dr frank lipman

by Annie Tomlin

Senior Editor Annie is embarking on Dr. Frank Lipman's two-week Cleanse to detox her system. No caffeine, sugar, bread, or booze allowed. Here's how it's going.

Day one of the cleanse started out beautifully. I was motivated! I was taking control of my health! I was . . . hungry. Normally, I eat fruit and a hard-boiled egg before going to the office. On the detox, however, I was allowed only two shakes before lunch. When noon rolled around, I bolted to the local salad place and looked forward to ordering a healthy salad. Unfortunately, that proved harder to do than I'd imagined. Here's why.

by Annie Tomlin

Dairy doesn't cause breakouts — or so goes the usual line of dermatological thinking. Except here's the thing: cheese and milk take my skin to Blemish Town like nothing else. If I eat just a smidgen of triple-creme cheese, my complexion pays for it. That's not surprising, according to Dr. Frank Lipman. He's a New York-based integrative doctor who believes that many people are taxing their bodies with sugar, caffeine, alcohol, bread, and other not-so-good-for-you foods. (He's also Donna Karan and Gwyneth Paltrow's go-to wellness guy.) "I don't think our bodies are built to process as much sugar as they do," Dr. Lipman said in a recent conversation. "We eat so many of these foods, and we don't realize we're addicted to them. That's why detox is so important."

Detox? I've never been interested in taking that route, but the dairy breakouts have had me wondering if something's a bit off with my diet. So, encouraged by Dr. Lipman's assurance that we could eradicate my cystic acne over time, I decided to embark on his two-week Cleanse detox program ($199, sample provided by PR). Read on to find out what that means.