A vegan cleanse, diet, or lifestyle may have a different meaning to different people. In this post, we’ll answer one of the most common question we get everyday: why we recommend to go vegan when you cleanse or detox.
Below you will find a summary of our 15 years research and the top reasons we like to keep our protocols and recipes 100% vegan. For the purpose of this post, we’ll focus on the health benefits, and not get into additional aspects such as the environment and others.
As always, we would love to hear your comments below.
1. It’s What You Don’t Eat
If there’s one thing you should remember from this post, let it be this.
Many of the benefits of detox and cleansing are not from what you eat or drink. They are from what you don’t. Eating a vegan diet means that you stop to consume the toxins and heavy metals commonly found in animal products.
Most people know this already regarding meat. But what about fish? Isn’t fish healthy for us? Maybe for our ancestors who used to live in a much cleaner world. The medical community and several health organizations have clearly expressed concerns about toxic high levels of mercury in fish. Not only you need to know which type of fish to select, but also its origin to confirm it comes from clean water [1].
2. Give Your Digestion A Break
Does the following scenario sound familiar? You just ate lunch and are about to pass out. You feel tired, unfocused, bloated and unmotivated to interact with human beings, and just want to take a nap. Chances are, you will not be super productive at work for the next few hours. Out of desperation you go and grab another cup of coffee.
While animal products are not always the reason, many people notice their digestion becomes better once they eliminate them. Especially those who already experience digestive issues such as bloating, gas, constipation, acid reflux and others.
To be completely fair, some plant based options such as beans and legumes may be very hard to digest for a lot of people. For this reason, we also recommend to limit or avoid these during your cleanse. The idea is to consume easy to digest foods short term during your cleanse, and give your digestive system a break from these foods. Fresh fruits, moderate amount of sprouted nuts and seeds, some leafy greens are great options.
3. Reduce Inflammation
Ask most vegans athletes about the benefits of a vegan diet, and the first thing you will hear is that they have less inflammation.
A study that evaluated the connection between inflammation to diet, found that [2]:
Meat-based or “Western-like” patterns tended to be positively associated with biomarkers of inflammation…vegetable and fruit based or “healthy” patterns tended to be inversely associated.
Most people think of joint, muscle pain, headaches or migraines when they think about inflammation. According to the research data, however, the negative effect of inflammation on our health may go above and beyond these. A growing number of evidence suggests that chronic inflammation may be the root cause of a long list of health conditions. Just to name a few, autoimmune disorders, cancer, heart disease, IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome), asthma, diabetes, alzheimer’s disease among others [3].
4. Nourish Your Body
When you stop consuming animal products, you end up eating more plant based foods. Assuming you choose healthy whole food options, chances are you will be eating much more healthy nutrients than before. Vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and other phytochemicals, all linked to endless health benefits. Most people on a western diet do not get enough of these.
Not surprisingly, many people notice a difference a few days after going vegan. The energy levels, mood are up, skin becomes clear, digestion improves. We see these in our research and cleansing protocols every day. In our opinion, these improvements may be due to two key factors:
- You stop eating animal products so your body wastes less energy on having to digest these foods and filter their toxins.
- You get higher levels of healthy nutrients from easy to digest plant based foods.
5. Vegan Diet May Help Protect Against Chronic Disease
The research data on this topic may not always be conclusive, although a large number of health authorities accept this connection. A growing number of evidence suggests that a vegan diet may help to protect against obesity, hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality [4].
While more studies are needed in order to fully study long term veganisms, anecdotal evidence suggests that many people notice improvements in key risk factors in a matter of a few weeks after they switched to a vegan diet. This can be easily tested with most blood tests. Something you may want to consider sharing with your doctor if you have any of these health concerns.
How About A Vegetarian Cleanse?
Many of our vegetarian readers are surprised to learn that the connection between dairy and many health issues is well known and extensively studied.
According to the U.S. national library of medicine [5]:
- 65 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy.
- Sensitivity to milk protein may also occur in people that can digest lactose. There is increasing evidence that A1 beta-casein, a protein which is found in most milk in the U.S and Europe is also linked to cows’ milk intolerance [6].
And this is just the beginning:
- A study that evaluated individuals aged 7-30 years, found that any dairy consumption, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, was linked to an increased risk for Acne Vulgaris [7].
- Cohort studies done in sweden, found that high milk intake was linked to higher mortality in men and women. High milk consumption was also correlated with higher fracture incidence in women [8].
The evidence doesn’t stop here. A large number of health authorities such as Dr. T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Dr. Neal Barnard, M.D. suggest there’s a link between dairy to cancer. According to the Physicians Committee [9]:
Milk and other dairy products are the top source of saturated fat in the American diet, contributing to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have also linked dairy to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
The physicians committee gathers the expertise of more than 12,000 physicians, all specialized in plant-based diets, ethical and effective scientific research.
About Cleanse Joy
Cleanse joy combines natural medicine, traditional practices, with modern science and research to help improve people’s lives through the most accurate, objective, unbiased evidence based knowledge.
Our Detox Vegan Recipes
Who said detox recipes have to be boring? We designed all our recipes to bring a healthy exciting culinary experience with potent and safe natural body cleansing and detoxification properties.
All our detox and cleansing recipes are: healthy, vegan, vegetarian, paleo friendly, and gluten free. They are all based on whole natural foods you can easily get at your local store. Many of our low carb recipes are also perfect for the vegan keto diet. Learn more.
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