The Clean Program Claims
I wanted to dive right into the claims made directly about what the 21-day Clean Program can potentially do. Right off the bat they claim, “The Clean Program is a powerful and transformative tool for your health. Designed by a Medical Doctor, typical benefits of a 21-Day Clean Program include improvements in skin, sleep, digestion, energy, healthy weight loss, and mental clarity with a reduction in bloating, constipation, headaches, and joint pain. With the protocol of shake, meal, shake, we are streamlining the digestive processes to allow maximum time for food to pass through our digestive system. This formula of the Cleanse Diet also gives us the added benefit of reduced digestive load with two liquid meals. You are cleaning the slate and giving yourself the building blocks to start fresh. There are many foods that can cause a buildup of mucus, fat, and inflammation in our bodies and it can be surprising to find out which foods may cause a reaction. By removing certain foods during the Cleanse, we limit the stress on our system. But don’t worry — there are plenty of delicious foods allowed to satisfy your taste buds! Just as we need to budget our finances, our bodies needs to budget their energetic resources. By leaving a 12-hour window between the last thing we eat or drink and the first we take in, we are sending the signal to go into deep detox mode. This way our body knows that from 8PM to 8AM, it’s time to clean house.” [2] For breakfast, they recommend you have the shake, supplement, and probiotics. For lunch, you should have a clean diet meal and the supplements, and for dinner, a shake and the supplements. Items to avoid on the diet are dairy, gluten, processed foods, soda, coffee, and alcohol. Foods to enjoy are many vegetables, fruit, clean protein, and healthy fats, though they do offer a full list of foods to eat and avoid. [3] Basically that is the overview of the claims made about the 21-day Clean Program as it pertains to your overall health and wellness. It is partly an elimination diet, as well as a product diet, which will have you remembering when to take shakes and supplements. They offer a Clean Program blog, Clean Program recipes, as well as other FAQ’s if you get confused regarding what you should be eating while on the program.
back to menu ↑The Clean Program Ingredients
Within the 21-day Clean Program there are several different products you will need to remember to take throughout the day. I will break down the ingredient list for each of these products below.
Clean Shake (They offer both Vanilla and Chocolate)
Vanilla: Rice protein concentrate, pea protein isolate, sugar beet fiber, apple fiber, phytonutrient blend, flax seed powder, organic inulin, organic beet root powder, organic flavors, organic carrot root powder, organic cranberry fruit powder, organic raspberry whole fruit powder, ascorbic acid, organic acacia gum, organic green tea leaf powder extract, organic green bell pepper fruit powder, organic acerola fruit dry extract, organic stevia leaf extract, organic spinach leaf powder, organic blueberry whole fruit powder, and organic ginger root powder. Natural flavors, olive oil, medium chain triglycerides, magnesium citrate, vitamin and mineral blend ( rice maltodextrin, ascorbic acid, d-alpha tocopherol, niacinamide, zinc gluconate, pyridoxine HCI, retinyl palmitate, niacin, copper, gluconate, ergocalciferol, potassium iodide, chromium picolinate, selenomethionine, calcium L-5 methyltetrahydrofolate, and methylcobalamin, mono and diglycerides, calcium citrate, silica, rebaudioside A, and ethycellulose. [4]
Clean Supplements
Amylase, Acid protease, neutral protease, xylanase, fungal protease, cellulase, lipase, lactase, pectinase, hemicellulase, invertase, coptis root, oregon grape root, berberine, milk thistle, rhizome, chinese skullcap root, phellodendron bark, ginger, Rhizome, Chinese licorice root, chinese rhubarb, and rhizome. [4]
Clean Probiotic
Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-04, Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14, Bifidobacterium infantis Bi-26, Lactococcus lactis LI-23, Bifidobacterium breve Bb-03, Lactobacillus casei Lc-11, Lactobacillus rhamnosus Ir-32, Bifidobacterium longum Bi-05, Bifidobacterium bifidum Bb-06, Lactobacillus salivarius Ls-33, Lactobacillus plantarum Lp-114, Lactobacillus bulgaricus Ib-64, Larch Arabinogalactan, and Fructooligosaccharides. [4]
back to menu ↑The Science (or Lack Thereof) Behind The Clean Program
When looking into the science and facts behind this, they do not offer any direct studies backing up their claims regarding the 21-day Clean Program. They stated earlier about the program it will affect, “skin, sleep, digestion, energy, healthy weight loss, and mental clarity with a reduction in bloating, constipation, headaches, and joint pain.” So why does cleaner eating do this? There have been multiple studies done that published out there about how cleaner eating can help boost your mood and make you feel happier overall (mental clarity). This recap done by NCBI says it all,
“In total, 21 studies from ten countries met the inclusion criteria and were included in the present meta-analysis. A dietary pattern characterized by a high intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grain, fish, olive oil, low-fat dairy, and antioxidants, and low intakes of animal foods was apparently associated with a decreased risk of depression. A dietary pattern characterized by a high consumption of red and/or processed meat, refined grains, sweets, high-fat dairy products, butter, potatoes, and high-fat gravy, and low intakes of fruits and vegetables is associated with an increased risk of depression.” [5]
Regarding healthy skin, there also have been multiple studies done on how cutting out refined sugars, white flours, and processed foods can greatly impact your skin for the better. In one study conducted, there were 291 participants and 40 different food groups identified. Within those 40 food groups, there were 6 food patterns. The findings,
“In healthy subjects, a dietary pattern characterized by an increased consumption of vegetable oils, poultry, and fish and seafood and low consumption of sweets was associated with better microvascular function. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the present association.” [6]
Bloating is also a high point of contention for many people, and this diet program claims to slow down and eliminate it while following the program. Why is this? It could be because dairy and gluten are being cut out, which are notorious for causing bloating in certain people. It also could be because white flours and sugars are being cut out too, which also cause bloating. These items are higher in unhealthy fats, which makes logical sense. According to a study done by NCBI, they looked into the relationship between bloating symptoms and dietary symptoms. They took 21 participants and watched what they ate for 7 days straight. Ironically, there was less bloating in participants who ate less fat overall and consumed smaller meals. [7] This will spur the Clean Program weight loss results overall, and watching what you eat with the process of elimination is where the company wants their customers to start. Fat and inflammation can cause discomfort to many people, and without elimination it is near impossible to figure out what is causing the weight gain and unpleasant symptoms. Finally, there is word from the Clean Program that you should wait 12 hours from dinner to breakfast so that your body can clean itself up. Regarding factual backed up evidence to how this can be effective for weight loss, there have also been studies done. In a study done with 420 participants over a 20 week period of time, they did nothing but focus on the timing of meals and how it can affect weight loss. Their studies found that breakfast was an important meal to consume, and that the timing of dinner did not really affect weight loss in a negative or positive way. Late lunch eaters, however, lost less weight than those who ate lunch earlier. Those who ate lunch earlier were ready for dinner earlier as well, which in turn did not have the body working overtime late at night. Therefore it is important to give your body time to digest each day before diving into another meal. [8]
back to menu ↑Word On The Street About The Clean Program
There were no independent reviews to look into, so the gist of what people were saying was overall constant enough to summarize. This specific diet program has celebrity backing, with Gwyneth Paltrow making it her go to diet and not being ashamed to let the entire world know about it. When reading through various articles about people who tried the 21-day program and reading their Clean Program reviews, it was clear this diet is a time consuming, yet rewarding, program. Remembering to take the supplements at each meal, the probiotics, and the shakes can be hard all while making huge adjustments to your everyday diet. This is no easy feat, and it is expensive too, you might want to seek out a clean program coupon code to take away the sting of the expense!
back to menu ↑The Bottom Line: Is The Clean Program Worth Trying?
Yes. If you can afford this program, the company provides you the tools to succeed. They offer meal plans, many different foods lists, support from their company, and they have ingredient lists to look at. They are not trying to hide anything, or scam you out of anything. It is a very expensive program, however, so you will be paying for all of these conveniences in one way or another. For only 3 weeks you are looking at around $500.00, which is expensive for any program. This does not include the cost for the food you will be eating alongside of drinking the shakes and taking the supplements. Overall, it promotes health and wellness, but it will come at a steep price.
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