Clean: The Revolutionary Detox Program to Restore Your Body's Natural Healing Ability | Boost Energy & Wellness | Perfect for Post-Holiday Reset & Weight Management

Clean is an outstanding book that has completely changed the way I think about food. I've always been a bit skeptical of "crunchy" food claims around organic or "all natural" or (especially) gluten free. Perhaps the biggest contribution Clean has made to my life is helping me connect the dots between toxicity -> inflammation/ irritation -> aging and disease. How many studies have we seen proclaiming various antioxidants that reduce inflammation (resveratrol, Coenzyme Q10, fish oil, etc. etc.) to be life-extenders, but never asked the question *How do we minimize inflammation in the first place?*Hundreds of millions have been spent on drugs to treat the exploding depression epidemic, but how much has been learned about why depression has increased so much over the last 50 years (hint: the majority of seratonin is produced in the gut...)If you're already sold on healthy natural living, you'll appreciate Clean as an approachable (because it uses real foods), well-defined alternative to more radical cleanses like juice fasting or the Master Cleanse. If, like me, you need to understand *why* things work rather than just blindly trusting some expert's opinion, you will LOVE this book for the explanations it gives about the effect of toxicity on your body.PROS:+ clear explanations of the science connecting toxicity with many modern diseases+ program focuses on whole foods and does not limit caloric intake+ excellent supporting materials (like the Clean community and the recipes)+ the recipes are DELICIOUS, even if you're not doing the cleanse!CONS:- parts of the book feel like a sales pitch for the over-priced supplements for sale on the website (see below). Reliance on highly-processed supplements seems odd or even a bit hypocritical for a book focused on moving to natural, whole foods.- frequently repeats concepts; could benefit from tighter editingHOW TO GET CLEAN ON A BUDGET:Many people complain that the book is only an extended sales pitch for the supplements for sale on the Clean Program website. First off, it's a soft pitch, as the book itself really emphasizes using natural alternatives whenever possible. Dr. Junger never says that you need any specific brands of supplements, and he provides recipes so you can make your own liquid meals rather than buying the shakes off the website.However, most importantly: YOU CAN BUY CHEAPER VERSIONS OF THE EXACT SAME SUPPLEMENTS. The Clean Program supplements are manufactured by a company called Metagenics. Search "clean program supplement alternatives" on Google and you will find a website listing the metagenics versions of every single supplement in the $425 Clean Program package at a huge discount. Buy only the supplements you need (metagenics versions), make your own shakes (probably healthier anyway), and you can easily complete the Clean Program at a cost equivalent to your monthly grocery bill. But you will feel so much better!