Detox Special Podcast: The 8 Most Popular Detox Diets, How To Detox, A Detox Q&A, And Much More!

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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

When you’re scrambling to slim down for the New Year or burn fat fast to get ready for swimsuit season, doing a quick crash course cleanse may seem like an easy way to get things done.

After all, detox diets promise to help you shed pounds fast, flush out toxins from your gut, liver, kidney or colon, give your digestive system a much-needed break, eliminate brain fog, maximize energy levels, cure your food cravings, and even improve your hair, skin and nails.

The problem is, detoxes can be dangerous. Often, much of the weight loss is due to muscle wasting, self-cannibalization and dangerous levels of dehydration. This can result in a long-term lowering of your metabolism, hormonal imbalances and a body that easily becomes fatigued, overtrained, skinny-fat, and more likely to gain weight in the future.

Worse yet, as I discussed in the recent root canals podcast, many detoxes (especially heavy metal detoxes) leach metals and other toxins into the bloodstream. If you have a leaky blood brain barrier caused by lack of sleep, stress, inflammation, food intolerances, overtraining, airline travel or any other biological assailant, these metals and toxins can end up in your neural tissue and cause brain fog, mental fatigue and neural damage.

But not all detox diets are harmful. 

So to help you distinguish the difference between dangerous detox fads and truly helpful cleanse, to jumpstart your New Year and to give you a safe way to clean your body, balance your hormones and spark safe and lasting fat loss, Ben and Jessa Greenfield sit down in this podcast and give you their entertaining take on the 8 most popular detox diets, including:

The BluePrintCleanse

-The Cooler Cleanse

-Jill Pettijohn Nutritional Cleanses

The Master Cleanse

David Kirsch 48-Hour Super Charged Cleanse

Dr. Junger's Clean Gut Program

Martha’s Vineyard Diet

Kaeng Raeng

After Ben and Jessa tell you about the pros and cons of each detox diet, they then turn off the mic and keep going for Part 2 of this Detox Special Podcast, which is only available to BenGreenfieldFitness Inner Circle members.

In Part 2, available in both video and audio by clicking here and joining the Inner Circle, Ben and Jessa reveal Ben's #1 recommended way to detox (hundreds of dollars less expensive than popular detox diets), discuss Jessa's questions about detoxes, and answer listener questions about detox diets, including:

Summary and Detox Resources

For more resources on detoxing, check out:

The Zen of Taking A Good Poop

How Much Fiber To Eat, Where To Get Your Fiber, And Is Fiber *Really* Killing Your Insides?

How To Detox – A Quick Primer On How To Cleanse Your Body For The New Year (Without Going To Some Expensive Resort On A Mountaintop)

How To Fix Your Gut: 9 Bad Things That Happen When Your Digestion Goes Wrong, How To Hit The Reboot Button & The Best Way To Detox Your Body.

Why Healthy Eaters Can Still Have Broken Guts, and What You Can Do About It.

Other detox resources Ben and Jessa discuss in this episode include:

Testing:

CDSA 2.0 with Parasitology Gut Test

WellnessFX Baseline Panel or Top 10 Tests from DirectLabs

Diets:

The Paleo Autoimmune Diet

The SCD Diet

Supplements:

-Ben's recommended Gut Healing Pack (use the oil of oregano in this pack as the 15-20 drops 3x/day, and take everything else according to bottle instructions)

-Metal Free Heavy Metal Detoxification Formula -follow spray instructions on bottle, use for 30-60 days

Liposomal Glutathione – 2-3 sprays under tongue and hold for 20-30 seconds, use for 30-60 days

-6mg of iodine per day – use for 30-60 days

-Oral magnesium in supplemental form before bedtime (around 400-600mg/day, or until you get loose stool)

-A high quality greens supplement – use for detox maintenance

-For colon detox, highly recommended to include 30-60 days of Colorectal Recovery Program if you get constipation, gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc. If you use this, then you can skip the magnesium and greens listed above

Gear:

-Use Squatty Potty for any bowel movements

-If you can afford one, sleep or spend 20-30 minute sessions each day laying on Biomat

-Clean up your house with Ben's recommended safe and clean household cleaners and personal care products

Questions, comments or feedback about the most popular detox diets or how to detox? Leave your questions below, and be sure to sign up for the BenGreenfieldFitness Inner Circle for access to Part 2 of this episode!

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

19 thoughts on “Detox Special Podcast: The 8 Most Popular Detox Diets, How To Detox, A Detox Q&A, And Much More!

  1. Paul Shook says:

    Enjoying Ben’s newsletter but I cant figure out where to access the download for the 12 week detox plan?

    Thanks to anyone who can help!

    Paul

  2. kaengraeng says:

    Thanks for featuring my product, Kaeng Raeng, during your detox special podcast. It was really interesting and we appreciate being included on that list of popular detox programs.

    I just wanted to say that we do offer a soy free version to our cleanse. It's available on our web site and Amazon.com. http://bit.ly/1meMJO4

    I also wanted to touch on the cost of our product. Our profit margins are actually some of the lowest in the industry because KR is very expensive to make. We buy only from small, California farmers so that we can purchase organic, locally sourced ingredients in a sustainable way. As I'm sure you know, our price point is a fraction of most of the other cleanses (even ones you had in the podcast), and although you can buy more calories for $20/day at a grocery store, you have to remember that we are pre-measuring, pre-packaging, and freeze drying these ingredients to give the consumer that convenience and peace of mind.

    Thanks for helping spread the word about health and fitness (and all the tools that help consumers achieve their goals!)

    -Lindsay Reinsmith, Founder & CEO, Kaeng Raeng

  3. Santosh Kumar says:

    Nice podcast. You may want to consider the Indian Ayurvedic system of detox and healing called Panchakarma, and perhaps give your views on how this can be beneficial for endurance athletes. Its a complete system and has been in practice of thousands of years.

    1. If you called that in as a question for the podcast, I would be happy to chat about it! http://www.speakpipe.com/bengreenfield

  4. sackett11 says:

    Have you had a chance to look at Beachbody's Ultimate Reset? I know you have not always been the biggest fan of Beachbody but I think the Ultimate Reset might but something you could get behind. Check it out I would love to hear your response. Great podcast as always.

    1. Not the biggest fan? Ha ha!

      1. sackett11 says:

        ????? So that means you think what exactly about the ultimate reset?

        1. That is a great question for the podcast! Call it in – http://www.speakpipe.com/bengreenfield

  5. ffirestine says:

    Your review of the Master Cleanse reminded me that I have watched a review by my friend Mark Malkoff as part of the series "Fitness Guinea Pig" by Everyday Health. Here's the final (clip show) video. Thanks for all the great info about these cleanses that I could never afford, but it's good to know how to evaluate them.
    http://youtu.be/GW11igjKR2w

  6. cbfrasier says:

    This was the first podcast I’d listened to after reading a great article on cramping. I’ll keep listening to other podcasts, but this one was tough to listen to and I felt compelled to tell you why. Some feedback…

    1) Try not to interrupt – While I’m sure Jessa is a wonderful person, she interrupts constantly. It’s not only kind of impolite (I’m sure your friends, so it’s more casual), it’s painful to listen to. It’s also not best practice – watch any news or sports broadcast and only one person talks at a time. It’s just much more pleasant to listen to. I get the sense that Jessa wants to add valuable content – which she has. Try scripting the podcast a bit more to give each person a chance to talk.

    2) Don’t judge – Ben’s feedback is factual and clear “Detox plan X is lacks protein and nutrients”. Very helpful. Jessa is somewhat more judgemental “I’ve never eaten so few calories, wow”, “Who would spend so much money on a detox”. People sign up to your podcast because they need help. Being critical of their choices by criticizing the rationale alienates potential listeners.

    Anyhow, the factual content you’re delivering is excellent. I’d just like it to be an easier listening experience.

    1. Cool. We appreciate the feedback.

    2. ffirestine says:

      As a longtime listener, I am pretty sure Ben and Jessa are friends. Reaaaaally friendly. :-)

  7. darcieg76 says:

    I appreciate the commentary on the various detox programs, but it was mostly about downsides: lack of nutrients, expense, too much sugar, etc. I was wondering, though, about whether the diets actually "detox," and what the mechanisms are, just to understand detoxing in general. I know you have other places where you cover this, but I think a small primer on that would've been helpful in the podcast.
    Thanks!

    1. That's a good suggestion, thanks! We covered in this podcast https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2012/09/episo… look for the question from Cathy.

  8. Danny says:

    Your metals in protein powder comment has me concerned! When you talk about cheap protein powders, do you just mean the bargain stuff at Wal-Mart? I usually stick to Upgraded brand, Jay Robb, or Garden of Life. Are those all OK?

    1. Yes, those are ok. Take a look at this for more help https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2012/01/how-t…

  9. ejgruber says:

    You mentioned Carb Nite by John Kiefer, but I think you're actually referring to his other book, "Carb Backloading."

    1. Whoops yes, I believe you are right. Thanks.

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