Running Heading: Detox Cleanses and Weight Loss

Running Heading: Detox Cleanses and Weight Loss

Weight-Loss Through Detox Cleanses For Young Adults

Molly Horn

Consumer Health Decisions: HLT 00327-1

Dr. Bullard

11.23.15

Rowan University

Introduction

Drink a delicious tea a few times a day and all your bloat and excess weight will go away, sounds too good to be true, right? All over Instagram, Twitter, magazines, anything that young adults look at regularly, you see celebrities boasting about detox teas and other types of detox products. Most Americans are busy with the busiest being young adults. Not only are Americans known for being busy, but they are also known for wanting something; and wanting it right now. The biggest fad currently is finding a quick and easy way to lose weight. Most people in this young adult age range are used to their slim teenage body that could handle two Big Macs, an extra large fry, and a large coke, followed by a Mcflurry for dessert. As this age group is hitting the end of their teenage years and metabolism is starting to slow down, they are noticing that they cannot eat the way they used too, and the best solution is to lose those few new, unwanted pounds as fast and as effortlessly as possible. Ideally, still eating the way they used too, with little to no gym time involved would be great, but we all know, that isn’t possible, or is it? Celebrities, like those from the cast of “Jersey Shore” and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” are flooding social media with posts about their new “love, and obsession”, Detox Weight-loss Teas. The celebrities are claiming that these teas “Keep their waist size, and craving downs”, so of course, this arises some questions.

Research Question

What is making young adults want to try detox cleanses?

What is the most utilized Detox cleanse among young adults?

Are young adults at GNC utilizing detox cleanses for weight loss management?

Are the young adults utilizing other forms of weight loss or solely detox cleanses?

Significance Of The Problem

It is crucial to find out if these cleanses really work. It seems that this current generation of young adults is very naïve and will purchase anything just because their favorite singer or actor says it is true. Is it also important to find out how these cleanses work because sometimes weight loss products only work due to harmful chemicals and that is not good to be putting into the body consistently. Finally, if this product does not truly do what people are endorsing, or if there is a brand out there that is not being endorsed but does work, this could make consumers more aware of purchasing or not purchasing items just because someone on TV says too.

Review of Literature

A really common trend in America currently is “Detox cleansing”. Detox cleanses are supposed to reduce bloating, clear skin, decrease headaches, rejuvenate immunity, and cleanse cells. Detox cleanses truly branch off of the idea of fasting. In many religions, fasting not only cleanses the body but it also cleanses the mind and spirit. Detox cleanses clear the body and people claim that it also makes their mind feel clearer as well. A health body can lead to a health mind. “In a 2008 Newsweek article, Univ. of Miami psychology professor Michael McCullough states, “It’s a way of resetting one’s moral clock, of starting with a clean slate.” (McCullough, 2008). Many religions agree with what McCullough said and that is why they still continue to fast.

The exact beginning of detox cleanses cannot be pinpointed but most scientists attribute detoxification to the practice of natural medicine with originated in India back in 3500 BC. In this practice the people would eliminate certain foods from their diet and clean out the colon. The goal of this practice is to prolong life and prevent disease (Grandury, 2014). It can be seen that detoxification is not something new to society. People have been practicing it for centuries now. What is new to society is the way to people detox.

Detoxing used to be done through natural methods, simply by taking nature walks and eating healthier but society now has taken it to a whole new level. People detox now with pills, and teas, and drinks, and all other kinds of methods. Some of the methods of detoxification used today are a colon cleanse, similar to what was done back in India in 3500 BC. There is, a master cleanse, smoothie cleanses, juice cleanses, and cleanses done through supplements (Hilton, 2014). A master cleanse is a ten day diet that consist of liquids only. The liquids being consumed during this ten day period are; a lemonade type of drink, a laxative herbal tea, and a salt-water drink. The cleanse claims to help a person lose 10 pounds in 10 days (Woloshyn, 2007). Smoothie detox cleanses consist of a person solely drinking smoothies for the first few days of their cleanse, which could be one, three, or five days, and after that, incorporating these smoothies into their diets daily. The smoothies are all-natural and contain ingredients like kale, lemon, ginger, and spinach along with non-fat yogurts. (Chatham, 2013). Juice detox cleanses are cleanses that can last three, five, or ten days where the detoxer only consumes fruits and vegetables that were juiced. The idea of this cleanse is to give the digestive system a break from having to break down major meals. After the three, five, or ten days, the detoxer is supposed to eat very small, bland meals for the following week (Calbum, 1992). There are also several products on the market including pills, teas, powders, and other substances known as supplements that assist with detoxing. Not all of the supplements on the market have been FDA approved.

One popular detox diet popular today is the lemon-detox program. The lemon detox diet is a very low carb diet that consists of a mixture of different syrups that are meant to reduce body fat and body fat mass. It was tested in Korea on multiple women and the women who used the lemon detox showed significantly more weight loss than the women who weren’t using it (Kim, Hwang, Ko, Na, Kim 2015). The reason why the women lost weight due to the detox was because of the syrups, which lowers insulin resistance. The Korean’s are full believers in the detox cleanses but there are other people out there who do not feel the same.

The reason for detoxing is to rid the body of harmful chemicals that enter into it through food and other toxins in the environment. Roger Clemens a nutritional biochemist at USC school of Pharmacy does not agree with the Koreans on their idea of detox. "The suggestion that our bodies' elimination of harmful substances is enhanced due to a detox diet is categorically unsubstantiated. It runs counter to our understanding of human physiology and biochemistry." (Clemens, 2014). Clemens believed that the reason people feel better after a detox is due to a change in their energy from burning more calories, not from eliminating toxins in their body. Pressman, a physician at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles said that the body does a fantastic job of eliminating waste on its own and it does not need detox cleanses to help it eliminate toxins (Science letter, 2005). Detoxing is something that people think helps their body but some scientists actually think that it is harming our bodies. Scientists feel that the body is a well-wired system and it functions perfectly fine on its own. The body is capable of riding itself of excess toxins and maintaining proper homeostasis (Dixon, 2005).

Another scientist had a similar view on detox cleanses. “Despite the abundance of available detox measures, it is not yet possible to base their use on rigorous scientific evidence. Very few programs actually establish what 'tox' is, let alone 'detox' and there is little documentation about toxin elimination and associated clinical outcomes. It appears that the science of detoxicology is still in its infancy and while there are hundreds of randomized controlled trials on drug and alcohol detox, there are no such trials of detox programs focusing on environmental toxins.” (Cohen, 2007). The fact that there is no scientific research behind detox cleanses is a little nerve wracking. So many people talk about and promote detoxification but if there is no research behind it, do people even know what they are promoting? It is possible that the scientists above were correct in their statements. If there is no research done about detoxification then it is possible that people could be doing harm to their bodies by trying to detox them.

It is evident that there are many different views on detox cleanses. There is really only one study done that is optimistic about these detox cleanses and that one was done in Korea. The rest of the research that was done was in the United States and all of those seem to be negative, is there some kind of correlation here? Or is it just fate? It is known that Americans are not the healthiest people in the world, so did the detox work in Korea because Koreans are healthier to begin with? It is interesting to find out through research that one topic can have so many different opinions on it. Should more research be done on detox cleanses? Are the products that are being used to detox harmful to the bodies? There are so many unanswered questions.

Methods

A questionnaire was handed out to young adult costumers at the GNC in Westmont New Jersey. The questionnaire was only be handed out to the young adult customers who utilize detox cleanses. It asked the customers different questions related to their experience utilizing these cleanses. The questionnaire was a sheet of paper and consisted of twelve questions: some multiple choice, some needing a written explanation. During the first two weeks of November the questionnaire was handed out to as many people as possible at GNC.

Results

A questionnaire was handed out to 10 people who utilize the GNC in Westmont New Jersey to buy their detox cleanses. The study was conducted in order to obtain first hand feedback on what real people think of detox cleanses. Of the 10 people who participated in the questionnaire, 8 out of 10 (80%) were between the age range of 18-25 and 2 out of 10 (20%) were between 26-35. The group as a whole that received the questionnaire were young adults. 9 out of 10 (90%) of the participants were female and 1 or of 10 (10%) were male. It can be seen that the majority of women who utilize detox cleanses at the GNC in Westmont New Jersey are women. The questionnaire also asked participants what their career is. 4 out of 10 (40%), have no career because they are in college, 2 out of 10 (20%) work in an office setting, 2 out of 10 (20%), are nurses, 1 out of 10 (10%) is a teacher, and 1 out of 10 (10%) works in retail. This question was asked to see how active they are due to their careers. The results showed that the most of the participants utilize different cleanses. 2 out of 10 (20%) utilize “Herbal Clean Simply Slender Master Cleanse-Lemonade Diet”. 2 out of 10 (20%) utilize “Celsius Green Tea and Raspberry Acai”. 1 out of 10 (10%) utilize “GNC Total Lean Diet Cleanse.” 2 out of 10 (20%) utilize “GNC Total Lean 2-Day Juice Cleanse – Refreshing Fruit Cocktail”. Finally, 3 out of 10 (30%) utilize “Century System’s The Cleaner – Women’s Formula”. 4 out of 10 (40%) of the participants weighed between 130-150 lbs., when beginning the cleanse, and 6 out of 10 (60%) weighed between 151-180 lbs., when beginning the cleanse. After starting the cleanse, 2 out of 10 (20%) claimed to weigh between 115-129 lbs., 6 out of 10 (60%) claimed to weigh between 130-150 lbs., and 2 out of 10 (20%) claimed to weigh between 151-170 lbs. 2 out of 10 (20%) of the participants claimed to have been utilizing this detox for a week and 8 out of 10 (80%) claimed to have been utilizing their detox for a few months. 3 out of 10 (30%) participants claimed to use the cleanse once a day, 3 out of 10 (30%) claimed to use the cleanse once a week and 4 out of 10 (40%) claimed to use the cleanse as needed. When asked if participants use the gym while using the cleanses 10 out of 10 (100%) said yes, and 10 out of 10 (100%) said they saw a difference while utilizing the cleanse. Of the group that answered the questionnaire, 2 out of 10 (20%) said they go to the gym daily, 7 out of 10 (70%) said they go to the gym every other day, and 1 out of 10 (10%), said they go to the gym randomly. From looking at the results most of the people utilizing these cleanses are women and all of the people using them go to the gym. When asked to elaborate on the product being used most of the participants claimed to really like their product, only 2 participants said they were not happy with the results of their cleanse. All of the cleanses that were bought from people that participated in the questionnaire were weight-loss cleanses so it can be seen that all the participants were trying to lose weight. The most popular product used was “Century System’s The Cleaner – Women’s Formula”.

Conclusion

After research and a study done it can be seen that even though there is little scientific proof behind it, detox cleanses can help individuals with weight loss. What cannot be proven from this study is whether or not solely using not detox cleanses helps individuals lose weight. All of the participants in the questionnaire had lost weight while using the cleanse. Also, all of the participants in the study use the gym regularly; if this study was done again it should be done with people who do not use the gym and then compare the results. The first research question was: What is making young adults try detox cleanses? – From research it can be answered by saying that young adults try these cleanses because they want to lose weight. All over social media detox cleanses are claiming to help people lose weight, some of the participants in the study claimed that they began trying detox cleanses because one of their favorite celebrities endorsed it. The next research question was: What is the most utilized detox cleanse among young adults? – From the questionnaire that was handed out to young adults at GNC in Westmont New Jersey, it can be seen that “Century System’s The Cleaner – Women’s Formula” is the most utilized detox cleanse by those who participated. With some research done it can be seen that this is a very common detox cleanse that many women use other than just the young adults at this local GNC. The next research question was: Are young adults at GNC utilizing detox cleanses for weight loss management? - The answer is yes. Every one of the participants in the study conducted said that they were using their detox cleanse to help with weight loss. The final research question was: Are the young adults utilizing other forms of weight loss or solely detox cleanses? – The answer is no. All of the participants in the studio also changed their eating habits a bit while detoxing and used the gym on a regular basis. That is why, if this study were to be done again it would be crucial to interview people who only utilized detox cleanses for their weight-loss and did nothing else. Also, finding more men to participate in the study would be beneficial as well. Finally, interviewing a larger group of people would help to make the study more concrete. 10 people being questioned helped to find out a lot of information but the more people to participate the stronger the results would be. So, yes detox cleanses do help you lose weight, there is not a lot of research done on them though, so a person is taking a risk by utilizing them. Hopefully, in the future the FDA will review them and there will be more research done on these products.

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