Last week on the treadmill, I was reading the latest issue of Self Magazine. In this issue, Janelle Brown wrote a wonderful piece on the danger of detox diets called, ‘The Scary New Skinny’.
Brown wrote about the latest diet trends that have L.A. women jumping on board. Unlike socially unacceptable trends like starvation diets, liposuction, or dangerous diet pills, these new diet trends are portrayed in a socially acceptable and healthy manner.
Women have always had a huge amount of pressure to be thin, only now, women have this pressure AND we have a new pressure to be healthy while we do it! Many of the previous extreme weight loss methods are frowned upon so women have been seeking healthier ways to lose weight.
But are some of these new trends really healthy?
Brown calls this the ‘healthy skinny’ movement where friends no longer have to admit in shame that they are on a diet, but can be proud to say that they are following a ‘health regime’ instead.
Is it really any different?
So what are some of these diet trends?
- Spiritual Cleanses
While Spiritual Cleanses have been around for ever, they are a growing trend in LA. Many women are claiming that they are on a vision quest or are connecting with their spirit by fasting. These cleanses involve often sustaining on nothing but liquids such as the master cleanse.
- Raw vegetable cleanses
Izo Cleanze and BluePrintCleanse deliver juices to their customer’s doors each day. For many, this is the only thing that touches their lips for 3 weeks or longer.
- Colonics
Colonics have become quite popular in recent years with more and more people getting them done to ‘flush’ out their body of toxins. If performed regularly, colonics can kill the good bacteria in our intestinal tract that protect us from infection. They can also disrupt nerve and muscle function in the bowel, leaving some patients unable to go to the washroom without a colonic.
- Extreme Calorie restriction diets
Howard Flaks (M.D.) from Beverly Hills advises his patients to consume only 800-1000 calories a day, under medical supervision. Personally, I am quite shocked that a doctor would advise his patients to consume such a low number of calories. Many of us know how badly restrictive diets can backfire too- they can slow our metabolism and make our body cling to every calorie we consume. Not to mention, feeling extremely lethargic, moody, and lackluster hair, skin, and nails. That is so not hot!
- Raw Food Diets
Aimee Popovich, a 39-year old mom and homemaker residing in LA, went on a raw food diet where everything she ate was raw. She said she felt great for the first year and a half, but after that time period she started to notice strange things happening to her body. For instance, she had to urinate often and she had a lot of anxiety. Five months later, she woke up in bed very dizzy and she had a seizure, stopped breathing, and passed out. When she finally came to in the hospital 2 days later, she was told that she was undernourished, devoid of vital minerals, and suffering from kidney failure and brain swelling due to a severe electrolyte imbalance. She also suffered from hyponatremia which is having excess water in the blood and can result in dangerously low blood levels of sodium.
There is even a medical term to classify individuals that have an obsession with health. Steven Bratman, an alternative medicine specialist coined the term "Orthorexia" for such a condition. Orthorexia denotes an eating disorder classified by an excessive focus on eating healthy foods. In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation so extreme that it can lead to severe malnutrition or even death.
~~~~~~~~
MY TAKE:
I absolutely loved this article in Self Magazine because I think it touches on a central issue that many women are struggling with right now. As women, we are not only expected to be thin, beautiful, and successful, but we are now expected to be healthy while we do it. Like anything else, it can get taken too far. No matter how healthy someone eats, if they are underweight and/or suffering medical consequences, then it is not healthy. In my nutrition courses, I was told time and time again that our bodies are experts at riding our body of toxins and we don’t need detox diets and cleanses.
I have never had a colonic, done a cleanse, or ate a raw food diet. For me, these things just seem too extreme. That is not to say that they don’t work for others and they can be done in a safe manner with proper education and supervision. I think this is what was lacking in the article, it failed to mention that some of these things can be done safely.
However, I do love how I feel when when I drink a green monster or when I eat a mostly unprocessed diet. I don’t see this as an extreme thing in my life, because I feel better than I ever have, my skin and hair glows, and my doctor tells me that my medical tests come back with flying colours. On the other hand, if I was noticing ill-effects from my diet, I would definitely re-evaluate it. For me, balance is key. I like to eat chips or sweet treats like the rest of ‘em, and I know that keeping a balanced approach keeps me feeling my best.
What are your thoughts?
Are you or someone you know obsessed with eating healthy or do you think that orthorexia is the new ‘socially acceptable’ eating disorder?
Have you or would you ever do a detox? Are detoxes and cleanses ok for a short amount of time?
Hi Angela! I’m delurking to tell you how much I LOVE that you posted this. Your reaction echoes exactly how I feel about the raw food/detox diet trend that seems to be popping up all over the food blog world lately. I am really concerned about how these bloggers present such diets as “healthy.” Young readers are impressionable and constantly compare themselves to bloggers, and I can’t help but worry that these diets will make healthy eaters feel unhealthy! The worst part for me is that you can’t engage anyone involved in this lifestyle in a conversation. It all comes back to “This is my choice. It works for me, it might not work for everyone.” I have heard that same response from anorexics and bulimics!
Thanks again! Not just for your response but for your positive example of healthy eating!
I remember reading that exact same article in Self, and I’m so glad you brought it up for discussion! I definitely would be unable to follow any extreme diet either and I think for most people who aren’t careful, they can be very dangerous diets. I also agree with Jena that food bloggers should be careful about how they portray a raw diet. It may work for them because they may be better educated about how to make a raw diet healthy and balanced, but an uneducated reader may try to replicate living the raw lifestyle and end up just eating fruits & veggies with nothing else!
I’m glad you brought this up because it has been bothering me a lot lately that these ‘cleanses’ have become socially acceptable today. I’ve always been extremely skeptical and have gotten a lot of flack because of it.
My friend did the maple syrup/lemon juice diet a while back and everyone congratulated her on losing so much wait and sticking with it, I was just shocked that she was starving herself and doing serious damage to her body/metabolism.
We just had Stampede in Calgary and on tv Monday morning they were going on and on about how everyone should be doing a cleanse now to ‘detox’ after all the drinking and gorging everyone did….um.. doesn’t your body do that anyway? I think it’s just another way for people to profit in the weightloss market, this time they’re just covering it up with supposed health claims.
I also read an article, where some celebrity said it’s out of fashion to be on a diet, as “diets don’t work.” So, now they’re all on some kind of cleanse or detox. Oh, how chic.
WTH?!
-Courtney
I read the article too. I believe eating healthy is important, but when you take it to such extremes it can actually backfire!
The raw food diet particularly interests me. I’d love to (and am trying to!) incorporate more raw meals into my diet but don’t think it’d be possible for me to go entirely raw. Sounds like it takes too much time, money, and hassle when eating with family and friends!
I also read the article and am so glad you posted this. Right after I read it, I got an email newsletter from GOOP (Gwyneth Paltrow) that recommended cleanses! It goes on and on about how good it is to “rest your digestive system.” Really? I think your digestive system is made to process food. It only needs a rest when you’re dead!
I have always been afraid of any “detox” where you don’t have to eat. Eating is my biggest pleasure and my motivation to get through the day, life without it just seems no fun. It is also what my body needs to run! My idea of a detox is usually cutting out booze, sugar and caffein for a week if I feel I’ve been overly dependent. I have had a couple of colonics in the past when I have been suffering from really poor digestion due to stress. It is something I would like to do every season just to get my body moving healthfully.
Someone left a comment on my blog calling me orthorexic that bothered me. I love eating a healthy diet but I am also big on indulgence and finding the right balance. I think we need all the good stuff in our daily diet, and that means treats as well.
I like the idea of the raw diet but I am a cook at heart and feel it is not for me. I love making recipes that have been passed down in my family, or eating at a stranger’s dinner table, and this makes things a lot harder.
Another great post Ange, it is something I have often thought about but it’s nice to read in words.
Angela, this is an excellent post! I am so glad Self magazine printed a story like this, and you were compelled to share it with us. Things like cleanses and detoxes seem so silly to me, because, like you, I feel that our bodies were developed to handle clearing out toxins in a natural way. I was also reminded of Gwenyth Paltrow’s website, GOOP, where she has previously mentioned going on certain detoxes or cleanses in order to shed a few pounds. She seems to be bragging about how “healthy” she is for participating in these, and I just don’t see how they are that great…
I will stick to my Green Monsters, balanced diet, and healthy exercise program! :)
I wish I had gotten that self magazine. I would’ve loved to read that!
I am in agreement with you. For me, I wouldn’t be healthy if I went raw/vegan. I like a combination. I’ll have a raw snack, and then a healthy dinner full of lean proteins, carbs, etc. It just doesn’t fit my super active lifestyle. If others can do it, great! I am with you 110%. I think fasts are detrimental to the body. Our bodies are AMAZING things, we don’t need to mess with them. They can take care of themselves. ;)
<3 jess
xoxo
After reading some other comments, I have more to say :D
I am in agreement with pretty much all that was said so far. One needs to be extremely knowledgeable in my opinion if they choose to go veg, raw, and the like. Just eating random fruits and veggies doesn’t make you healthy. You need to pay careful attention to what nutrients you need so you are not lacking. Gena knows a LOT about the raw diet, but if someone were to read her blog and say “Oh, I think I’ll go raw too” and they know nothing about it, I’m pretty sure they would land up in the same situation as Aimee. (And I was just using Gena as an example, I really like her blog. Her raw banana ice cream=to die for :) )
It’s a touchy subject because no one can force you to eat a certain way. I think it’s wrong to go around judging everyone. It’s just a hard situation and I don’t know if there’s a perfect fix because I bet there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t agree with me!
<3 jess
In the 3 years that I spent studying nutrition I could not find a single professor or RD who would recommend doing a cleanse. Really, the “cleanse” has always seemed like a quick-fix, easy-way-out solution that doesn’t work all that great anyway. Why eat well on a regular basis when you can just “cleanse” yourself periodically, right? BS.
I haven’t picked up an issue of Self in ages! I’ll have to see if I can track down this article :)
This is such an interesting post for me today – since I have declared today my “Detox Day”. But for me that simply means avoiding all the CRAP I usually eat. For instance, my day has been oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast, some blueberries for a snack, and a spinach salad with feta cheese and pecans for lunch with balsamic vinegar dressing. Basically it has been more the way I should eat EVERY day – not some dangerous detox! :)
I have done a gentle 3-week detox under the supervision of an RD and I loved it and would do it again. It was pretty gentle though, there wasn’t anything really extreme. I felt amazing afterwards, for weeks to come. Every time I feel run down, I revert back to some of the methods we used during that detox to rejuvinate myself.
I read that article too and liked it a lot. It’s a good warning sign for this community I think, because some people just go too far away with the name of healthy eating! I’m on your side Angela, eat healthy but not to the extreme and whenever there’s a negative sign, reevaluate and stop! :)
I’ve always been a little skeptical about detoxes and cleanses for the very same reason – our bodies are built to work in the right ways, if we take care of them. if we eat balanced most of the time, our bodies work in a way to get rid of what we don’t need and keep the nutrients that we do.
Again, such a good topic to post on. Being healthy to the extreme is definitely, for some, a cover up for an eating disorder- i know… No one ever suspects anything because, “oh, she’s just really healthy.” Umm no, I physically can’t eat anything other than my ‘safe’ foods. Is that really bad?
Although I don’t live a high raw lifestyle, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. Of course, one will have to be careful,informed and prepared for their switch to a raw food diet AND make sure that their switch is for the ‘right’ reason.
Having said that, I find it sad that there are people ‘bashing’ bloggers about their switch to a high raw diet — to be frank, just because you have an eating disorder, doesn’t mean that everyone does. I think people need to learn and respect that there are individuals out there who are perfectly CONTENT and HAPPY with their high raw diet. If you don’t find raw diet suitable for you (like in my case) then don’t participate in it.
check out this fantastic post of Gena’s
http://www.choosingraw.com/being-wary-of-a-detox/
I was pretty surprised when I read that article myself. I guess I just didn’t realize how popular these supposed “healthy” diets were becoming. Although I think there are some advantages to doing a HEALTHY cleansing diet, it’s easy to go overboard with these and turn it into something disastorious for your health. Personally, I don’t think I will ever do one.
Great topic Angela!
xxoo
Heather
I haven’t read this article in Self (I’m still waiting for my subscription to come in the mail) but a lot of bloggers have been commenting on it so I’m very interested to read it.
I did one cleanse, about a year ago. It as pretty strict with the things you couldn’t have: sugar, alcohol, anything fermented (so things like yogurt), white pasta, grapes and bananas (apparently their high in yeast). Everything else was broken up into an 80-20 ratio. You could have as much of the 80% category (which was mostly vegetables and local fruits, as well as fish and brown rice) and then only 20% of your diet could be the other stuff (red meat, chicken, etc). It was for two weeks and I was so hungry and obsessed with food the entire time. I dreamt of carbs at night (the only carbs you could have were the brown rice) and I missed seasonsings and flavour (you couldn’t have salt). My boyfriend did it with me and he said he felt great at the end of the two weeks, and he lost a lot of weight. However, if you were to look at our diets before the cleanse-I eat a fairly healthy diet with a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables whereas he eats a lot of chicken wings, poutine, etc.
After that cleanse, I kind of swore them off. I’d rather focus on everyday health then eat really healthy for two weeks. Especially since the day the cleanse ended, we went out and had huge plates of lasagna (again due to the carbs and the cheese) and a couple bottle of wine…..basically undid everything the cleanse would have.