“Detoxes” and “Cleanses” are all the rage right now. Everywhere you turn you’re seeing newfangled detox diets with their big promises of toxin removal and miraculous weight loss. Everything from juice fasts to the Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox (no, I’m not kidding. I really wish I were!) But are these detoxes all they’re cracked up to be? Do you even need to detox? And what does it mean to detox or cleanse anyway?

What is a cleanse and do you need it?

The words “detox” and “cleanse” are often used interchangeably (We’re even guilty of doing it. Yep, guilty as charged.), but they really have two different meanings. To be honest, detox shouldn’t even be used to describe any kind of diet or nutrition plan. You see, detoxing is actually something our bodies do all on their own. #newsflash

Think of your body like a miraculous self-cleaning oven. As you inhale, ingest, and absorb toxins, your liver and kidneys go to work flushing these toxins out.

Problem is, if we are constantly bombarding our bodies with toxins from eating junk and our diet is lean in the nutrient-rich category then our detoxification systems get bogged down. Yep, this means T-R-O-U-B-L-E! This is where a good cleanse comes in.

What a cleanse actually does

A cleanse is not meant to “detoxify” your system. Like we discussed, a diet cannot actually detox anything. You’re body does that! The goal of a cleanse is to support your body’s detoxification system by giving it a break and feeding it the nutrients it needs.

Does this result in better detoxification? Absolutely!! By taking a break from eating some of those toxins that are bogging down our system and fueling up with nutrients our detoxification pathways need, we’ve got nowhere to go but up baby!

So, think of a cleanse as giving your body a break and much needed nourishment so it can do its job properly. Not as a diet or quick fix for eating a shitty diet.

How will a cleanse help your fertility?

A sluggish system means things aren’t being filtered out as well. Think about when you don’t change your furnace filters in a long time. The air still gets filtered, but because the filter is clogged it doesn’t remove the impurities from the air as well. When our detoxification system is bogged down it doesn’t remove the toxins from our system as well. These toxins can cause chronic inflammation (think regular aches and pains, headaches, and long-term health risks) and cause our hormones to go all whacky. Sluggish digestion leads to constipation, bloating, weight gain, and you guessed it…hormone imbalance (super fun times!)

As we’ve already discussed, a cleanse gives your system a much needed break and feeds it nutrients to recharge. A good cleanse is also packed with fiber that will get things “moving”, if you know what I mean, which is essential in the detoxification process (since those toxins need to come out somehow). And moving things along means bye-bye constipation and bloating, and hello better hormone balance.

A cleanse is also a great way to break free from those carb cravings. Cutting out those highly addictive processed and high sugar foods lets you flush them out of your system so they lose their power over you. And less sugar and processed foods means…you’re right again, better hormone balance (you’re so darn smart!!). And…

BETTER HORMONE BALANCE = BETTER FERTILITY

Signs you need a cleanse

One question we get all the time is, “do I need to do a cleanse?”. The answer is usually yes. That is if you are doing a cleanse correctly (we’ll get into this in a minute). Just about everyone can use a good cleanse. Afterall, all a cleanse does is remove junk and replace it with nutrients. Who can’t benefit from that, right???

That being said, there are times where your body is screaming for help and a cleanse is probably just what it needs. Here are some signs that your detoxification systems are sluggish and in desperate need of some support.

You suffer from PMS, irregular and/or painful periods.
That scale won’t go down no matter what you do. Or you’re gaining weight and it’s not because you’ve been pigging out or suddenly turned into a couch potato.
You’re a carb craving fool (where’s the chips…no, I mean ice cream…wait no, I want pretzels) .
You curse the sunrise even after a full night’s sleep.
You feel dazed and confused during the day or like you could happily crawl under desk for a nap at work.
You get frequent headaches.
You’re stiff, achy joints have you feeling like you should be checking into a retirement home.
You get so bloated you feel and look like your 3 months pregnant. You may have other digestive issues like constipation as well.
Those damn acne breakouts have you reliving your teenage years.
All of a sudden you’ve got seasonal allergies or food sensitivities.
You seem to go from one cold to another and aren’t even sure what healthy feels like anymore.

How to cleanse

With so much talk about cleanses and so many different kinds, how do you know which one is right for you? First of all, avoid anything that sounds like you might starve to death. This includes any kind of long fasting, super low calorie, or juice only cleanses. Most of the time these types of cleanses do more harm than good, especially for your hormone and blood sugar balance.

You should also be leary of anything that is too long (a cleanse should never go more than 14 days). A cleanse is meant to be a short-term, jumpstart to get the junk out and some extra nourishment in. It’s not meant to be a diet or a long-term solution. And should always be followed by a balanced, nutrient-rich eating plan.

A cleanse should be whole-foods based (smoothies, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc.) and filled with foods that support your detoxification system – liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and digestive system. If the cleanse incorporates proteins it should be high quality proteins.

If you’re TTC (which we’re guessing you are since you’re here), you should stick to fertility specific cleanses. A good fertility cleanse will ensure you get ample nutrition to support a pregnancy (just in case 🤞). It will also include specific foods that help clear uterine stagnation, improve blood flow to the reproductive organs, increase egg quality and ovulation, and balance hormones….all of which, increases fertility.

Conclusion

Did any of this article sound off alarm bells for you? Could a cleanse be the fertility jumpstart you need and the perfect solution to take care of all those pesky symptoms you’re feeling? If so, the good news is it doesn’t have to be a painful process. And you don’t have to starve yourself to get the results you’re looking for. Just make sure to follow the guidelines we gave when choosing a cleanse, or just use the 10-Day Fertile Method Cleanse for an easy and delicious way to get your cleanse on. And don’t forget, what you do after you cleanse counts! Use this as a jumping off point then focus on cleaning up your diet for good.

Make sure to drop us a comment and let us know why you need to cleanse.