Scam or solution

Scrolling through spa menus can be as intimidating as bungee jumping for the first time. What's safe, and what's not? Does that harness actually work or is it just there to make you feel better? For me, EB Cellular Cleanse (Energy Balancing) is one of those treatments.

EB CleanseWhen I agreed to the treatment at Highfield's in Zephyr, Ontario, I was skeptical. My therapist assured me that cleansing my body from at the cellular level would energize and invigorate me.

I began by putting my feet in a very hot bucket of water with a small electrical box (it's attached to a larger machine). Positive and negative ions pulsed from the machine, through the water to me, drawing toxins out of my bloodstream and into the water. Maximum output doesn't exceed 24 volts and there's no discomfort.

The treatment was a short 25 minutes. Norma told me to watch the water change color and darken, depending on how much lymphatic waste (yeast, bacteria, and other debris) I'm carrying around with me.

Apparently my cells didn't need a spring cleaning though. The water grew murky, but not significantly - my feet were still clearly visible. Norma asked if I exercised. Yes, I run 5 times a week and do yoga at least once as well. Are you a vegetarian, she asked? When I answered yes, she shook her head in disappointment.

"There are some toxins coming out of you because we live with pollution in the air, in our water...but your system clearly does a good job on its own," she said as she dumped the disappointingly clean bucket of water down the drain.

As I made my way back to my room I thought about Healthy Lifestylethe very large bottle of wine I'd drank the night before, along with the nachos, cheese and bread I'd eaten. I consider myself fit and healthy, but I'm not exactly the poster girl of nutritional virtue. Life is too decadent for that.

I've talked to others who vow the treatment gives their cells a terrific workout, the perfect detox. But I wonder if an hour of yoga or a week without meat would deliver the same results.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Have you ever had a EB Cellular Cleanse? Did it work for you? Would you recommend it?