Muffin Top-Less

So is there anything healthy about a dietary cleanse?

Dr. Adrienne Youdim, the medical director of the Weight Loss Center atCedars-Sinai Medical Centerin Los Angeles, doesn’t think so. To begin with, she says, our bodies are equipped with everything they need to rid themselves of bacteria, chemicals or viruses.

“The body actually has a very intricate way of detoxing on its own,” she says. “Our liver is designed to clear toxins out of the body. Our kidneys are designed to clear toxins out of the body. Our gastrointestinal tract itself has mechanisms to clear toxins from the body. There really isn’t any reputable science to suggest that there is any health benefit” to cleanses.

As for the weight loss promised by a week of liquid dieting, Youdim notes that any poundage shed on a cleanse is likely to be temporary. What’s more, she adds, cleanses done repeatedly might actually cause the practitioner to gain weight in the long run.

“The weight loss is often not the kind of weight that you want to lose,” she says. “You may be losing lean mass, and when that comes back it comes back as fat. If these are done recurrently, the long term would be changing your body composition for a higher percent of body fat.” - LA Times Health