Tricks of the Trade: Beyonce (left) and Gwyneth Paltrow have undergone the detox. Photos: Getty Images

By Karen Springen and Anna Kuchment 

Saint Augustine once said that “fasting cleanses the soul [and] raises the mind.” Were he alive today, he might be surprised to see the fast detached from its spiritual roots and transformed into little more than a quick ticket to weight loss. Taken up by the likes of Beyoncé Knowles and Madonna and splashed across the pages of gossip magazines and Web sites, these “detox diets” or “cleanses” are everywhere. Publishers are churning out books like “The Fast Track Detox Diet,” “The Raw Food Detox Diet,” “Super Cleanse: Detox Your Body for Long-Lasting Health and Beauty” and “21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox.” And as many as 3 million Americans flock to the nation’s 5,000 colonic hydrotherapy centers for enemas, a component of many detoxes, according to the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy. Proponents say detox diets rid the body of impurities and boost energy.

Some regimens are more extreme than others. To prepare for her role in “Dreamgirls,” Beyoncé lost 20 pounds in two weeks by drinking purified water mixed with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper (a.k.a. “The Master Cleanse”). More moderate approaches allow clients some food they can chew. Last spring, Oprah completed a 21-day cleanse in which she gave up meat, fish, eggs, sugar, gluten, alcohol and cheese. What was left? A lot, she says, including strawberry-rhubarb wheat-free crepes for breakfast.

The concept behind these cleanses is as old as human history. “There’s a straight line from detox diets to classical religious fasting,” says Harvey Cox, professor of divinity at Harvard University. In many religions, fasting is associated with enlightenment and atonement and understanding the suffering of the poor. “It’s a way of resetting one’s moral clock, of starting with a clean slate,” says Michael McCullough, a psychology professor at the University of Miami. Christians fast during Lent, Muslims fast during Ramadan and Jews fast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement that follows the New Year. “Fasting builds self-control,” says McCullough. “It allows people to build strength for when they have to adhere to some other moral dimension of their religion.”

It’s the season to avoid temptation: the kids’ leftover Halloween candy, the pumpkin pies, the holiday cookies. To help you keep off extra pounds during the holidays, TIP SHEET debunks common nutrition myths:

1. Eating before bedtime is fattening. “It’s not the hour of day that is a problem. It’s the excess calories,” says registered dietitian Lona Sandon, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. People burn calories even when they’re sleeping, but staying up late, mindlessly munching, will add pounds.

2. Fresh fruits and veggies are healthier than frozen or canned. Frozen and canned produce is harvested at peak ripeness and may even be of higher quality than fresh. Frozen and canned versions are also often cheaper and won’t spoil quickly. But read the labels to make sure there is no added salt or sugar.

By Joan Raymond 

Can MRI technology do a better job than mammography in detecting breast cancer? That question has been on the minds of many women after Christina Applegate revealed that her breast cancer was discovered after her doctor ordered the scan. While it can be a powerful diagnostic tool, most women may not benefit from MRI screening, says Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. Not only are MRIs more expensive, the test also has more false positive results than mammography. But recent ACS guidelines (cancer.org) do recommend MRI, along with mammography, for women who are at the highest risk of developing the disease. That includes women like Applegate who have tested positive for a genetic mutation called BRCA or who have a close relative with the mutation and are untested. Currently, there isn’t enough evidence to recommend for or against MRI for women with more moderate risk factors. Best bet: talk to your doctor or call the ACS 24/7 at 800-227-2345.

By Caitlin McDevitt 

More parents are buying into the notion that even adolescents shouldn’t be stuck in unsightly orthodontia. But are the prettier (and pricier) alternatives to braces better? Most orthodontists say no. This summer, Align Technology—the company that lured adults back to the dentist with clear retainers in 1999—launched Invisalign Teen. Though kids might be thrilled to avoid a mouthful of metal, Manhattan orthodontist Jan Linhart warns that the removable devices ($4,500 to $7,800) are a big responsibility. “You have to wear them in order for them to work,” he says. According to patient Jenny Cook, 17, of Los Angeles, “It’s really easy to get lazy putting it back in.” Neal Kravitz, an orthodontist in Chantilly, Va., says that most adolescent cases are too severe for Invisalign anyway. (The company says its retainers fix crowding, spacing issues and overbites.)

That doesn’t mean all kids with crooked teeth have to be Ugly Bettys. They can get iBraces—customized brackets attached to the back of the teeth. “I have a lot of patients driving from afar for them,” says Beverly Hills orthodontist Atoosa Nikaeen. Offered by only 18 percent of orthodontists, iBraces move teeth like regular braces but are harder to put on and can cost twice as much ($8,000 to $14,000). Some parents will pay to spare their children the teasing, but it might be better to just stick with what the parents wore in their schooldays. Even orthodontists who specialize in cosmetic options say that conventional braces ($3,000 to $7,000) are still the best. “They’re the most efficient and the easiest,” says Linhart. Luckily, there is another option for the tinsel-toothed: for only a few bucks, they can have their braces PhotoShopped out of the yearbook.

A growing number of online green guides help consumers choose food, toys, cosmetics and household products made by socially responsible companies. TIP SHEET provides a guide to the guides.

• goodguide.com: This well-organized site rates personal-care and household products. Seventh Generation’s Natural All-Purpose Cleaner gets top marks. Info on packaged foods is coming soon.

• cosmeticsdatabase.com: The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic-safety database scores personal-care products based on their potentially hazardous ingredients.

• climatecounts.org: This site evaluates companies that produce apparel, food, beverages, electronics and household products for their impact on global warming. Results: Nike scores high.

See “Two Museums, One Culture” at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass. This ambitious survey of icons from the 16th through the 19th centuries includes 16 rare works from Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery ($5; russianiconmuseum.com).

Hear “Don’t Believe” by Cherry holmes III. This family of six has created a bluegrass sound that explodes with exuberant fiddle, expert banjo and passionate harmonies. With energy to spare, the new album is a foot-tapping delight ($12.98).

Rent “The Edge of Heaven.” Cultures, generations and lovers collide in director Fatih Akin’s stunning, moving drama, which whirls from Germany to Turkey, tenderness to terrorism. It’s a multicultural epic.

By Joan Raymond 

If you can buy pregnancy and ovulation kits over the counter, it only follows that drugstore paternity testing would be next. Last November, Identigene, a Salt Lake City DNA-testing company (dnatesting.com), began a rollout of its over-the-counter DIY paternity-test kit. In the past year, some 60,000 people have mailed in cheek swabs from the alleged father and child for analysis. (For best results, a DNA sample from the mother should be included, too.) Though the test won’t stand up in court—no impartial DNA collector, no proof of identity and no chain of custody—the DNA samples are analyzed the same way a court-admissible test is, says Doug Fogg, chief operating officer. That means Identigene checks for 16 or more genetic markers in its accredited lab facilities. Results are available in three to five business days at a secure online site or by mail. The test costs $29.99, plus a $119 lab and processing fee. (For $200 more, customers can opt for a method that includes court-admissible sample collection and chain-of-custody procedures verified by a third party.) The kits are available at Rite Aid, CVS, Meijer, Fruth and, just last week, Walgreens, in the home-health-test aisle or the family-planning section—right next to the spermicides, sponges and condoms.