Cleansing what?

This being the week for Thanksgiving in the USA, one of the few times of the year when home cooking is celebrated, and gluttony is given a free pass (nay, it is expected), I'd like to write about cleansing.

Often referring to The Master Cleanse, this is an all liquid diet regimen that purports to allow one's body to be purged of "toxins". During the course of a cleanse, the practitioner subsists primarily on a dilute concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. While there are those who buy into the idea that the human body accumulates unnamed toxins that can be cleaned out by starving yourself for a period of time, most I think undergo this regimen simply as self-inflicted penance for a period of overindulgence.

I don't think this practice is altogether healthy, but for the average Western first world individual, replete with all the bounty of an indulgent lifestyle, a little deprivation centers oneself.