Also sometimes referred to as "the lemonade diet," this juice fast was created by alternative medicine promoter Stanley Burroughs. It gained a significant following in the '70s and continues to come in and out of vogue -- especially when celebrities like Beyonce and Denzel Washington proudly proclaim its weight loss effects.
The diet consists of only water, lemon, cayenne pepper and maple syrup and is touted to aid in the removal of toxins, excess weight and has been said to help clear acne. It is recommended that you drink six to 12 glasses of the concoction a day for up to two weeks at a time while also consuming salt water in the morning and herbal laxative tea at night to speed up the removal of waste in the body.
Photo 5/12
The Fruit Flush Diet
This three-day program promises to relieve your body of harmful toxins by using "nature's perfect cleansing food," according to Jay Robb, author of the "Fruit Flush 3 Day Detox." He claims on his website that this simple cleanse will help you lose nine pounds in only three days. How does it work? The book outlines that you are to "consume fresh fruit only from morning until evening and then for dinner consume a meal that focuses on a large vegetable salad, starchy vegetables and a protein shake."
Photo 6/12
The Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet
This cleansing diet promises that you will lose 21 pounds in 21 days and was created by naturopathic doctor and registered nurse, Roni DeLuz. Dieters drink water, juices made from fruits and vegetables, powdered supplement drinks, and eat homemade soups.
Photo 7/12
The Blue Print Cleanse
"New York" magazine has named this liquid-only cleanse "the best juice cleanse," and the website touts that "juice is a girl's best friend" offering those eager to detox a choice of three different pre-made vegetable and fruit juice-only programs. The company recommends doing the cleanse for three to five days, but you can also do it for just one. The outcome? "Gently rid your body of impurities, regain an alkaline balance and normalize digestion and metabolism," the site claims.
Next: See what detox diets do to your body
Photo 8/12
How cleansing diets affect your body
Due to the fact that multi-day cleansing diets restrict calories to a below average level, the body goes into shock. "The body's primary fuel source is glucose, which is essential for our brains to function," says Albovias. "If we don't eat for four to eight hours, no glucose is available and our livers turn glycogen, a storage form of glucose [in our muscles], into a usable form of fuel." After a few days, "muscle wasting is prevented by temporarily switching to fat as a source of fuel," explains Albovias. This is why people temporally lose weight. But all of this conversion causes stress on the body, which then causes "irritability, nervousness, shakiness, blurred vision, or sometimes euphoria -- common side effects of low blood sugar," and can also be "extremely harmful" to your kidneys, she warns.
Next: Find out whether cleansing diets are worth trying
You aren't alone in your never-ending quest for the magic diet that will melt body fat and give you perfect skin. You also aren't alone in wanting that diet to be as quick and effortless as possible. Celebrities like Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Anne Hathaway (to name drop a few) have been known to try temporary fasting or detox diets in order to clear up skin, rid their body of toxins and lose weight. But before you jump on the trendy bandwagon by swearing off solid foods or downing large quantities of lemon water, you should know what short-term body starvation actually does to you.
It's common knowledge that what you feed your body is going to affect your skin, hair, mood, weight and overall health. With Americans spending upwards of $60 billion a year on weight management products, books and services according to "The New York Times," it's safe to say dieting is a national pastime. Fasting or detox diets have gained relatively recent popularity with countless websites and books promoting quick starvation regimens as a fast way to drop pounds and rid the body of toxins.
Of course, not all body cleansing diets are alike, they vary in length of time, what can and can't be consumed, and the severity of calorie cutting; but they all have a similar end goal: To re-invigorate your health and beauty. To find out what these popular cleansing diets do and if they are actually beneficial to the body, we went to celebrity nutritionist and formulator, Paula Simpson and Wendy Albovias, a registered dietician specializing in Medical Nutrition Therapy. Together they share the most popular cleansing techniques and why these diets may or may not be helpful or even harmful in your quest for a healthier body.
