The Spectrum of Cleansing

This basic understanding of the mechanics of detoxification helps explain why different detox programs have different effects and results. Some are designed to release toxins in a rush, others, to let them out slowly. But they vary in how successfully they “equalize” the intensity of detox mode and the intensity of liver detoxification, and this deter­mines, to my mind, their safety for the average person. With this in mind, here’s a guide to the most popular detox programs of the moment, and where Detoxification lies in relation to them.

Water fasting is the most intense form of detoxification, and has been used by spiritual leaders, including Jesus and the Buddha. Since only water is consumed, once the signal to enter detox mode is triggered, tissues release toxins and mucus into circulation—and don’t stop. In fact, the release gets more intense as the days go by. In ancient times, when this method was used primarily for spiritual reasons, there were no chemicals in the environment and so there were far fewer accu­mulated toxins to be released back into circulation. With our level of toxicity today and our nutrient-deficient bodies, water fasting can be dangerous. More toxicity is released, with a lot less nutrient support for liver detoxification.

I have witnessed many people try this method over the years. They all got very weak and sleepy and could not go for long, with the exception of one individual who had been cleansing consistently for twenty-five years and lived a very clean life in between detox programs. Although a few water fasters had no other problems but fatigue, many others suffered nausea, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, and other symptoms. Though I didn’t personally witness the more severe cases, they occurred and, tragically, included one death, that of a man who tried this fast to cure his cancer. (It is impossible to say what killed him, the fasting, the cancer, or a combination of both.) Nevertheless, I have also seen, heard of, and read of people healing themselves from apparently “incurable” diseases using this intense and controversial fasting method.

The Master Cleanse is a liquid-only detox program that has recently gained popularity. You drink only water with lemon, grade-B maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for as long as you can handle it. It is gener­ally well tolerated, but as with the water fasting, I have witnessed cases where it went very wrong. Even if well tolerated, the Master Cleanse is more beneficial to those who undertake a cleanse for emotional, men­tal, and maybe spiritual reasons than for the physical benefits. Once toxins and mucus are released into the blood, they must be eliminated from the body, and the Master Cleanse method enhances elimination only by the irritation that cayenne pepper causes on the intestinal mucosa, not by “binding” fiber to the toxins to prevent reabsorption and pulling them out. The main reason the Master Cleanse is incom­plete is because it does not accomplish what I consider to be the most important aspect of a detox program in our modern world: the restora­tion of the intestinal flora and the integrity of the intestinal wall.

In a juice fast you consume nothing but freshly made vegetable and fruit juices and water or herbal teas. This slows down the detox inten­sity seen in water fasting, although not by too much, so detoxification is still quite intense. The juices provide the nutrients needed for both phases of liver detoxification—they need to be primarily green (veg­etable) juices with few of the sweet fruit juices. Kale is considered the king of juicing vegetables.

However, you still need a good knowledge of nutrients to create and benefit from a juice fast. You need to add minerals via supple­ments, and good fiber or herbal laxatives are essential as there is no fiber in the juices. Though hunger tends to diminish naturally, most people report that a juice fast works best when they are able to take a sabbatical from regular demands of life at a retreat center—if only because it takes strong discipline to avoid the temptations of food. This type of cleanse also fails to rebuild the intestinal flora and therefore is not complete, unless you add in a side program of herbal antimicrobi­als and probiotics.

Blended fasting involves pureeing instead of juicing your vegetables and fruits, so that their fiber makes you fuller, and may add emol­lients like avocado or olive oil to increase fat quantity. This slows down toxin release as it takes more energy to digest, but the advantage of this method is that you are less hungry, and the fiber that remains in the drinks sequesters (grabs) the toxins in the intestinal lumen and car­ries them out, preventing them from being reabsorbed into the blood­stream. As a detox program, it is of medium-high intensity. For this reason, blended smoothies and shakes are an integral part of the Detoxification program.

A raw-food diet is usually seen more as a lifestyle diet than as a cleanse, but I use it as a detox tool for some patients, because it combines the benefits of the juice and blended fasts with a little more solidity in the daily diet in the form of raw-food meals. As raw-food devotees will con­firm, the power of enzyme-rich raw foods both aids the release of tox­icity and supports the liver in its processing. The downside is that for many people living busy city lives, it is hard to shop for and prepare.

Nutritional cleanses are a recent addition to the detox world. You drink shakes that have been specially designed to deliver protein, fat, and some carbohydrate in liquid form along with all the nutrients, anti­oxidants, vitamins, and minerals needed by the liver. You also eat a reduced number of solid-food meals that will not irritate or tax your system. This kind of cleanse is often done using so-called medical foods—powdered protein shakes made with natural ingredients and an array of natural supplements. Over several weeks, toxins are released consistently with all the necessary support to neutralize them success­fully. A huge benefit of this modern method is that it provides protein, which can attract some of the circulating toxins, thereby preventing them from reentering the tissues. (This is especially important to know should you go on to do a specialized heavy-metal cleanse; heavy met­als bind to proteins, which help prevent them from circulating to their favored locations, such as the brain.) The Detoxification program is a type of nutritional cleanse.