KARE investigates: Body cleansing and detoxifying
Kare 11 News, Minneapolis, MN - 2/6/2007
By: Jana Shortal

Spend five minutes with Kelly Miyamoto and you will buy into what ever she is selling. But, the thing is, she doesn't have anything for sale.

But what she does have, most of us want - the stamina of the Energizer bunny and the health of an Olympian.

Miyamoto doesn't have any secrets about how she does it. "I think healthy eating and exercise is for everybody," says Miyamoto, owner of the Minneapolis workout studio, The Firm.

But she is doing a few things you might not know about.

"Cleansing and detoxification is a lifestyle," Kelly says.

Whoa, wait, cleansing?

Those in the nutritional know, like Carol Denton, a nutritionist at Abbott Northwestern have a lot to say about cleansing and detoxification.

"It infers a cleaning out, but your body just does that naturally. It's designed to do that but things get in the way of the ability to do that," Denton says.

Cleansing the body, the mind and the soul. You've seen the advertisements in magazines encouraging people to cleanse and detoxify, not diet.

"What's diet?" Dr. Ron Ledoux, a Crystal chiropractor asks. "People think of that (diet) in the short term and I don't want to talk short term I want to talk long term," Ledoux says.

Cleansing and detoxification means you give your body a break. No booze, no caffeine, no refined sugar, no processed foods or additives and preservatives.

As for the do's, there are no big surprises. "Fruits, veggies, whole grains, protein, lots of water," Denton says.

Cleansing with any one of many plans on the market along with eating well, and exercise isn't a bad idea. At least not according to some experts like Denton.

"Sure, it's very safe," Denton says.

A more popular cleanse combined with a diet is what made our own Tim McNiff drop 20 pounds in 10 weeks.

"I was just looking for a way to clean myself up and give myself a fresh start," McNiff said.

Tim found The Fat Flush Plan diet when he was at time in his life when time began to look even more precious.

"I had my best friend diagnosed with colon cancer and that just threw my world for a loop," McNiff said.

Bart Swenson, Tim's best friend, was only 43-years-old when he died this past year. Bart was Tim's wake up call.

"I have two kids you worry about, well, how long am I going to be here?" McNiff asked himself.

Today, Tim says he's as healthy as ever. Slimming down was just a bonus. "You know what, you only get one body and you have to take care of it. You just don't get another one," McNiff said.

But, cleansing to an extreme isn't always good. Beyonce Knowles told the world this winter that she lost 20 pounds in 10 days on the Master Cleanse.

"Doing a fast like that is not recommended," Denton says.

The Master Cleanse is a diet of epic proportions. You can eat no food for days and instead the cleanse calls for a cocktail a few times a day made with cayenne pepper, lemons, and maple syrup.

Dropping the weight for the movie "Dreamgirls" did happen for Beyonce but keeping it off may be a challenge.

"Let's see what happens to Beyonce post the cleanse," Denton says.

As for the rest of us weight loss "is" top of mind.

More than 75 percent of Americans are overweight and at least 30 percent of adults are obese. Looking for a quick fix obviously hasn't trimmed down those statistics.

"There is no quick fix, just like they say if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is," Dr. Ledoux says.

It seems the popular advice from the experts is to begin feeding your body what it wants cleansing it of what it doesn't.

Cleansing the right way isn't a bad way to begin a diet and for a lot of people that means cleansing with a product.

According to SPINS market research, last year sales of herbal products promising to cleanse the body tripled to nearly $28 million worldwide.

For Kelly Miyamoto there is no "to cleanse or not to cleanse" conundrum.

"I feel better, I sleep better I have more energy," Miyamoto says.

And if in fact there is room in Kelly, for more energy, well then I'll have what she's having.