I Tried This Celeb-Favorite Cleanse & It Changed My Approach To Detox Forever

I followed the program outlined in his section of What to Eat to Feel Your Best (where he shares the screen with other top wellness leaders like Taz Bhatia and Kelly LeVeque), and these were a few of the main take-aways:

"It's as if you have a party one night and there's a mess in the morning, and then, you decide not to clean it up," he says. "Then, you have a party again the next night, and you don't clean up again in the morning. And then, you have another party, and so on." By cleansing regularly, your body's systems—and your living room—never get out of hand. While my body's heavy feeling at the beginning of the summer was a good impetus to jump-start my detox level, Lipman's advice was a good reminder that this shouldn't be the only time I live this type of lifestyle.

I already steer clear of caffeine (I find it stokes my anxiety), factory-farmed meats, and GMOs, but cutting out alcohol was a struggle, and removing sugar felt damned near impossible. Still, I made it a priority, eschewing everything but a limited amount of fruit (hey, it's stone fruit season!). I felt a bit tired for the first few days, but near the week mark, I was overtaken by a surge of energy. After two weeks of no drinking and no sugar, I felt like a new person: My anxiety had subsided considerably, I was sleeping like a baby, and my skin looked like I'd gotten a $500 facial.

Lipman's second point of focus is adding healing elements back in. For him, this starts in the gut. "You may need digestive aids like hydrochloric acid or digestive enzymes," Lipman explains. "You may need probiotics, which will help balance the microbiome. You may need fiber to scrub the gut and to feed the good bacteria. And you may even need yoga twists because that can squeeze the gut but also help the liver." I tend to take supplements daily, but I upped my dose and added in some digestive enzymes. I started putting steamed cauliflower in my smoothies for extra fiber and did a twist-heavy home yoga practice. I found myself less bloated, more regular (with higher-quality elimination, if you know what I mean), and feeling more buoyant in my body.

While the list of foods Lipman recommends avoiding is long (after about two weeks, the no-gluten or grains element was beginning to get me, as visions of pasta danced in my head), he's also an advocate for one of my favorite things: eating. He doesn't recommend extended fasting as part of a healthy detox and prefers for patients instead to pack their plates with an abundance of green vegetables (including sea vegetables), nuts, wild meats and wild-caught fish, and high-quality fats like olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter (insert praise hands emoji 🙌), and ghee, lard, and tallow. "Fat helps you feel satiated and energized," Lipman explains. "It keeps you grounded." I certainly found this to be the case—it's hard to feel deprived when you're full! One of my favorite "treats" became organic apple slices sautéed in a generous amount of grass-fed butter with a bit of cinnamon and cardamom sprinkled over the top. It felt hearty, decadent, and, after several weeks off sugar, was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Lipman believes there are a few supplements that make a real difference in ongoing detoxification. He recommends glutathione, which he calls "one of the most powerful antioxidants our bodies produce." He explains: "It regulates multiple metabolic processes and is crucial for proper mitochondrial function and energy production. It's also thought to play an important role in reducing free radicals, clearing heavy metals, and supporting immune function." He also recommends a few that clear heavy metals from the body, help support your liver, and support gut health (for the full list, check out his segment in the mindbodygreen What to Eat to Feel Your Best class). I added in the glutathione, and while most of the health benefits are seen over a longer period of time, I feel good knowing that I'm protecting my body.

Want to learn more from Frank about how to detox effectively? Check out mindbodygreen's What to Eat to Feel Your Best class.