MEDIA
The Skinny on the 21-Day Detox
Program leans on supplements, fruit, veggies to cleanse and slim
By Kristiana Heap
“This program will change your life,” said George DeJohn, the man behind a 21-day detoxification program that is gaining popularity among diet aficionados in the Park Cities.
DeJohn, a former police officer and personal trainer, brings an intensity to the diet pitch reminiscent of Susan “It’s not the food that makes you fat” Powter.
As the host of “The Train Station Fitness Show” on KTCK-AM 1310, The Ticket Sports Radio, DeJohn has rallied his listeners to try the 21-day detox program and is considering taking the product nationwide.
“This program will cut out all bad food cravings,” he said. “It creates a balance. It’s not a fad; it’s a program you use for your entire life.”
The change-your-life promise is nothing new in the world of diets, but many locals are getting behind DeJohn and touting his program as a three-week miracle.
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courtesy photo
Geroge DeJohn of the 21-day detoxification program |
“The problem with most diets is that you look at them and they’re too complicated,” Park Cities resident David Hunt said. “There are a lot of fad diets that probably aren’t good for you, but there’s nothing in this diet that isn’t good for you. He calls it a detox, but it’s more of a program, and if you do it right, it’s a diet.”
Hunt started the 21-day program last August.
“I did it and lost 10 or 11 pounds and just really felt great,” he said. “It got me completely off of soft drinks, and I haven’t missed them,” he said. “It’s a good, easy program, and it’s got me eating more fruits and vegetables and being a lot more conscious about what I put in my mouth.”
DeJohn, who lives in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, received nutrition certification from the Cooper Clinic of the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. He sells access to supplements and the plan that Hunt credits with his weight loss.
After a screening test that involves ranking the severity of several dozen symptoms, including itchy ears and poor concentration, participants pay $270 for a guide to the diet and myriad supplements with names like Gastro Fiber and SP Cleanse.
The 21-day program is divided in two parts. For each of the first 10 days, participants are allowed to eat organic fruit, large amounts of vegetables, and two protein shakes. About 20 whole-food supplements are added to the mix. In his opinion, these supplements have a greater range of nutrients than typical supplements.
On days 11 through 21, about 5 ounces of lean meat may be added to the plan, and the number of supplements is usually reduced to 15. All caffeine, alcohol, and sugar is prohibited.
“If you have 75 grams of sugar, you’ve lowered your immune system by 50 percent for five hours,” DeJohn said. Instead of soda, DeJohn suggests participants sip green tea. He also said the fruit and vegetables alone aren’t enough to really detoxify the body.
“If you do a detoxification plan that doesn’t have whole-food based supplements, you’re not doing yourself any good,” he said.
Another advocate of whole-food supplements is Burton Berger, a chiropractor at Highland Park Wellness and Rehab on Fitzhugh Avenue who provides testing and support for people on DeJohn’s detox program. Berger carries products from Standard Process, the Wisconsin-based company that provides DeJohn’s supplements.
“If I could recommend one thing to everyone out there, I would definitely say to do the 21-day cleanse two times every year, period,” Berger said. “It clears out the biggest swath of problems, and then we work on the little problems after.”
Although DeJohn and Berger swear by the supplements, Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has her doubts.
“There’s not any difference between a supplement from whole foods versus a general multivitamin,” Sandon said. “By restricting yourself to a particular food group like fruits and vegetables, you’re depriving your body of key nutrients, and [you cannot] make up for that by taking supplements. Supplements in high doses become toxic.”
Supporters of detox are adamant that programs like DeJohn’s are necessary, but Sandon doesn’t agree.
“We are not that toxic,” she said. “The majority of us have kidneys that function quite well. We really are not carrying around toxins; if we were, we wouldn’t be living.”
She said unless an individual suffers from compromised kidney or gastrointestinal functionality, buildup is not a cause for concern.
DeJohn, however, sees the detoxification regimen as a program fit for anyone who wants to be healthier.
“Everybody needs to do it; it doesn’t matter if you have fat to lose or not,” he said. According to DeJohn, on the program, negative food cravings are gone; you sleep extremely well; you have sustained energy; your mental focus is fantastic; allergies are gone; and you lose fat.
Sandon doesn’t see the detox in such a positive light.
“What are they going to create next for a detox diet? They rear their ugly heads every 10 years or so,” Sandon said. “I guess the detox diet has come back.”
Originally published February 8, 2007.
