A cleanse is typically done to rid your body of toxins and sometimes to jump start weight loss. However, most cleanses, including the one created by Jillian Michaels, are not regulated by the FDA and may contain dangerous ingredients. Your liver, kidneys and digestive system effectively remove most toxins from your body, but if you want to try the Jillian Michaels cleanse, talk with your doctor about its safety beforehand. The dosage is two detox and cleanse tablets and one probiotic tablet each day, taken with a glass of water.
Magnesium Oxide
Magnesium oxide is often used for its laxative effects, which is why it is used in the Jillian Michaels cleanse tablets. Michaels claims that using her cleanse products will reduce body waste buildup, which is achieved by flushing out the intestines with laxative ingredients. MedlinePlus advises against taking magnesium oxide for laxative purposes for longer than one week unless approved by your doctor. Each dose of the Jillian Michaels cleanse contains 174 mg of magnesium oxide, which is 44 percent of the daily recommended intake.
Probiotics
Probiotics are used in the Jillian Michaels cleanse tablets because she claims that they will increase the amount beneficial bacteria in your digestive system, which will help clean and detoxify your body. The main probiotic found in the product is bacillus coagulans and each dose contains a half billion colony-forming units (CFUs) of this probiotic.
Antioxidants
The antioxidants found in the Jillian Michaels cleanse tablets are from a blend of fruits that include the extract of blueberries, grapes, raspberries, cranberries, plums, cherries, bilberries and strawberries. Antioxidants are compounds that fight free-radical activity that could damage your cells and lead to health problems that include cancer and heart disease. By adding them to her cleanse, Michaels claims that her product is better for your health because it contains natural cleansing ingredients rather than harmful chemicals.
Buckthorn and Chinese Rhubarb Powder
Due to its content of buckthorn and Chinese rhubarb powder, Michaels advises using her cleanse tablets with caution and to follow dosing instructions carefully. These ingredients may worsen any diarrhea and abdominal pain that occurs as a side effect of the cleanse. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and people who are under 18 years of age should avoid these ingredients.
Powders
The Jillian Michaels cleanse also contains several other powders, including those made from Irish moss, ginger, dandelion, butternut, garlic, uva ursi, yarrow, fenugreek and fennel. Not all of these items have been studied to determine their effects, so use with caution and only under the supervision of your doctor.
Other
Jillian Michaels cleanse tablets contain rice flour, gelatin, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, spirulina, mica and carmine. These ingredients are used to hold the tablets together and preserve the ingredients used to create a nonperishable product. They may not be safe for all participants in the program.
References
- Jillian Weight Loss: Jillian Michaels Triple Process Total Body Detox and Cleanse
- MedlinePlus: Magnesium Oxide
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; An Introduction to Probiotics; January 2007
- MayoClinic.com; Detox Diets: Do They Work; Katherine Zeratsky, RD, LD; April 2010
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Antioxidants Supplements for Health: An Introduction; May 2010
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