Ask any wellness guru about the weirdest things she’s done for health and beauty and you’re guaranteed to get some colorful responses. For example, Ashley Prange, founder of clean beauty brand Au Naturale Cosmetics, washes her face with bacteria. And skincare/wellness guru Indie Lee covers her entire body with smashed avocado.
Jessica Alba counts the week she spent doing a gut cleanse as the most-OTT thing she’s done in the name of wellness. The mom of two (soon-to-be three) declined to share the details of what her digestive reset entailed, but did say that it inspired her to undergo additional therapies to boost her gut health: “I even tried colonics for a week,” she says.
“At the end of the day, I just prefer to exercise and eat healthy rather than jumping on the latest wellness craze.”
The treatment, which involves flushing out your colon with water, is one Kate Upton and many others swear by for improving everything from their skin, to mood, to digestion. (Researchers, however, haven’t found a significant amount of evidence that colonics can improve your general health, FYI.) And in general, Alba favors more moderate wellness practices. “At the end of the day, I just prefer to exercise and eat healthy rather than jumping on the latest wellness craze,” she says.
She adds, “I think restarting your body and detoxing can certainly be beneficial, but there are gentle ways of doing it such as with probiotics or digestive enzymes.” And actually those supplements can work wonders for your skin and body by clearing up acne, as well as helping fight inflammation. Alba’s also noticed a difference in how she feels after “switching to a plant-based diet or eliminating caffeine or alcohol,” she says. But no matter what you’re doing in the name of wellness, the star offers this advice: “Check in to see how this makes you feel—you can continue for as long as it’s right for your body or as long as your heart desires.”
If your system could use a reset, here’s how to do a gut cleanse, according to an MD, and pick a probiotic that actually works.
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