As I eavesdropped on the elliptical...

Yes, I was eavesdropping. Normally I keep my headphones in with my music blasting some kind of upbeat rock. Muse (most commonly), Flogging Molly, Incubus, Jimmy Eat World or some other rocker is usually all I hear while running or pumping my legs furiously.

Today I forgot to put my earbuds in before getting on the elliptical for a warm-up. It's a good thing I'm not nearly coordinated enough to retrieve my iPod and set myself up, or I'd have missed the conversation two ladies beside me were having about "detox" diets, or cleansing diets. I guess leaving the tunes off is a great way to get new topics for the blog.

I have always been a skeptic of the cleanse diets and detox rituals before starting a diet. It just never made sense to me that the body really needed to be "cleansed" from all the crap I had put through it. I had always believed that the body did a pretty good job of removing toxins and other yuckies.

Besides, my method of cleansing in the past has always invloved a healthy morning bathroom ritual (you know what I mean ;p), lots of water, and a good work out. I always knew this much: whenever I work out and plenty of water, I feel "cleansed".

From what I have read, that seems to be justified. Our bodies can only excrete toxins in four ways: Respiration, Urination, Defecation, and Persiration. Ensuring that we drink enough water to stay hydrated, then working up a sweat, and having success in the bathroom are the keys to success. Starting some radical "cleanse diet" might be good if it gets you eating whole foods - sans the chemicals and toxins from processing. But it seems like it will be ineffective at best, and damaging at worst. This WebMD article can shed more light on this subject.

If you're interested in "detoxing" your body, it may very well be that you should first look into changing your diet. As I've mentioned before, the Eat Clean diet is a great resource for healthy diet practices. Remember that a body only needs to be "detoxified" if it's had toxins put into it.