I was coaching one of our community members recently, and they told me they’d been using cranberry juice to help treat recurring urinary tract infections. They didn’t think it was triggering because it was pure, unsweetened cranberry juice, which is pretty unappealing to drink. But they know juice isn’t technically BLE-compliant, so they wanted to ask me about it. 

This reminded me of the giant jug of sugary drink that my doctor wanted me to drink when I was pregnant to test for gestational diabetes. Another similar situation is colonoscopy prep. 

There are these borderline treatments: cranberry juice, colonoscopy prep drink, sugar-free cough drops. My friend Ari Whitten’s Energenesis supplement falls into this category as well. It has clear health benefits, especially for someone who struggles with fatigue, but it is sweetened. I’ve been suffering from a lot of joint pain lately, and my healthcare provider has me using this cleanse product to help deal with it. Of course, I read the label—and it includes apple juice powder.

If these were foods, they would definitely not be considered BLE-compliant. But because they are remedies or treatments, they are questionable. 

There are four principles I recommend applying if you find yourself needing or considering a  remedy or treatment that falls into this “questionable” category:

Principle #1: Try to find an alternative. Throat coat tea instead of cough drops. Cranberry capsules instead of juice. 

Principle #2: Tread cautiously. What’s the status of your BLE program? If my Bright Lines are wobbly, a questionable remedy might throw me completely off-course. So, it might not be worth it. 

Principle #3: Motives matter. How the substance triggers or doesn’t trigger the addictive centers in the brain can depend on why you’re using it. It’s as if the nucleus accumbens knows whether you are taking an opiate for pain from a recent surgery or because you are a dope fiend looking to get a hit. 

Principle #4: You are responsible. There’s no BLE police, no judge and jury. You have to weigh your options and consider all the factors in play.