“…Many doctors see juice fasting as just another form of American extremism — as Dr. Colbert put it, ‘somewhere between religiosity and craziness.’ Marianne Gillow, a psychiatrist in private practice in Manhattan who consults for, among others, the Fashion Institute of Technology, sees a lot of patients with unresolved food issues. “My biggest concern about juice cleanses is that they fuel obsessive thinking,” she said. ‘People who have trouble managing their weight tend to be all or nothing about things. Cleansing doesn’t allow you to make peace with real food.'”
That pretty much lays out my feelings on the topic. The author of the article, interestingly, seemed to enjoy cleansing, referring to it as a “triumph over sensuality” that was intensely freeing…but to me, what that speaks of is a desire for control that’s being confused with a sense of freedom, and that crosses the border into dangerous territory. Also, serious question: why in the world would you want to triumph over sensuality? For me, that’s the point of waking up every morning: to embrace food, light, joy, beauty, the people and things that you love…to live. And to live sensually, in touch with the world around you.
If you missed my cleansing experience back in May, this is why I decided to do it. And then this is what happened. And this was my opinion on the whole thing once it was over.
Image via CleansingClinic.
