The Ingredients For A Cleansing Diet

If you overindulged during a vacation or from traveling for work and found yourself eating greasy fast food, you probably have suffered the consequences in weight gain. In order to get back on track, you might consider one of several types of a cleansing diet. The idea is to help your gastrointestinal system recover---the colon to clear waste, and your stomach, pancreas, liver and kidneys given time to reboot. There is more than one type of cleansing diet---choose one based on how much time you have to devote to it. If you have any serious health issues, get medical clearance from your physician first.

The Master Cleanse

The Master Cleanse is a well-known fasting lemonade that is consumed as a liquid cleansing diet. It is very low calorie as the lemonade is made from organic lemons, filtered water, organic maple syrup and organic cayenne pepper.

Developed by Stanley Burroughs, the Master Cleanse has received media attention as several high-profile movie and music celebrities have use the diet to lose weight quickly for a role or special appearance. The Master Cleanse is designed to help clear the bowel and kidneys. The maple syrup provides the calories, and cayenne pepper is "heating" as the lemonade is consumed at room temperature.

A Whole Foods Cleanse

Fill your shopping cart with organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and non-saturated fats to cleanse with the detox diet as described in the book "The New Detox Diet," written by Elson Haas. A practicing physician in northern California, Haas advises people to consume steamed vegetables and fruits, along with whole grains such as millet, oats, brown rice, quinoa, legumes and non-saturated fats including olive, flax seed, canola and hemp seed oil.

By consuming this whole food diet, you provide your body with the fiber that acts as an "intestinal broom" to sweep waste from the colon. A vitamin- and mineral-rich diet, this detox cleanse will also provide calories to help prevent bingeing or falling off the wagon.

Juice Fast Cleanse

Buy organic fruits, vegetables and herbal teas to do a directed juice fasting cleansing diet, as advocated by Carrie L'Esperance in her book "The New Seasonal Detox Diet." She provides many recipes to get you started on a cleansing diet.

One way is to juice organic produce and consume at least five to six, 6-oz. juices a day. Consume the same amount of filtered, mineral or spring water to provide the hydration for your colon and kidneys to cleanse.
Juicing provides calories and nutrition, but no fiber. To move your bowels daily, also consume herbal teas including triphala, senna or cascara sagrada. These teas are commonly used to help the colon cleanse.