10-Day Sugar Cleanse

If you want to detox and get a jump start in spring, this sugar cleanse is a great way to do it. A lot of my patients ask about juice cleanses and ways to detox through diet. I don't love strict juice cleanses because the weight lost during them tends to come right back on afterward. The body also needs protein and healthy fats, even during a cleanse. 

If you exercise, you definitely need protein and fats, so if you really want to do a juice cleanse, I suggest juicing throughout the day and then having dinner with 4 ounces of protein, 2 teaspoons of fat, another juice, or a side of noncarbohydrate vegetables. Also, be aware that too many fruit juices do not help the body, and the juices you drink should be made with at least 50% more vegetables than fruit.

The healthiest way to cleanse is not by juicing but by eating only certain foods. I give a 10-day sugar cleanse. This cleanse not only removes all fruit except limes and lemons but also of almost everything that turns sugar in the body. The only carbs allowed are limited amounts of beans, brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. This cleanse works by removing sugar from your diet, which is the fastest way to lose fat and increase your energy. When your blood sugar is out of balance, it causes depression, causes you to store sugar as fat instead of using it for energy, causes you to have highs and lows in your energy, and leads to diabetes. In so many ways, doing this sugar cleanse is healthy for you. 

At first, your cravings for sugar may be more pronounced. After you get over what I call the "hump", you will stop craving sugar altogether. Hard to believe? I never thought I'd get there myself. It usually takes 3-4 days to get over the hump, so this is the point at which you'll have to buckle down and use all of your willpower. Believe it or not, the longer you stay off sugar, the easier it gets. This doesn't mean that you'll never be able to eat fruit again or enjoy a baked potato. This is a temporary cleanse to correct your blood sugar. This is when the sugar cravings disappear, and your energy goes way up! Not to mention that most people see a vast difference in their skin.

Sugar makes you gain weight, tired, and ugly. I wish I were kidding about this, but I'm pretty serious. Eating fat doesn't make you overweight; sugar does. Eating too much sugar and carbs is why most people are tired all the time. Not to mention that sugar zaps the collagen in your skin and dulls your complexion. Most Americans consume up to three pounds of sugar every week! It's not always easy to stay away from sugar because they put it in almost everything these days. It's added to so many processed foods we eat, not just in what we consider "sweets."

Raised blood insulin levels cause weight gain. Insulin promotes the storage of fat, so when you eat foods high in sugar, you increase fat storage - resulting in rapid weight gain. Being a recovering "sugarholic" myself, I can speak from experience how difficult it is to get off of sugar. The more sugar you eat, the more your body craves, so just limiting sugar won't do the trick. You have to cut it out completely, cold turkey, to stop the addictive cycle. Studies have shown that it is just as hard to get off of sugar as it is cocaine. When I'm talking about sugar here, I'm not just talking about white table sugar; I'm talking about bread, fruit, fruit juice, dried fruit, tortillas, baked goods, honey, etc. All of these get broken down into the same thing: sugar.