Cleanses and juice diets are getting lots of press these days, but do they work and are they safe?
It’s important to differentiate between a Meal Replacement and a Liquid diet. Meal Replacements (like FastFx) are formulated smoothies that contain absolutely all your essentials - protein, vitamins and minerals. Liquid diets, sometimes called Cleanses or Liver Cleanses (often teas or juices) do not contain all your body needs and are often unscientific, unhealthy and even dangerous. FastFx is totally different from these drastic fasting diets - here is why…
A Liquid cleanse is different from a Meal Replacement
Liquid diets don’t necessarily contain all the nutrients you need to stay healthy. Unless it says it is a “Formulated Meal Replacement” it isn’t safe to have instead of a meal. It means it doesn’t contain all the daily micronutrients you need and therefore should only be used as a supplement to a healthy diet and shouldn’t be used as a replacement to a meal.
FastFx on the other hand, contains absolutely everything your body needs to stay healthy and meets the New Zealand and Australian criteria for a Formulated Meal Replacement. If you are replacing a meal with a drink, it should have certain levels of protein, energy, fibre, vitamins and minerals. If all you are drinking is juice, tea or protein powder, you will be depriving your body of the essentials it needs to stay healthy. This can put stress on your heart and other organs. FastFx is regulated carefully so you can cut calories drastically but still get all you need to stay healthy.
Liquid diets may contain ingredients that are actually dangerous
Some liquid cleanses claim fat burning properties through the use of high levels of caffeine, or ingredients such as Green tea, Guarana or Garcinia Cambodia. These products have poor scientific backing and have actually been found to be harmful in some cases. FastFx contains no fat burning products - we believe in solid, irrefutable science. People lose weight using FastFx because it is low in calories but high in micronutrients, not because it contains questionable, ‘magical’ ingredients.
Most liquid diets contain no or low fibre or protein
Fibre is essential to keep your digestive system healthy and protein is necessary to keep your muscles fuelled. A juice that doesn’t have protein or fibre does not suffice as a Meal Replacement. FastFx has 5.4g of fibre and 27.3g of protein per serve.
Liquid diets (eg herbal teas) contain hardly any calories
In order to meet the criteria for a safe Meal Replacement, a drink needs to contain not only the essentials but also more than 200 calories. Less than 200 calories per serve and it does not meet the NZ and Australian guidelines. Anything less than 200 calories per serve is unhealthy to use instead of a meal because it lacks enough energy to keep your system working.
You can’t actually cleanse your liver
Despite what we have been told, you can’t actually cleanse your liver. I know!! That’s surprising isn’t it? There is no evidence that a detox can repair a damaged liver or that you can force your liver to cleanse. Healthy livers repair themselves. A supplement that claims to detox your liver is not only a waste of money but may actually be bad for you. Many of the ingredients used are unsubstantiated and unregulated and in fact, Green Tea extract and high dose caffeine can actually cause infections and liver damage.
So, who do I trust?
It’s so hard to know who and what to trust. Here is a quick litmus test for any diet;
Does it comply with the New Zealand Food Standards Code?
Don’t use a product to replace a meal unless it specifically says it is a Formulated Meal Replacement that conforms to the NZ Food Standards Code.
Look for scientific research
When you’re googling, look for research papers done by Hospitals, Doctors and in reliable scientific journals. Don’t take a bloggers word for it. Good science will always stack up.
If in doubt, stick to ingredients that you recognise
Products whose ingredients are either numbers (meaning they are artificially produced) or that you’ve never heard of, may mean you eat things with little scientific research or that are even harmful to you. Stick to ingredients that you know - simple is usually better. FastFx, for example, uses yellow split peas, kale, spinach, pumpkin, algae etc - ingredients that grow on trees and that you know aren’t harmful.
Use FastFx with confidence
You can trust FastFx and use it confidently to replace a meal. It was designed by a Doctor and complies with the NZ and Australia criteria for a Formulated Meal Replacement. It has everything you need so you can safely lose weight. Don't get sucked in by fad diets and miracle juice cleanses, stick to the science and you will see great weight loss results without compromising your health.
