Categories
Nosh

Is Soup Cleansing the New Juice Cleansing?

Maybe it’s because I live in New York, but it seems like everyone I know has attempted to do a juice cleanse at least once in the last year. I’ve tried my hand at a couple of them: the Master Cleanse (stay away from this BeyoncĂ©-approved nightmare) and Organic Avenue’s offering (honestly, not that bad if you’re into self-deprivation).

And while the juice cleanse still reigns supreme, a new type of cleanse is becoming increasingly popular: the soup cleanse.

Soup cleansing is very similar to juice cleansing; you can purchase pre-made soups that come with an eating schedule or you can make your own soups at home. If you’re more motivated and a better cook than I am, making your own soups at home is highly cost efficient. There are some great recipes online for simple, healthy, and cleansing soups, and you can mix and match them to your tastes. Aside from saving money, the biggest benefit of a DIY soup cleanse is that you are not stuck slurping down a soup you can barely stand.

Purchasing the pre-made soups from a company that specializes in soup cleanses can be pricey (a one-day supply from Soupure in Los Angeles costs $79), but it is incredibly convenient; in my own dieting experiences, convenience is what keeps me from falling off the wagon. The pre-made options are also designed for maximized nutrition and weight loss potential.

So, what are the benefits of a soup cleanse?

The first real benefit — something that a juice cleanse doesn’t offer–is that you can eat! The hardest part of my juice cleanse experience was not being able to eat. Even if I was getting a sufficient amount of calories into my body, I always felt hungry; soup cleansing really aids with this mental element. Soup cleanses are also hydrating. The average American drinks about 20 ounces of water a day, but we should be drinking closer to 70. A soup cleanse is a wonderful chance to rehydrate your body. Keeping hydrated improves your skin elasticity, muscle efficiency, and memory function.

Soup cleanses also can help you reevaluate your relationship with food. Perhaps you eat every day at the same time, regardless of whether you’re hungry or not. Or maybe you eat too quickly and without paying any attention. A soup cleanse will help you take a closer look at the way and why you eat.

A soup cleanse will also help give your digestive system a break. If you eat a standard American diet, you’re likely eating large amounts of processed foods every day. Processed foods make your digestive system go into overdrive, stressing your intestines and gut flora. A soup cleanse will allow your stomach, gut, and liver to take a well-deserved vacation. A soup cleanse will also ensure that you’re eating nutritionally rich foods like kale, cashew nuts, spinach, and beet greens. Lastly, a soup cleanse can be a great way to shed a few pounds. Remember though, the weight you lose on a soup cleanse is mostly water weight and will return once you begin eating normally. 

So, what are the drawbacks of a soup cleanse?

Well, you’re not really cleansing anything.

If you think that five days of sipping on nothing but bone broth and celery soup will remove mysterious toxins from your body, I have bad news for you. The body detoxes itself naturally; detoxification occurs in the liver, kidneys and intestines. Every day you’re alive, your body is detoxing.

Soup cleansing is also expensive. A one-day soup cleanse will cost you anywhere between $55-80. A single cup of bone broth from Brodo in New York City costs $9.

Soup cleanses may also not offer you enough calories, which will slow down your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose weight. The weight loss that comes from a soup cleanse is mostly water and muscle weight, not fat loss.

When dieting, you should aim to build long-term lifestyle changes like increasing vegetable and fruit consumption and exercising more. A soup cleanse might help you drop 3-5 pounds before a party, but it won’t help you with any long-term weight loss goals.

A soup cleanse is a great way to get rehydrated and reexamine your relationship with food, but if you’re looking to lose weight or detoxify, skip the soup and hit the gym. Just like juice cleansing, soup cleansing will soon be out of fashion and we’ll be obsessing over one more way to deprive ourselves of what we love in the name health and thinness.

Categories
Lifestyle

The Eating Disorder You've Never Heard Of

When most people think about eating disorders, images of emaciated teenage girls come to mind. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are well-known diseases, affecting about 11 million people in the United States alone. These diseases are deadly and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
But anorexia and bulimia are not the only types of eating disorders; a little known, but just as pervasive and dangerous eating disorder exists and affects approximately 1-5% of the general population. This disease is known as binge eating disorder or BED and is characterized by the compulsion to overeat and can affect all genders, races, and ages.
Despite its lack of media coverage and research funding, BED is one of the most prevalent eating disorders among adults.
While nearly everyone overeats every so often, those who suffer from BED cannot resist the urges to keep eating. Overeating is not only regular, but also uncontrollable. They feel powerless to stop and shame over their actions.
Binges generally last about 2 hours, but some binges can last days or even weeks. Binge eaters will eat far past the point of fullness, which generally leads to weight gain and obesity. Unlike those suffering from bulimia nervosa, binge eaters do not try to make up for their overeating through purging or exercise.
The health consequences of BED are varied and life threatening. The most common health risk associated with BED is clinical obesity, but there are many others: high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease, and musculoskeletal problems. In fact, health care costs for those suffering from BED are significantly higher than those not suffering from an eating disorder.
The reasons why people develop BED are diverse. BED is closely linked to depression; the incidence of depression is very high in individuals with BED. Many people eat as a solace from sadness, but after the binge feel a sense of shame and regret, further fueling the depression.
Genetics is a contributing factor in BED as are environmental factors. BED frequently occurs in people who have a history of restrictive dieting. Restricting and binging becomes a vicious cycle that many cannot escape.
Treatment for BED focuses on reducing the number of binges, addressing the psychological reasons behind the binges, and sometimes, losing weight. Some of the more popular treatment options for BED are cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and dialectical behavior therapy. Medications like Vyvanse, Topamax, and SSRIs are also sometimes prescribed in order to treat the symptoms and underlying depression.
Weight loss can be particularly difficult for those trying to recover from BED, as restrictive eating is one of the biggest triggers and causes of the disease. Weight loss is usually only taken on after mental health symptoms have been treated and only under strict supervision of a medical professional.
Despite the large number of people who suffer from BED, the disease has only recently become a recognized eating disorder. It first received its own category in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013. Research funding has been minimal and media coverage is almost non-existent.
BED is now the most common eating disorder among adults and affects all genders and races. Unfortunately, the disorder isn’t taken seriously by many. Because of the emphasis put on thinness in our society, BED is sometimes dismissed as a made up disease created to make overweight people feel better. However, with approximately 2% of men and 3.5% of women suffering from the disease, BED is even more common than both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
BED is a serious but treatable disease that is only now coming to the forefront of eating disorder and mental health discussions. Thankfully, remission rates are generally high, but some form of treatment is almost always necessary to overcome it. Help for BED can be found at the Binge Eating Disorder Association or with mental health professionals who specialize in eating disorders. Remember: you can’t tell what someone is struggling with just by looking at them.