel! I am pretty sure you feel damn good.

    You "feel good" because of the power of the placebo effect.

    You "feel good" because of the unlimited ability of human beings for self-BS. We are odd creatures who can talk ourselves into believing almost anything.

    I am aware that we can trick our bodies into thinking pretty much anything but a point I think you missed is that I have done this while supervising the changes in my blood. When I went into my first cleanse, I was deficient in protein, iron, and vitamin D among other things. When I was done with my fast I was checked again and had outstanding results. I did not do it to lose weight but rather to improve my health overall. I hardly lost any weight (maybe 3-4 lbs total)... But blood work results are not a placebo. I even went to a conventional doctor because I wanted the most unbiased opinion (didn't want to go to someone holistic who would most likely already be an advocate for cleansing). Anyway, I love juicing and smoothies but we are all different.

    I'm genuinely curious as physics tells me you cannot make something from nothing. How did your vitamin d, protien and and iron go up in number when you weren't consuming any vitamin d (generally found in Fish, seafood and fortified cereals), iron (found in red meat, eggs and dark leafy greens like spinach)' or protien found in meats, eggs, dairy, beans, Nuts and seeds.....none of which you consumed?

    Sorry, let me clarify! When I had those awesome results it was not because I was on the Master Cleanse... this was when I was juice feasting/drinking green smoothies and ate only raw foods, the majority of those foods being dark greens and various fruits and veggies either juiced or blended into smoothies. As for Vitamin D, I know it sounds silly to some people but getting sunshine seriously helps with increasing your Vitamin D... that, and there are vegan foods that can up your intake as well, such as mushrooms, oranges, etc. Protein and iron are also found in dark greens, beets and some grains (although I wasn't eating grains at the time).
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    As for Vitamin D, I know it sounds silly to some people but getting sunshine seriously helps with increasing your Vitamin D
    I'm pretty sure that's extremely common knowledge. However, if you got more vitamin D from sunlight, that is unrelated to your cleanse.