Cleansed

Exposing the Lies and Dangers of the Cleansing Fad

By: Joey Lott

www.joeylotthealth.com
Published by Archangel Ink
Copyright 2014 Joey Lott
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or
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 Table of Contents
Preface
Theres Nothing Dirty About You
Some Bad Ideas
Water
Fasting
Exercise
Dietary Restrictions
Green Smoothie Meal Replacement
Juice Fast
More Fiber
Liver/Gallbladder Cleanse
Laxatives
Coffee Enemas
Colonic
Other Stuff
How to Cleanse Safely
Get This Book in Paperback and Audiobook
References
 Preface
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The notion that theres something dirty about us and our bodies certainly isnt new, but as of late
its been taken to fanatical new heights of religiosity and mainstream acceptance. In the past
decade or two, weve watched the rise of cleanses of all sort. The popularity of these cleanses
has become a booming business and has moved from the fringe to the mainstream.

But what if these cleanses arent as effective as the marketers claim they are? What if, in fact, the
observable reality of human physiology and biology actually defies the claims in many cases?
And what if in more than a few cases these cleanses could actually be harmful instead of helpful?

What I have observed is that the interest in cleansing is often one that gets reinforced by the
particular subculture to which we identify. Namely, those of us who are skeptical of conventional
medicine - the so-called alternative medicine crowd - tend to buy into the theories behind these
cleanses rather readily. And if and when someone poo-poos the whole idea or offers any
criticisms, we may then dismiss the criticisms out of hand since we seem to reflexively label the
critical voice as being ignorant or a shill for the medical industry or something equally
dismissive.

However, in this book I hope to offer you an even-handed, honest look at some of these cleanses.
What makes my criticisms unique is that I am highly skeptical of conventional medicine, I am a
believer in the innate capacity of the body to heal itself, I believe in many approaches to healing
that are often labeled as alternative, and I am still critical of many cleanses.

What is more, I have actually tried a great many of these cleanses over the years. I, like many of
us, bought into the claims, and because no one ever told me otherwise or pointed out the fallacies
of the cleansing claims, I believed the hype. I believed that I was dirty - that I had accumulated
toxins - and that these cleanses would help me to feel better.

What I found instead was that these cleanses actually made me feel worse over time. In fact, the
more seriously I attempted to cleanse, the worse I felt. And strangely, when I did all the wrong
things (according to the cleansing philosophies), I usually felt better.
 Theres Nothing Dirty About You
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The very premise upon which the cleanse mentality is based is one that just so happens to fit in
well with many of the other myths that we civilized, Western humans tend to believe. The notion
that we are dirty is entirely compatible, for example, with the idea of original sin in the Christian
tradition. And because we are largely inculcated to believe that we are fallen from grace, whether
we are Christian or not, we are very susceptible to the idea that we are dirty physically as well as
spiritually. So we are a people who are ripe for the cleanse mentality.

The problem in this regard is simply that its not really true. Of course there are exceptions here
and there in which the innate detoxification channels arent working. And there are cases in
which chronic exposure to chemicals can cause a toxic overload. But experience and research
suggests that we humans are a great deal more resilient than we like to believe. It seems that
normally, for most people, simply eliminating or reducing the exposure to toxic substances and
supporting natural detoxification processes through sane, safe, and enjoyable measures is enough
to allow for proper detoxification.

In other words, for most of us, the toxins that the cleanse marketers want us to believe in arent
even there. And what toxins are there for some of us some of the time are best eliminated
naturally without any heroic efforts such as fasts, laxatives, excessive water, or any of the other
approaches that are typically promoted as being healthy. In fact, many of these practices may
actually cause health problems...including impairment of natural detoxification processes.

My suggestion to you is that you are not dirty. If anything, the cleanse mentality itself is
probably the worst of the filth that you need to purge.
 Some Bad Ideas
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There are a great many bad ideas that get promoted as cleansing practices. I have been personally
duped by far too many of them, including very nearly all of those that I cover in detail in this
book. I dutifully drank tons of pure water, fasted for extended periods of time on fresh-pressed
(raw and organic) juices, exercised and sweat like a madman, took harsh laxatives, pounded
down inhuman amounts of fiber, eliminated all the dangerous foods such as sugar and salt and
meat and dairy, and I even irrigated my colon!

Now, if I were an isolated case, an extreme outlier, then that would be one thing. But in
communicating with others and in doing research, Ive come to find out that Im not the only
one. I speak with many people who are chronically ill, and I find that the overwhelming majority
are attempting various sorts of cleanses with minimal success. In fact, the net effect of these
cleanses and the entire mentality that goes with them seems to be worsening health for most
people. And, ironically, for most of us, when we finally ditch the cleanses and the cleanse
mentality and start to truly nurture ourselves with adequate food, rest, and enjoyment, we find
that our health improves.

Sure, its not always a smooth and linear path. Sometimes people are dealing with real allergies.
Sometimes people have health that is so compromised that it takes a bit of trial and error in order
to find the right balance of things that work. But in almost every case, what works is to support
the bodys natural detoxification systems through food, rest, and enjoyment as a foundation
rather than the purging, starving, and rinsing that the cleanse culture promotes.

In the sections that follow I cover some of the most common cleansing practices. I start with
those that seem the most reasonable and then move on to those that are increasingly extreme.

To be clear, I am not saying that none of these practices could ever seemingly produce any
positive changes. In limited contexts and for some people some of these things may sometimes
seem to bring about positive changes, but I suspect that in most cases, the positive results may
not be because of the specific cleanse. Unfortunately, we rarely attempt these cleansing practices
in a controlled fashion, eliminating the likelihood of other factors being at cause for the results
we experience. And because we dont control for other factors, we cannot be certain that the
particular cleanse that we are doing is actually causing any positive effects.

So as you read what follows, please understand that I am not attempting to ask you to take on a
new belief. I am just pointing out a different, more grounded perspective. My hope is that this
information will loosen the grip that the cleanse culture can tend to have on us. I am inviting you
to consider cleanses with greater critical faculties and at least be open to the possibility that the
same or greater benefits can be achieved through sane, safe, and nurturing lifestyle choices. No
heroics necessary.
 Water
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Water. Innocuous water. Who could hold anything against water?

Water is, in fact, of primal importance. Our bodies really are composed of an abundant amount
of water (Guyton, 1976). However, just because water is important doesnt mean that drinking
large amounts of water is good for you.

We now receive advice from an overwhelming number of sources - mainstream and alternative -
suggesting that we should drink large amounts of water every day, whether we feel like it or not.
Nearly every single cleanse book, website, or resource that Ive come across suggests that
increasing water consumption - sometimes radically so - is synonymous with cleansing. Many
cleanse resources tell us that it is important to drink enough water every day to make sure that
urine is clear.

Some go to the extreme and suggest that the sensation of thirst is actually an indicator of severe
dehydration and that we should be drinking water preemptively to avoid ever feeling thirsty. The
recommendations for how much water to drink typically fall into one of two categories: eight 8-
ounce glasses (as in 64 ounces) or half your body weight (measured in pounds) in ounces (as in
75 ounces for a 150 pound person).

It is extremely rare that we receive a message that allows for drinking less water. Yet, it turns
out that drinking so much water isnt good for you in most cases. In some cases it can actually be
harmful.

The advice to drink water when you arent thirsty fits in nicely with the cleanse mentality since
the basic assumption is that your body is not intelligent enough to take care of itself. Yet in
reality for the overwhelming majority of people, thirst is a very good indicator of when one
should drink fluids.

A kidney specialist from Dartmouth Medical School did a study to determine if the advice to
drink so much water was actually backed up by any scientific or medical studies (Valtin, 2002).
And what he found was that there is absolutely no support for these suggestions. None at all.

But doctors, alternative health care practitioners, yoga instructors, bloggers, curezone.com
members, friends, family, and just about everyone else keeps on advising everyone else to drink
more water. The trouble is that very few people are aware of the potential effects of drinking so
much water. They assume that the effects are all positive or at least neutral. What they dont
realize is that drinking too much water can cause health problems. In most cases, these problems
will be minor and short-lived, but chronically drinking too much water can lead to chronic
problems. In some circumstances, drinking too much water can lead to moderate to severe health
problems. And, at the risk of sounding a bit melodramatic, Ill even add that too much water can
(and does sometimes) lead to death (Associated Press, 2007). Not that youre likely to die from
drinking too much water. But then again, you might want to think twice before downing a gallon
of water at a time.

The body is made of a large amount of water, but that water is not in the form of pure H2O.
Instead, its a briny mix. Think about how salty bodily fluids are. Blood is salty. Tears are salty.

The problem with drinking large amounts of water is that it can dilute the sodium content in the
body or cause sodium loss. Sodium is contained in extracellular fluid - meaning the fluids
outside the cells. Meanwhile, the cellular fluid contains potassium. The balance between sodium
outside the cells and potassium inside the cells is what maintains the structure, so when sodium
levels drop, water enters the cells in an attempt to maintain balance, causing them to swell. This
is a condition known as hyponatremia (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016).

Hyponatremia is a potentially dangerous condition. It can be mild as long as the body is able to
excrete water quickly enough. However, if the body cannot excrete water quickly enough, then
hyponatremia can be potentially life-threatening.

Normally, the body eliminates water through urine. This is the primary means. The kidneys,
which are the organs that regulate urination, normally can excrete no more than a liter (or
approximately a quart) of liquid every hour. However, under a variety of conditions the kidneys
may be less capable of excreting urine. Although some diseases and drugs (most famously
MDMA) can cause an impairment, the most common reason that urine capacity may be reduced
is prolonged physical exertion, such as long-distance running, chronic cardio exercise, all-night
dancing, and so on. This kind of stress causes the kidneys to produce anti-diuretic hormone in
order to conserve water. This can reduce hourly urine capacity to approximately 1/10. So,
strangely, some of those at highest risk for hyponatremia are athletes and others who exert
themselves for long periods of time.

In other words, if you are attempting to cleanse by exercising vigorously and then drinking lots
of water, you could be putting yourself at great risk. It is a very bad idea.

Ironically, drinking too much water may actually impair normal, healthy functioning in the body.
And that may harm detoxification channels. It turns out that if you really want to support natural,
innate detoxification processes in the body, then the best thing you can do is trust your body,
listen to its cues, and respond appropriately.

This means you should drink when thirsty, not otherwise.

The current obsession with pure water may be misguided as well. Although it is perhaps
sensible to be cautious about municipal water, it doesnt necessarily follow that it is better to
drink only ultra-purified water. Remember about bodily fluids being briny? Well, it turns out that
drinking ultra-purified water may upset the natural balances in the body. Of course, if drinking
only enough to quench thirst and in the context of an adequate and balanced diet, then even ultra -
purified water is not likely to be a problem. But unfortunately, many people who buy into the
cleansing mentality are also restricting salt, sugar (including foods naturally high in sugar such
as fruits), and calories in their diets, and that combined with excessive pure (reverse osmosis or
distilled) water is a recipe for disaster.

What many people dont realize is that the body isnt able to absorb pure water very well. The
body needs salts and sugars in order to use the water. That is why emergency workers
responding to crises in which many people are dehydrated are given rehydration salts, which
combine salt and sugar with water (World Health Organization, 2006). Without the salt and
sugar, water alone can further exacerbate existing dehydration, leading to death. Attempting to
cleanse by drinking pure water without adequate salt and (natural) sugar in the diet can lead to
health problems rather than improving health.

So what is the best course of action? First of all, listen to your body. Drink when thirsty, and
drink enough to quench your thirst. Dont drink more often or beyond quenching your thirst just
because you believe that you should or that it would be healthy to do so.

Secondly, ensure that you arent eliminating all salt and sugar (from natural sources) from your
diet. Although there are many who claim that salt and sugar in all forms are bad for health, it
seems that like most things, taking this advice to the extreme does more harm than good. Some
salt and some sugar - whether in the form of fruit, honey, white sugar, or any other form - helps
one to remain properly hydrated and avoid creating potential imbalances.

Finally, on a personal note, I used to drink excessive amounts of water regularly. I subscribed to
the yellow pee indicates sickness philosophy, and so I was attempting to pee clearly. I
succeeded in my goal, but I also succeeded in creating worsening digestion, anxiety, frequent
urination, and cold hands and feet. It wasnt until I finally stopped drinking any fluids except for
when genuinely thirsty that I started sleeping for more than a few hours at a time and my hands
warmed up.
 Fasting
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Fasting is yet another extremely common prescription given for the purposes of cleansing. The
theory usually suggests that abstaining from food for a period of time gives the digestive system
a rest and therefore allows it to better clean itself. We are often told that the body is a temple, and
so we may imagine that fasting would be akin to moving stored-up trash out of the temple in
order to be able to sweep and mop.

Its a seductive theory, but it doesnt work that way in practice. Thats because the body is not, in
fact, a temple. It is a body. It doesnt work like a temple. It works like a body. And so if we want
to understand how to best care for the body, then we are probably best advised to listen to the
body rather than attempting to layer on conceptual metaphors.

Fasting is, understandably, stressful on the body. The body requires a steady stream of energy in
order to function. Put bluntly, without sufficient energy, the body will die. The primary source of
energy is food. The food is converted to raw energy by the body as part of a process called
metabolism. Some of that energy is used to sustain life, and some of the energy - when there is
enough - gets stored for backup.

Although there are some who argue that it is possible and desirable to rely on fat as a primary
fuel source long-term, for most of us most of the time, we rely upon glucose (a sugar) as our
primary source of energy. So when you eat food containing carbohydrates, your body breaks
down the carbohydrates into glucose, which then gets absorbed into the blood. From there, the
body uses a hormone called insulin to make use of the glucose and to maintain a normal level of
glucose in the blood.

If the blood contains more glucose than can be used at the moment, then the insulin will move
excess glucose to other parts of the body - primarily the liver - for storage. This glucose is
packaged into a form called glycogen. In a well-fed state, as much as 8% of the liver weight can
be in the form of glycogen (Cole & Kramer, 2015). This is normally enough energy to fuel the
body for up to 8 hours depending on activity levels, metabolic rate, stress, and other factors. This
is the primary way in which the body gets energy over time.

However, once the glycogen stores are depleted, the body will begin to catabolize fat stores for
energy. This may sound desirable, but long-term or chronic fat metabolism necessitates relatively
high levels of stress hormones. The result can be decreased basal metabolic rate and chronic
activation of the sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight response). This was
demonstrated clearly in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment (Keys, 1950). Its also been
demonstrated repeatedly since: when humans fast for extended periods or chronically under eat,
levels of a key metabolic hormone thyroid hormone triiodothyronine drop, indicating
lowered metabolic rate.
What is more, the body may sometimes prioritize muscle tissue as a fuel source instead of fat.
What that means is that you may grow weaker and more physiologically stressed at the same
time while fat stores remain relatively unchanged.

Of course, for most of us, intermittent fasting is built in to our normal schedules. Most of us fast
for 8-12 hours every day. That is the very reason for the name that we give to the first meal of
the day: breakfast. This sort of relatively short-term fasting is normal and perfectly healthy for
most people. However, in most cases we awaken because of the activation of stress hormones
once glycogen stores in the liver have been drawn down. It is a stress event that awakens us and
prompts us to eat!

Beyond the normal nightly fasts that most of us naturally observe, it is not clear whether
additional fasting has any benefits. In most cases, longer fasts beyond 8-12 hours are more likely
to produce stress than benefits. This does not mean that longer fasts up to 24 hours may not be
sometimes beneficial for some people under the right circumstances. There are quite a few
studies that show that there may be some benefits to be had by doing one or two 24-hour fasts
(which are usually defined as ~500 calories during the fasting period) per week (Longo &
Mattson, 2014). But its not clear that these benefits are only obtainable through these types of
fasts. And, importantly, these fasts are not complete abstentions from food or energy inputs, and
they do not extend beyond a 24-hour period.

What does seem clear is that abstaining from food for the purposes of cleansing is a misguided
practice that is not founded upon a solid understanding of human physiology. That is because in
the truly fasted state, after glycogen stores have been depleted, the body will begin to slow
metabolic rate in order to conserve energy. This will activate stress hormones and the
sympathetic nervous system. The result is slowed digestion and increased likelihood of
unhealthy fermentation, intestinal flora imbalance, and intestinal permeability (leaky gut).
Although some patterns of intermittent fasting may not turn this into a chronic state and may
even possibly improve efficiency, most forms of fasting beyond glycogen depletion are more
likely to bring about problems rather than improve anything.

Fasting is something that is utilized by many different traditions for spiritual, psychological, or
emotional benefit. And it is certainly possible that inducing stress in this fashion - sometimes
combined with other stress-inducing behaviors, such as sleep deprivation - may have some
benefits simply because it can provoke a different perspective. However, too often people
conflate this heroic approach to spiritual, psychological, or emotional well-being with
physiological well-being. And that may be a mistake.

Oftentimes, cleansing advocates suggest that one should fast for extended periods of time well
beyond the 8-12 hour daily fast. I frequently see recommendations for fasts that last days or even
weeks. The suggestion is that this will be beneficial for the purposes of cleansing, but it turns out
that these sorts of extended fasts are far more likely to impair the bodys natural detoxification
processes over the long term.

It is true that for most people most of the time extended fasts will result in weight loss, and
oftentimes people conflate weight loss with cleansing. However, weight loss may not indicate
cleansing. It may, in fact, indicate that the body is being forced into a state of starvation, and in
that state the body will dramatically lower the basal metabolic rate. The result is that upon
resuming normal and healthy eating patterns, the person who underwent an extended fast may
actually gain more weight than was lost. And in any case, when basal metabolic rate is low, the
natural detoxification processes of the body may become impaired. In other words, most
cleansing fasts have the opposite effect of cleansing.
 Exercise
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Many cleansing advocates promote the idea that sustained, moderate-to-high intensity exercise
that produces large amounts of sweat is a good way to cleanse. And while it may be true that
running or cycling for an hour may produce a kind of euphoria (AKA the runners high), the
evidence in support of the cleansing benefits ismodest at best.

In the previous edition of this book I reported that there is no evidence that exercise produces
any cleansing benefits. However, since that time I have turned up some evidence that if exercise
produces sweat it can, in fact, lead to excretion of toxic metals and some toxic synthetics
(phthalates) through the sweat.

The question that begs to be asked, of course, is this: does exercise-induced sweating (or heat-
induced sweating) lead to a net reduction of toxic metals and toxic synthetics beyond what would
be normally achieved through the kidneys and liver?

And to answer that question is a bit tricky.

First, lets look at the purpose of sweat. Sweat, as should be obvious, is one way in which
humans maintain a core temperature within a safe range. The evaporation of sweat from the skin
cools the body by releasing heat more rapidly than would be possible otherwise. That is the
primary purpose of sweat.

Sweat is composed almost entirely of water with small amounts of minerals. Those minerals,
sometimes known as electrolytes, play an important role in health. As you will recall from earlier
in the book, electrolytes are essential for health. One of the reasons so-called sports drinks such
as Gatorade are popular is that they combine sugar and electrolytes (salts) with water to both
rehydrate and restore electrolytes lost in sweat.

A question that is worth asking at this point is this: why do we lose valuable electrolytes in
sweat?

The answer is that sweat is produced by extracellular fluid in the body. Basically, when the body
needs to cool off faster than is possible otherwise, it sheds extracellular fluid. This is not a
detoxification strategy so much as it is simply a strategy to prevent death from overheating.

Because extracellular fluid contains electrolytes, those electrolytes are lost as a consequence. The
primary electrolytes in extracellular fluid are sodium and chloride i.e. table salt which is why
sweat is salty.

Why might some toxins be excreted in sweat? The answer is that toxins that are found in
extracellular fluid will naturally be eliminated when the extracellular fluid is shed through
sweating. But its not a detoxification strategy of the body. Its incidental loss simply because
youre sweating.

But whether incidental or not, we still have to wonder, is sweating (whether induced by exercise
or heat or whatever the case) a useful means to detoxify?

And the answer to that seems to be: probably not in most cases.

According to the only systematic review I have been able to find of the relevant literature on the
subject, toxic metal concentrations in sweat are sometimes equal to or even higher than urine
concentrations (Sears, Kerr, & Bray, 2012). That sounds promising.

But keep in mind that the amount of fluid that a person sweats versus urinates in a day even if a
person does a lot of exercise in the day is minimal. Also, keep in mind that intense exercise
causes the body to produce anti-diuretic hormone, reducing the amount that a person urinates for
a while. Add that up, and its really not clear that exercise is a good mode of detoxification.

I should add, however, that there is a possible exception. According to the same systemic review
(Sears, Kerr, & Bray, 2012), people with acute metal toxicity primarily from occupational
exposure excrete a lot more of those metals through sweat than everybody else. That is
reportedly true for cadmium, mercury, and lead, though not for arsenic. So the authors of the
review suggest that in such cases of acute toxicity, sweating may play a useful role in
detoxification.

However, that is only in the case of acute toxicity. And the authors also make it clear that the
toxic metals may be accumulated in the skin due to the route of contamination in the first place.
In other words, it is possible that the people studied may have absorbed toxic metals through the
skin and therefore sweating may be an effective means to eliminate them.

But in normal populations who absorb modest amounts of toxic metals and other compounds
through food and water as well as through the lungs, it is not clear that sweating is the preferred
method of detoxification.

The liver and kidneys naturally detoxify the body all day every day so long as we nourish our
bodies. And while healthy movement and exercise is undoubtedly an important part of
nourishing our bodies, there is evidence that over-doing exercise is counterproductive.

No matter how fastidious we may be, we are exposed daily to low levels of toxins. However, as
long as the toxic exposure doesnt outpace our natural detoxification capacities, theres no real
problem.

Does endurance exercise contribute to improving or harming our natural detoxification

capacities? The answer is, it seems to harm the bodys ability to naturally detoxify through the
liver and kidneys.
Research shows that high intensity and endurance exercise increases inflammation and can
produce misleading blood test results that look like liver damage (Pettersson, et al., 2008). And
in the case of ultra-endurance exercise it is clear that the effects are very harmful for the kidneys
(Sugama, et al., 2015).

In the balance, it appears that sustained, high-intensity exercise that could produce enough sweat
to lead to any short term detoxification benefits (in other words, running long enough to sweat
out significant amounts of toxic metals or other toxins) would result in damage to the bodys
natural detoxification organs. So in the long term, such a strategy will backfire.

On the other hand, there is no shortage of evidence that plenty of sustained, low-intensity
exercise such as walking has many health benefits, including maintaining the health of the
bodys natural detoxification organs. And short bursts of high-intensity exercise do not appear to
have any negative health consequences.

So I see no reason not to exercise. But I dont see any convincing evidence that working up a
sweat offers any cleansing benefits.
 Dietary Restrictions
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In the name of cleansing, many people advocate for various dietary restrictions. The logic
usually suggests that various categories of foods are inherently toxic or that they clog up the
digestive system. Depending on the particular ideology of the individual who is promoting the
restrictions, we may be advised to give up dairy, grain, starch, sugar, salt, saturated fat, all fat,
red meat, all meat, or some other category of food.

To be sure, there are some things that people eat that may cause health problems. For example,
artificial sweeteners are likely a terrible idea. And there is some mounting evidence that highly
polyunsaturated industrial vegetable oils (canola, soy, corn, safflower, etc.) may be harmful.
Furthermore, there is some evidence that suggests that large amounts of unfermented soy is
probably a bad idea. These foods are shown to potentially interfere with hormones, the endocrine
system, and the natural detoxification systems of the body. So one may be well-advised not to
overdo those foods.

Furthermore, its hard to argue that alcohol, artificial colors, synthetic preservatives, and fast
food are good for you. They all tax the bodys natural detoxification processes mostly because in
their own ways, each is a toxin that needs to be detoxified.

However, otherwise, for the majority of people, most foods are not a problem. These foods do
not clog up the digestive system in most people. They do not leave residues as many wrongly
suggest. And most people are not allergic to most of them.

Are there exceptions? Yes. Of course. Some people are genuinely allergic to gluten. Some
people are genuinely allergic to nightshades. But it is a mistake to generalize those allergies and
sensitivities to the whole population and suggest that everyone would benefit from eliminating
these foods.

You may be the rare exception, but chances are good that you are not. And if you are not the
exception, then eliminating nutritious, palatable, enjoyable foods from your diet will not only not
cleanse you in any way, but it may limit your caloric intake (i.e. your energy input) and thus
lower your basal metabolic rate. The result? Impaired detoxification.

As it turns out, many of the food categories that people restrict in the name of cleansing are
actually necessary for the proper functioning of the bodys detoxification processes, such as
those that take place in the liver, the kidneys, and the colon. For example, adequate quality
protein is necessary for the proper functioning and maintenance of all organs and systems of the
body. Cholesterol is necessary for the liver and gallbladder. Natural sugar or starch is necessary
for the liver and for all the organs of the body. The vitamins and minerals in dairy and red meat
are important for a tremendous number of essential processes in the body, without which natural
detoxification will be impaired.
Popular cleansing diets such as sugar-free, salt-free, zero carbohydrate, vegan, raw vegan, and so
forth may sometimes result in short term benefits for some people. At least many people will
perceive benefits and attribute them to the diet they have undertaken.

But these extreme measures turn out not to be much better than the other extremes such as
overindulgence of soda, fast food, and artificial sweeteners.

Why? Once again, because many of these cleansing diets result in caloric restriction, lowering
metabolic rate, thereby reducing the natural detoxification capacities of the body. Or, through the
restriction of needed nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc.) these diets can
impair natural detoxification simply because of deficiencies in nutrients needed to support organ
health.

Advocates of cleansing or detox diets often claim that the symptoms of those diets bad
breath, fatigue, irritability, cognitive impairment, insomnia, etc. are the result of a healing
crisis as the body throws off stored toxins. But I cannot find a single shred of peer-reviewed
evidence to support the claim. Meanwhile, its not hard to come up with plenty of more logical
explanations for the symptoms.

These restrictive diets typically restrict calories either intentionally or simply as a byproduct of
restricting categories of food. Calorie restriction results in the breakdown of tissue in the body
for energy and an increase in stress hormones. These things can easily account for the typical
symptoms.

I find that the same old arguments are being used decade after decade to promote restrictive
cleansing diets. These arguments have been discredited long ago, but that doesnt stop people
from dragging them out and using them again.

The reason people continue to use the arguments is simple: they continue to work. Health gurus
today continue to prop up their entire platforms on the same discredited arguments that the health
gurus of 50 years ago or even a century ago were using.

One of the most common examples is the mucoid plaque argument. I fell for it. Its a
convincing tale: your health problems are all due to gunk building up in your colon.

It makes sense to us because weve all seen mechanical things getting gummed up. But
animals arent mechanical. Were living, and our bodies are beautifully and unimaginably
perfect.

Theres no buildup of gunk in your colon.

I cant find any serious research on the matter. And the reason is simple: theres no evidence that
any such phenomenon happens.
Think about this for a moment. Colonoscopies are a big business these days (though potentially
dangerous). They are procedures that involving inserting a camera into the colon through the
rectum to view the inside of the colon walls.

To get a clear view of the intestinal lining, people undergoing a colonoscopy have to do some
sort of procedure to clean the fecal matter from the colon. The most common and effective
procedures include a laxative (PEG) or a pulsed colonic irrigation for 30 minutes.

Either of these two procedures is highly effective in clearing out the normal, natural fecal matter
that is generally found in the colon so as to be able to get a clear view of the intestinal lining
(American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2006). And there is not a single report to be
found by any gastrointestinal organization or medical professional of anybody failing to get a
clear colonoscopy because of mucoid plaque or any other such thing.

Yet the proponents of the idea that white flour, sugar, meat, dairy, and other natural foods clog
up the intestines with mucoid plaque claim that to rid yourself of the foul toxicity you must
undergo dedicated cleansing rituals over a long period of time. In the extreme, colonic irrigation
proponents will state that it can take many hour-long colonic irrigation sessions to cleanse the
intestines effectively.

Its nonsense.

Unless a person has severe dysfunction such as organ failure or a major infection of the
gastrointestinal tract, the vast majority of food is absorbed through the small intestines. After
pre-digestion in the stomach, the stomach contents (called chyme) empty into the small
intestines. There, pancreatic enzymes and bile mix with the contents, chemically breaking down
the food so that it can be absorbed through the intestinal wall.

What gets absorbed are amino acids, fatty acids, and sugar. Proteins are broken into amino acids.
Fats are broken into fatty acids. And digestible carbohydrates are broken down into sugar. In
other words, flour, sugar, meat, dairy, and other natural foods are absorbed in the small
intestines.

What doesnt get absorbed is whatever cannot be enzymatically broken down. That consists
primarily of indigestible carbohydrates also known as fiber along with a small number of
tightly wound proteins and some phytonutrients such as curcumin (from turmeric), anthocyanins
(from foods like blueberries), and catechins (from things like cacao). Most of those things are
then food for the so-called microbiome in the colon the 90 percent of the cells in the body
which are not human but are responsible for the majority of the immune system function and
further breaking down food and converting it into usable nutrients.

In other words, there is no reason to believe that the food that a person eats could produce
mucoid plaque. Its a ridiculous claim.
And all those disgusting photos that get published as supposed proof of mucoid plaque? Many
are fraudulent and intended to promote supposed cleanses. And the rest are from people who
have been duped; many of the cleansing products such as psyllium husks produce a firm gel that
looks remarkably likeyou guessed itmucoid plaque.

The bottom line is this: the food you eat plays a role in your health, but assuming you are eating
natural food (i.e. not lots of artificial colors, artificial flavors, synthetic texture enhancers, and so
forth), the food you eat isnt capable of creating toxicity in you. The role that food plays in health
is whether or not the food you eat supplies the nutrients you need.

Food is not dirty. It doesnt make you dirty. You dont need to be cleansed because you eat food.
 Green Smoothie Meal Replacement
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The green smoothie fad is unlikely to be inherently dangerous for most people. However, the
way in which many advocate for replacing meals with green smoothies is misguided. A simple
Google search for green smoothie cleanse returns just shy of 3 million results. And while I
havent read all 3 million, those that I have read have a consistent message: in order to cleanse,
one should replace one (or sometimes two) meals a day with a green smoothie.

First, for the uninitiated, green smoothies are blended drinks containing fruits and green
vegetables. For example, a common beginner green smoothie (one with a relatively mild and
sweet taste) might contain a handful of raw spinach blended with a banana, a mango, and a bit of
coconut water. As one gets accustomed to the taste of raw green vegetables, the advocates of
green smoothies suggest increasing the ratio of green vegetables to fruit and using a wider
variety of green vegetables, including strong-tasting vegetables such as kale or mustard greens.

For most healthy people, the occasional green smoothie in addition to adequate caloric intake is
unlikely to be problematic. And there are likely some people who will find that daily green
smoothies (along with sufficient calories) in the long term are not problematic. In fact, some
people may even find that long-term daily green smoothies may offer some benefits, but
unfortunately, most people are not using green smoothies in this manner. Instead, they are
participating in green smoothie cleanse challenges that encourage participants to replace meals
with green smoothies.

Many of the criticisms of green smoothies that I have read focus (wrongly, in my opinion) on the
so-called anti-nutrients in raw green vegetables. The main anti-nutrients under fire are oxalic
acid and various goitrogens that exist in substantial quantity in raw green vegetables. While I do
believe that these substances can be of concern for some people, I see this as a secondary issue.
More on this in just a moment.

What I see as the primary concern is that green smoothie meal replacement generally is going to
amount to calorie restriction. Many green smoothie recipes amount to less than 200 calories. And
even the beefy 32-ounce versions that include a handful of nuts, protein powder, and an extra
banana or maple syrup still tend to weigh in under 400 calories.

Of course, most of us have been convinced that calorie restriction is a good thing. And perhaps
in the right context it could be. But sustained calorie restriction for most people typically puts the
body into stress mode. That is because the body perceives calorie restriction as a crisis. The
result? The body adapts by lowering basal metabolic rate. And that means...wait for it...impaired
detoxification.

Here is where the secondary issue of anti-nutrients comes into play. While moderate amounts of
these anti-nutrients are unlikely to be a problem for a healthy person with a healthy metabolic
rate, for most people with compromised health - including lowered metabolic rate - the anti-
nutrients may be problematic. In other words, if you are eating enough food and you are
otherwise healthy, then a green smoothie is probably fine. But if you manage to lower your
metabolic rate, then suddenly the anti-nutrients might start to wreak havoc.

The bottom line is that if you are already healthy, then replacing one meal a day with a green
smoothie for a few days or a week is probably not going to do any harm. It may result in calorie
restriction, but with that sort of restriction (maybe a 400-600 calorie restriction daily) for a
relatively short period of time, an otherwise healthy person isnt going to have problems. But
when the restriction becomes more significant (i.e. replacing two or more meals a day with a
green smoothie) or when the restriction continues for longer periods of time, this may lead to
increasing problems rather than improving health.

I do know that many people are quite zealous about the green smoothie thing, and I believe that
many people see some relative benefits - or what they at least perceive to be benefits - in the
short to medium term. I dont even want to dissuade anyone from making and eating green
smoothies if that is their preference, because its not likely to be harmful for most people if done
in moderation.

However, with all that said, I think that this fad is leaving some people sick in its wake. And I
believe that calling green smoothie meal replacement a cleanse is dishonest. If it is a cleanse,
then it would have to actually be cleansing specific toxins from the body. But there is no
evidence that green smoothies are capable of doing that. And, in fact, in the way that many are
promoting the use of green smoothies, it is entirely possible that the practice could actually be
harming the bodys natural detoxification pathways by lowering metabolic rate.

So if you want a cleanse, then I suggest that green smoothie meal replacement is probably not for
you. A true cleanse is what your body does naturally when you supply it with enough nutrition
and rest. Replacing a meal with a calorie-deficient green smoothie may have the opposite effect.

Lets just call green smoothie meal replacement what it is: a calorie restriction diet undertaken
with the hope of losing weight in the majority of cases. Will it work? It might for otherwise
healthy people if done in the short term. But then again, it might not. And if undertaken for long
enough, it may well result in more problems than benefits.

In summary, if you genuinely enjoy green smoothies as part of an otherwise calorie and nutrient
sufficient diet, then chances are they wont hurt you. But its not a cleanse. And if overdone, it
can be harmful.
 Juice Fast
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The juice fast is yet another popular cleanse modality that shares a lot of the same downfalls as
the green smoothie meal replacement, fasting, and water cleanse modalities.

Typically, a juice fast consists of eating no solid food and drinking only water and freshly-
pressed fruit and vegetable juice. This is done for one or more days, or sometimes as long as a
month.

Of course, fasting on juice for a few hours or even for a day or two is unlikely to be extremely
harmful for someone who is healthy to begin with. However, it is not going to cleanse anything.
Like everything else we have covered so far, it is more likely to - you guessed it - impair natural
detoxification.

The juice fast will almost always involve a huge restriction of calories. The average cup (8
ounces) of fruit juice contains about 110 calories. That means that 64 ounces of juice is probably
going to come in at around less than 900 calories. Of course, if youre a real pro (and wealthy to
boot), you might be able to drink as much as a gallon of juice in a day for a whopping 1800
calories. But lets face it, thats a lot of juice. And youd still be at a caloric deficit.

Then, with all that liquid, youll be peeing like a racehorse. Which means, of course, that youll
be excreting large amounts of sodium. Since all that juice likely contains massive amounts of
potassium relative to sodium, this is likely to result in hyponatremia. You may recall from the
earlier discussion about water that hyponatremia is what happens when the sodium/potassium
balance is upset and water from outside the cells moves inside the cells. This causes all kinds of
unpleasant symptoms as covered previously.

Again, for most healthy people, a short-term (one day or less) juice fast is probably not going to
be harmful. But many people undertake juice fasts for longer periods of time. And many people
who are already sick undertake juice fasts. So it is important to note that despite the zealous
claims of many juice fast advocates, juice is glaringly deficient in protein and fat, and there is
simply no way that juice alone can sustain most people. Although many like to downplay the
importance of fat and protein, each plays an important and necessary role in health. Long-term
juice fasts extending beyond a day or two are extremely likely to be damaging to health for most
people.

Long-term juice fasts, in addition to all the things already mentioned, are shown to downgrade
basal metabolic rate. Ive mentioned this enough times by now that the significance should be
obvious. Lowered basal metabolic rate equals impaired detoxification.
Can fresh fruit and vegetable juice be healthy? Sure. It can be enjoyable as well, but it is not a
cleanse. And when it is the only food eaten long-term, it is almost certain to have the opposite
effect of what was originally intended.
 More Fiber
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Nearly every cleanse expert seems to advocate for fiber, fiber, and more fiber. Common
cleanse supplements include fibers such as psyllium husk, flax seeds, oat bran, guar gum, and
others. And many cleanse advocates suggest that one should strive to vastly increase dietary fiber
intake as well by increasing consumption of whole grains, seeds, beans, and especially fibrous
vegetables.

We are told that fiber acts to scrub the digestive system. This imagery alone should be
offensive enough to dissuade us from intentionally ingesting large amounts of fiber for the
purposes of cleansing. For one thing, as weve already seen, the digestive system is self-cleaning
and doesnt inherently collect plaque or however we may envision our supposed internal
filthiness. The colon, in particular, which is one of the most common targets of the cleansing
phenomenon, is lined with a vast number of important bacteria (an essential part of the immune
system) that coat a thin barrier of tissue that protects the rest of the body from fecal matter.
When you consider this carefully, then the idea of scouring your intestines doesnt sound as
appealing any longer.

Do we need fiber? Id say that the evidence is pretty darn good that fiber is health-promoting.
Fiber (a term I am using to include all indigestible carbohydrates, including not only soluble and
insoluble fiber, but also resistant starch, prebiotics, and so forth) is implicated in reducing
cardiovascular disease risk, protecting against colon cancer, improving blood sugar regulation,
decreasing inflammation, and strengthening immunity, among other things (Slavin, 2013).

The United States government recommendation is to eat 14 grams of fiber per 1000 calories.
And reportedly the average American eats about half of that. Since the 14 grams per 1000
calories figure is based on statistical health benefits, eating half that amount may have negative
health consequences.

But does that mean that you need more fiber to scrub your intestines and cleanse you of filth and
toxins?

Nope. What it means is that fiber has proven health benefits, and if you dont eat enough fiber to
get those benefits, you will simply be missing out on them. As such, your cardiovascular disease
risk will be higher, your immunity might not be as strong, and so forth.

But it has nothing to do with cleansing.

Again, Im reminded of the typical mucoid plaque scare tactic that gets used to promote all
kinds of fiber and laxative cleanses. As Ive already pointed out, mucoid plaque is a complete
fiction. Its a great scam, of course, because many unsuspecting people simply dont know that
the bowel is, in fact, self-cleaning. Sorry to point out the obvious, but that is what poop is - the
result of a self-cleaning bowel. No mucoid plaque gets left behind. (I know theres a good joke
in there somewhere, but Ill refrain.)

In extreme cases, excessive fiber, particular insoluble fiber, can lead to bowel impaction. Sadly,
the author of this book had an experience of this at the age of 18 when he undertook the
misguided attempt to cleanse with an excess of supplemental fiber in the form of wheat bran. As
funny as potty humor is, I assure you that bowel impaction is extremely unpleasant. Obviously,
an impacted bowel is exactly the opposite effect of what one might be hoping for if the intention
is to cleanse. The moral of the story is that some types of fiber can work against your intention,
even in dramatic ways.

Its also worth considering that dietary fiber does not directly provide usable energy. It is true
that gut bacteria can turn fermentable fibers (prebiotics, fermentable soluble fiber, resistant
starch, etc.) into short chain fatty acids, which can provide some useable energy. But on the
whole, fiber is not a good source of energy.

Human, like all living things, need energy. We need lots of it. The brain alone needs around 120
grams of sugar every day. While dietary fiber has lots of potential health benefits, providing
energy is not one of those benefits. Since dietary fiber can lead to satiety or fullness without
contributing calories, many people who are trying to cleanse will inadvertently lower their
energy intake.

While many people may benefit from including more fiber-rich foods in their diets, many people
who are fanatical about cleansing are probably not among them. Instead, the cleanse fanatics
are more likely to already be eating too little energy. So further reducing energy intake for these
people is not useful. As weve seen time and time again, when this is done often enough and for
long enough the result may be lowered basal metabolic rates and impaired detoxification.
Ironically, lowered metabolic rate can even lead to constipation (Bharucha, Pemberton, & Locke,
2014)!

Eating plenty of foods that are naturally high in fiber fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc. seems
like a perfectly sensible thing to do as part of a normal, healthy, enjoyable diet. But trying to
pack in fiber with the intention of cleansing is misguided.
 Liver/Gallbladder Cleanse
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The good-old liver/gallbladder cleanse is one that just keeps on circulating despite the fact that a)
it is founded upon a physiologically impossible premise, b) it is unpleasant, and c) the results
dont hold up to scrutiny. I suspect that the reason it has so much staying power is because it
does have very dramatic results. But just because the outcome is dramatic does not mean that it is
healthy or that the results are what we are told they are.

The liver/gallbladder cleanse has many variations, but the core essence of the practice involves
drinking a substantial amount of olive oil (though other oils could be substituted), usually in
combination with some sort of citrus juice or apple juice (though frankly, the trick would
probably work in most cases even without the juice). In some variations one is advised to fast for
several days. In other variations one is advised to eat apples or drink apple juice in advance for
several days. And some variations also involve drinking a solution of epsom salts (magnesium
sulfate), which is a purging laxative when taken internally in sufficient amounts. (Some people
are also allergic to epsom salts or may otherwise react badly to taking them internally. Really, all
in all, taking any purging laxative is a bad idea. Dont do it. Besides, there are better uses for
epsom salts. A foot soak in epsom salt water is delightful!)

Once a person drinks the oil, what normally follows is somewhat unpleasant. Cramping, nausea,
and vomiting are not uncommon. At some point later, typically around 8 hours, the person
undergoing the cleanse will feel an urge to deficate. What the person typically then evacuates are
numerous small (and sometimes not-so-small) greenish, oily balls. These are said to be
gallstones. However, as you may already have guessed, they are not gallstones. They are, in fact,
saponified olive oil.

In other words, the liver/gallbladder cleanse does, in fact, cleanse the participant of something:
the oil that the person drank. That is all.

In case you dont believe me, let me share with you some basics of human physiology and why
the liver/gallbladder cleanse does not, in fact, work as claimed.

The liver is a fairly large organ that is positioned in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen. The
liver produces bile, which is a substance that performs many functions, including the digestion of
fats. The liver regularly secretes small amounts of bile, and most of it goes into the gallbladder.
Gall is another name for bile, so as the name suggests, the gallbladder stores bile until it is
needed. The gallbladder is connected to the liver and to the intestines both through a small duct
called the common bile duct. That duct joins with the pancreatic duct and then empties into the
duodenum, which is the first section of the small intestines into which the stomach empties.

The gallbladder is only about 3 inches by 1.5 inches when fully distended (AKA, at maximum
capacity) (Meilstrup, 1994). In other words, it is quite small. Even if the gallbladder were to be
jam-packed full of gallstones (which is beyond unlikely), then there is absolutely no way that the
gallbladder could ever hold as much as what gets expelled during a typical gallbladder cleanse.
This alone should be a huge clue that the gallbladder cleanse is disingenuous.

Normally, the liver adapts bile production according to normal fat intake, meaning that if one
eats less fat, then over time the liver produces less bile, and if one eats more fat, then over time
the liver produces more bile. This change takes place slowly over many days, weeks, or months.
The liver does not suddenly produce large amounts of bile in response to a single meal...or a cup
of olive oil. In fact, the liver is generally only capable of producing a very small amount of bile
every day. The overwhelming majority of bile (95%) is recycled in an effort to retain this vital
substance that the body can only produce in small amounts at a time. What that means is that the
liver is physiologically incapable of dramatically increasing bile production in the space of a few
hours.

Hopefully, it is clear now that what you eat never passes directly through the liver or the
gallbladder. And, furthermore, the production of bile is not affected by the contents of one meal.
So drinking olive oil and citrus juice once will not cause the body to produce more bile. Nor will
it cause the gallbladder to do anything particularly unusual in most cases. It will trigger the
gallbladder to release most of the stored bile, but any meal containing fat will have that effect.
There is no need to undertake a heroic cleanse to achieve that.

Here is what actually happens when doing this type of cleanse: If the amount of fat that is
consumed is within the limits of what one is adapted to expect, then everything will proceed
normally. In other words, the gallbladder will release the normal amount of bile, which should be
sufficient to digest the fat. It does this by breaking the fat up into small particles, increasing the
surface area so that pancreatic enzymes can chemically break up the fat so that it can be absorbed
through the small intestine. If the bile is sufficient, then all the fat will be absorbed, and in that
case no cleansing reaction will be noted.

On the other hand, if one drinks more olive oil than one is adapted to digest, then the gallbladder
will still release only as much bile as it normally does. However, since the amount of bile will be
insufficient, the pancreatic enzymes wont be able to do their job very well. The result is that
instead of absorbing the fat through the small intestines, the fat will pass through the stool. When
the stomach empties its contents into the small intestines, the body produces bicarbonate to mix
with the acidic chyme. That bicarbonate mixes with the oil that isnt broken down by bile and
enzymes to produce saponified oil i.e. soap - pellets. This tends to produce digestive distress,
hence the nausea and other unpleasant symptoms that can accompany the process.

Some people who do this process report that when they do it frequently enough they notice that
the number of gallstones decreases over time with each cleanse. They usually interpret this as
proof that they are indeed cleansing gallstones from their gallbladder. Eventually, after doing
enough cleanses in rapid enough succession (often one every two weeks or so), they find that the
same process produces no gallstones.

These results are to be expected, however, since the body is likely just adapting by producing
more bile over time in response to the frequent drinking of oil. So the reduction in gallstones
expelled by the process over time is not actually an indication of cleansing. It is just an indication
of the body adapting to circumstances.

Might the process sometimes expel real, honest-to-goodness gallstones? Sure. It might. It might
expel really tiny gallstones. But if it does, then its nothing to do with the so-called cleanse.
Rather, whatever is expelled would be expelled regardless whenever any food is eaten, especially
if the food contains fat. Thats because the gallbladder releases the stored bile when the stomach
empties. And the amount of bile is determined, at least in part, by the amount of fat that is
normally eaten. It is true that dietary fat does stimulate a more complete emptying of the
gallbladder. However, any significant amount of fat in a normal meal will have the exact same
effect. And the gallbladder can only ever release as much bile as is stored. Drinking a cup of
olive oil will not cause the gallbladder to release more bile than, say, eating a hamburger or
drinking a milkshake.

In other words, the gallbladder cleanse is a scam. It does not cleanse the gallbladder. At least, not
any more than would normally happen when eating. But what it can do is create digestive
distress and diarrhea. While thats not likely to kill you, its not good for you, and it offers no
benefits.
 Laxatives
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Unfortunately, there are still a great many advocates of laxatives, and there are far too many
laxative products that are sold for the purpose of cleansing. I say that this is unfortunate because
I am quite certain that the abuse of laxatives offers no benefits and is entirely harmful. Laxatives
will not cleanse any toxins from the body, though they may cleanse lots of good stuff right out
of the body, including nutrients, electrolytes, and fluid.

Many natural cleanse products contain strong purgative herbs, such as cascara sagrada, senna,
rhubarb, and buckthorn among others, in large amounts to produce a laxative effect. Some of
these herbs in very small amounts may have genuine therapeutic value. However, when used in
larger amounts as in the cleanse products, these herbs stimulate peristaltic action in the bowel.
The result is often uncomfortable diarrhea and a depleted state. In some cases, these products can
cause cramping, hemorrhoids, and dehydration.

Repeated, chronic use of stimulant laxatives can lead to dependence. The body will naturally
reduce normal peristaltic action to compensate for the laxatives. This means that a person who is
abusing laxatives will have to take more and more of the laxative to get any effect, and
eventually, natural peristaltic action will grind to a halt. Not only that, but upon discontinuation,
the person who was abusing the laxatives will likely experience edema and bloating in addition
to rebound constipation, all of which tends to reinforce continued laxative abuse (Roerig,
Steffen, Mitchell, & Zunker, 2010).

While the occasional, moderate use of stimulant laxatives is unlikely to produce long-term harm
in an otherwise healthy person, it is also extremely unlikely to offer any real benefits. The
cleanse advocates overplay the dangers of constipation. And, in fact, they even define
constipation in such a way that is misleading. Normal and healthy bowel habits vary widely from
several bowel movements a day to one bowel movement every few days. But some cleansing
advocates suggest that the bowels should move at least three times a day or else one is
constipated!

Most people will find that adequate caloric intake combined with adequate rest, de-stressing, and
enjoyment in life will result in satisfactory regularity. And if a person feels uncomfortably
constipated, then the chances are good that laxatives are not a long-term solution. In fact,
laxatives may worsen the symptoms in the long term.

In case I havent been abundantly clear, let me state it explicitly: Dont use laxatives for the
purposes of cleansing, losing weight, or solving perceived problems with constipation. Its a bad
idea. Instead, support your bodys natural detoxification, weight-balancing, and regulatory
mechanisms by eating enough, resting enough, and enjoying life.
 Coffee Enemas
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If you are uninitiated to the idea of coffee enemas, then you may initially find it somewhat hard
to believe that many, many people regularly insert cooled coffee into their rectums with the idea
that the enemas are detoxifying.

Coffee enemas were popularized in the early part of the 1900s by Max Gerson as part of his
alternative cancer treatment. And in recent years coffee enemas have virtually exploded (yes,
that is a pun in bad taste) in popularity.

Before I write anything more on the subject, I must say that it is clear that of all the topics I cover
in this book, the coffee enema matter is likely to be the most contentious. Thats because
adherents of coffee enemas often ascribe great benefits to the practice, and they frequently
respond with anger when the idea is poo-pooed (yes, that was another bad pun).

If you are a believer in the power of coffee enemas, please hear this: I am not going to try to tell
you that your experience is wrong or that you have not had benefits. What I am going to do is
provide a balanced view and offer some caution.

Proponents of coffee enemas often make it sound as if there is no ill that a coffee enema (or 5 a
day for the next year) wont cure. Cancer? You betcha. Candida overgrowth? Sure thing. AIDS?
Heck yeah.

But the reality of a regular coffee enema habit seems to be a bit of a different story.

Advocates of coffee enemas are fond of telling skeptics that coffee enemas were used by the
ancient Egyptians the implication being that its an ancient practice. Ive read claims that
coffee enemas were first listed in the Merck Manual in the 1800s (the first publication of the
Merck Manual was 1899). But on the other hand, some claim that coffee enemas were invented
by doctors during World War I as an alternative to morphine when the drug was in short supply.
And still others claim they originated with Gerson in the 1920s.

When asked why the practice potentially ancient and so effective isnt more widely
esteemed, many will blame Big Pharma and claim that it was widely esteemed until 1972 or
1984 or some other date in the latter half of the 1900s a date until which they claim it was
listed in the Merck Manual.

If any of that seems somewhat incoherent, you can forgive people for the lack of a clear narrative
regarding coffee enemas. Thats because none of the claims can be substantiated. Not the Merck
Manual listing. Not the noble doctors during World War I inventing coffee enemas to manage
pain. None of it.
Of course the backstory doesnt really matter. What really matters is simply this: do coffee
enemas work?

In order to answer that question, we have to define what work means in this context.

Proponents of coffee enemas claim that they work to increase levels of the antioxidant
glutathione in the body and to remove toxins from the liver by way of opening the bile duct
(Gerson Institute). Both of these could be viewed as forms of cleansing since glutathione is used
by the liver as part of the natural detoxification processes. And the liver ridding itself of toxins
seems like a desirable kind of cleansing.

But other than the claims of coffee enema advocates, we have no evidence that coffee enemas do
these things. In fact, the only peer-reviewed research on the matter shows that coffee enemas do
not increase glutathione (Teekachunhatean, et al., 2012) and the claimed means for opening the
bile duct are 3.5 times less effective when coffee is administered rectally versus just drinking
coffee (Teekachunhatean, Tosri, Rojanasthien, Srichairatanakool, & Sangdee, 2013).

Does this mean that coffee enemas definitely are not useful detoxification aids? No. All it means
is the claimed means by which coffee enemas are supposed to work dont hold up to scrutiny.

Some people claim miraculous benefits from coffee enemas. Perhaps for those people the
perceived benefits are worth the risk. And I can certainly sympathize with people who are
seeking for symptom relief. I was extremely sick with Lyme disease for years, and I understand
what it is like to feel hopeless and in need of help that isnt forthcoming from anywhere else.

But I also think it is worth bearing in mind that I do not personally know of a single person who
has reported to me that coffee enemas cured them of anything or permanently reversed any
symptoms. That is not to say that nobody has those experiences. But of the dozens of people I
know personally who have used coffee enemas regularly not a single one has told me that coffee
enemas had such effects for them.

Unfortunately, at least in some cases, it seems that temporary symptom relief comes at a cost. I
know several people who have become dependent on coffee enemas. In at least one case the
person was physically dependent on coffee enemas to avoid rebound constipation. And in several
other cases I know people who have been, if not physically dependent, at least psychologically
dependent on coffee enemas.

Still, none of this supports the view that coffee enemas are particularly detoxifying or cleansing.

So with all that said, it is entirely possible that coffee enemas really are a miracle cure for cancer
and fibromyalgia and everything else. Perhaps the proponents of coffee enemas are all wrong
about how and why they work, but that doesnt mean that they dont work.
Still, I am skeptical. Too many coffee enema advocates are selling services or, in some cases, are
even selling coffee! (They make claims about their coffee being the only type of coffee to use to
receive the benefits.) This should raise some red flags.

If you really want to give yourself coffee enemas, then at least consider the following first. To
begin with, believe it or not, your liver is really good at cleaning itself. The liver is fully capable
of regenerating itself. It is a remarkable organ. And despite what many people claim, the liver
doesnt need a whole lot of heroic cleansing support. In fact, in order to do its job and keep itself
clean, the liver actually needs food, rest, sun, and love. (And by love, I just mean listening to
your body's needs and treating it well.) Really. Its true. The liver requires quality protein to
regenerate itself. It needs good quality fat to keep bile flow optimal. It needs cholesterol or else it
needs sugar to convert to cholesterol so that it can produce bile. It needs carbohydrates in order
to fuel itself and to store energy for the body. It needs lots of rest and relaxation and de-stressing
to keep hormone levels healthy. It needs sunlight, because thats important for all kinds of things,
including vitamin D production.

If you really want to cleanse your liver, then give it those things. There are also some gentle, safe
herbs that may offer additional support. In most cases, they are not necessary, and going
overboard with them isnt a great idea either. But a little bit of dandelion root, turmeric, and/or
milk thistle seed is generally safe and gentle. They provide a bitter taste that stimulates bile flow
(though not as much as dietary fat), and they provide anti-inflammatory compounds that may be
helpful for the liver. So if you are determined that you must do something special and extra to
support your liver, then small amounts of these gentle herbs may be far better than quarts of
coffee in your bowel.

Many who write about the potential harm of coffee enemas tend to (in my opinion) overstate
some of the risks. For example, many point out the risk of burning oneself by using coffee that is
too hot. This, of course, is not a risk inherent in coffee enemas, per se. I mean, just cool the
coffee!

But there are some risks. To begin with, despite what enema advocates like to suggest, there is
no good reason to believe that inserting things into the anus and injecting fluids into the colon is
a good idea. Dont get me wrong. Im no prude. If you genuinely enjoy it, then great. But there is
nothing to suggest that this practice is really natural or that we are designed to need this kind of
maintenance. In fact, all evidence is to the contrary.

So inserting things into the anus and injecting fluids into the colon do carry some inherent risk.
And, it turns out, some people do get quite sick - on rare occasions fatally-so - as a result of
giving themselves enemas. These risks include electrolyte imbalance, a weakening of innate
bowel function, and dehydration. Enemas can also worsen symptoms of inflammatory bowel
disease. Plus, strange as this may seem, many people seem to continue with coffee enemas even
after hemorrhoids appear, which can worsen the hemorrhoids. Some reports suggest that coffee
enemas may disrupt healthy bacterial balances in the colon. I cannot find sources for these
claims, but nonetheless, it seems plausible, and so it is worth taking into consideration before
you try to wash your colon with coffee.

All in all, the information regarding coffee enemas is heavily biased toward the promotion of the
practice with a tremendous number of resources making fantastical claims about the potential
benefits. Very little of that information is even-handed, and much of it raises red flags for me.
Those with whom I have communicated who have done or regularly do the practice have
admitted their skepticism to me, but several of those people find themselves seemingly addicted
to the process.

So if you want to consider coffee enemas, then please consider the whole picture. Remember that
many of those who promote the practice are not giving you the whole story.
 Colonic
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Heres how a colonic works: The client lies down or reclines on a table. A tube is inserted into
the rectum, and the other end of the tube is connected to a large machine. The machine then
begins slowly filling the colon with water. After the colon fills, the machine stops inserting water
and instead allows the colon to expel the water. Then the process repeats many more times over
the course of up to an hour. In the course of this time, many gallons of water are inserted into and
expelled from the colon.

This practice, also known as colon hydrotherapy or colonic irrigation, is commonly sold as a
form of cleansing. Colon hydrotherapists and other proponents of the practice make all sorts of
claims regarding the potential benefits. They claim that it improves digestion, reduces risk of
cancer, increases energy, improves concentration, relieves depression, and resolves
malabsorption, among other possible benefits.

The trouble is that these claims are unsubstantiated. And, the basis for how such benefits could
be attributed to colonic irrigation is almost always the suggestion that the colon is a storehouse of
toxins and fecal residue. In other words, the reason that colon hydrotherapy is thought to be
beneficial or necessary is that the body is considered to be incapable of maintaining health
without these types of drastic interventions.

The evidence to support the idea that the colon is a storehouse of toxins and fecal residue is so
sparse as to be non-existent. One has to wonder why the colon is singled out. What about the rest
of the digestive system, such as the esophagus, the stomach, and the small intestines? The colon
is, on average, about five feet long, but the small intestines measure more than four times the
length of the colon. So what is it about the colon that is so especially dirty that it needs to be
cleansed while the rest of the digestive system is perfectly fine?

It turns out that the colon is not as toxic as we are led to believe. The end product of bowel
function is human fecal matter. Some percentage of the fecal matter is, in fact, material that the
body has determined would be toxic if held onto. For example, feces may contain excess
hormones, minerals, or degraded pathogenic substances that the immune system discarded, but
these substances are found in feces by design. The body excretes these substances into the colon
so that they will be voided. These substances mix with undigested food material and,
importantly, bacteria to form stool. Bacteria form approximately 30% of the weight of human
feces.

Bacteria also line the colon. There are up to 4 pounds of bacteria lining the colon of a healthy
human. All of those bacteria perform important functions. For one thing, they are the first line of
defense of the immune system. They also work to prevent reabsorption of unwanted substances.
And, they form healthy stool. In many ways, stool is actually a product of bacteria rather than of
your body.

So what lines the colon? Toxins? No. Bacteria. And, in fact, many people who undergo colonic
procedures report feeling underwhelmed by the results. With all the hype, they expect to see all
kinds of disgusting, old, toxic build-up expelled. Instead, they see very little. While some stool
(which one would expect to find in the colon in many cases) does get expelled, very little else is
normally seen.

Colon hydrotherapists often refute the claim that beneficial bacteria get flushed away with colon
hydrotherapy, and while this may be true, it seems hard to believe. I have not found any studies
that demonstrate whether or not the procedure adversely influences bacterial balances. However,
I believe it is disingenuous of a therapist to claim otherwise when the truth is that no one really
knows. It does seem a bit like magical thinking to claim that the procedure will wash away all
the supposed toxins while leaving the bacteria unharmed. Its possible, but unlikely.

What I have found in my unscientific inquiry into the statistical effects of colon hydrotherapy is
that for most people it does no harm so long as it is not done frequently. For some people, it is
harmful, and in rare cases, very harmful. And then for some people it seems to be beneficial.
However, when people report that it is beneficial, it is hard to know how they know that the
procedure itself was beneficial. In many cases, I find that people reporting benefits from colon
hydrotherapy also make mention that they underwent the procedure as part of a larger lifestyle
change, usually involving changes in diet, rest, and exercise. What is more, I know of no studies
that follow up with people who receive colon hydrotherapy to see what the long-term perceptions
are.

All in all there is very little to recommend colonics as a beneficial cleansing procedure for the
overwhelming majority of people. Might there be rare exceptions in which such a procedure
really could be beneficial? Sure. But it would be rare, because in most people the body is
perfectly capable of maintaining itself when it is given adequate nutrition, rest, and love.

There are certainly things that can adversely affect the health of the colon. For one thing,
inadequate nutrition and calories is a common way to lower basal metabolic rate and increase
stress. Also, chronic psychological or emotional stress creates unfavorable physiological effects
in the bowel. Namely, in these cases, bowel transit time increases and the bowel becomes
increasingly permeable. This combination really can produce a state in which one is more likely
to absorb substances that the body is trying to expel. So de-stressing, eating enough, and resting
enough are important for bowel health. And when health is compromised by malnutrition,
starvation, or stress, adding more stress by flushing the colon repeatedly with water is unlikely to
help. In fact, it is more likely to introduce other possible contaminants as well as weaken the first
line of defense and allow even more absorption of contaminants.
 Other Stuff
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The things that Ive listed up to now are perhaps the most commonly recommended cleansing
regimens, but they are certainly not the only ones that people dream up. There are plenty of
others, including large doses of supplemental probiotics, the so-called Master Cleanse consisting
of fasting on lemon water with maple syrup and cayenne, an alkaline diet, and more.

There may or may not be some benefit to be derived from some of these practices when done
along with other life-affirming and nurturing lifestyle practices such as eating enough, resting
enough, and loving your body, but cleansing is not likely to be one of the benefits. That is
because most of us dont need to be cleansed. Were not dirty. We may be sick, and it may be
because of chronic exposure to toxins. And it is even reasonable to suggest that some rare
substances such as excessive heavy metals can, in fact, accumulate in the body. But this is not
going to be corrected by purging the body with heroic efforts. Were talking about your body for
goodness sake, not some sort of building that you can simply sandblast clean.

Your body has an innate detoxification capability, and if you truly want to cleanse, then you
should at least consider respecting the intelligence of the body. Nurture your body and give it
what it needs to support the natural detoxification processes. That means eating, resting, moving,
enjoying, loving, and getting some sun. Believe it or not, that is going to be far more effective in
cleansing your body than fasting, purging, irrigating, or otherwise trying to wash out toxins.
Your body doesnt work like that. And youre doing yourself no favors by undertaking these
dramatic measures in the overwhelming majority of cases.

Again, I am not suggesting that none of these practices ever have any value. I am sure that on
occasion some of these things in the right context really could be helpful to someone, but not as a
cleanse and not for most people most of the time.
 How to Cleanse Safely
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The truth of how to cleanse safely is not nearly as dramatic and exciting as most of the practices
and procedures that weve looked at throughout this book. Thats because, as Ive written
repeatedly, the body naturally cleanses itself. It doesnt require pills, machines, or extreme
measures in order to maintain itself. In fact, most of those things are more likely to work against
the healthy functioning of the body than not.

Cleansing the body is an ongoing process. It is happening every moment of every day, and the
best way you can support that is through an ongoing lifestyle that provides your body with what
it most needs to function optimally. Fortunately, what is necessary is not extreme or unpleasant.

What does your body need? As Ive written repeatedly, there are a few essential ingredients:
food, rest, minimal toxic exposure, sun, enjoyment, movement, and love.

Most of the time, as weve seen, people like to view food - especially an adequate amount of
food - as an impediment to detoxification. But less is not more when it comes to how to use food
to support natural cleansing. Hopefully youve already begun to see how restricting food can
cause problems with detoxification. However, to make this point clearly, let me reiterate: Eating
too little or restricting categories of food or nutrients such as fat, carbohydrates, protein, salt, or
cholesterol can create problems with metabolic health and with the bodys ability to repair and
grow. This, in turn, impairs innate detoxification processes.

Eating enough of a variety of foods is an important platform for health, including detoxification.
Many people are so convinced that sugar, grain, flour, dairy, fat, meat, or any number of other
foods or nutrients are inherently bad for health that they avoid these foods at all costs. I was one
of those people. I know the mindset well, and the result over and over again seems to be that this
restrictive approach is injurious to health. We may look down our noses with smugness and a
hint of condescension at those in the McDonalds drive-thru, but ironically, despite all the
obvious shortcomings of a Big Mac, it might be a heck of a lot better than an extended juice fast
or green smoothie fast or purging with laxatives.

Dont get me wrong. Im no shill for the fast food industry. With the GMO, soy, chemical
additives, and industrial vegetable oils in most fast food, its not exactly an ideal meal. But I
hope to make the point that healthy is relative. We like to think that there are healthy foods and
unhealthy foods. But healthy and unhealthy foods only come into play if you are eating enough
of all the macronutrients and micronutrients you need. If you are chronically under-eating, then
any food is better than too little food. Look at it this way: A starving person would be foolish to
reject food on account of the quality if it was the only available food, because any food with
enough calories and nutrition, even a Big Mac, can save a life from starvation.
Once you are eating enough, then the body can maintain a healthy metabolic rate. A healthy
metabolic rate helps support the innate detoxification processes of the body. Until then, rejecting
adequate calories and nutrition in the name of cleansing is misguided.

With all that said, it is certainly sensible, whenever possible, to make as much of the food that
you eat the sort of food that will support metabolic health and reduce toxic load. Perhaps the very
first guideline in this regard is to ensure that what you eat regularly is truly enjoyable, because if
you dont enjoy what you eat, then it wont be sustainable. Then, as much as possible, it is
sensible to eat food that minimizes your exposure to pesticides, drugs, and toxic metals. It is also
a good idea to minimize foods that may be harmful to metabolic health in excess - foods such as
industrial vegetable oils (canola, soy, safflower, corn, peanut, etc.) and unfermented soy.

Beyond diet, the next most important thing you can do to support cleansing is to get adequate
rest. Far too many people are short-changing themselves on rest while overexerting themselves.
Instead of hitting the gym for an hour, you would be far better off getting adequate sleep every
night. And if you do exercise, then getting adequate rest is even more important.

Sleep is shown to improve hormonal levels, and imbalanced hormones not only impair
detoxification, but they actually contribute to a toxic burden in the body since some hormones
can be toxic in excess.

Along with sleep, there are other forms of rest that are equally important. One of the most
important forms of rest is learning how to meet the challenges and unwanted aspects of life with
peace and equanimity. Emotional and psychological stress causes many problems, and learning
effective ways to shed stress can do wonders for health, including natural detoxification.

Getting sun is also important to support natural detoxification. For one thing, simply getting
outdoors and getting some fresh air is valuable in innumerable ways. And secondly, sunlight on
the skin is how our bodies produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is also linked to some heavy metal
detoxification processes. So if you want to detoxify, then go to the beach, do some gardening,
talk a walk in the sun, or otherwise get outside.

Moving also seems to be a useful way to support natural detoxification. However, that doesnt
mean extreme forms of exercise are necessary. In fact, as weve seen, those things may do more
harm than good in the long run. But moving is generally good. Go outdoors. Do something
enjoyable. Find ways to incorporate enjoyable movement into your life. You dont need to make
it a form of exercise, per se. Just do fun stuff. It doesnt need to be strenuous.

Remember to enjoy your life. If your normal lifestyle includes things that dont make you feel
good, then instead of trying to purge those things through misguided cleanses, find ways to live
in a manner that is life-affirming for you. In other words, strive for balance instead of the
extremes. Or, if you enjoy the extremes, then live the extremes, but dont be duped into believing
that the extreme cleanses will really cleanse or balance anything because they are unlikely to do
so.

And give yourself lots of love. Love takes many forms. Eating enough, resting enough, and
listening to your bodys needs and desires are all ways in which love can be expressed. Take
some downtime. Treat yourself to the company of the people you love, who nurture you with
honesty and a healthy sense of independence coupled with friendship. Ditch the fear and eat the
ice cream. Take the time to be in places of beauty and discover the beauty of wherever you
happen to find yourself. And instead of wanting things to complete you, be the completeness that
you already are.
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You can find the paperback version HERE. And you can find the audiobook version HERE (note
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