The No-diet detox

The silly season is approaching! Here is a detox plan I got out the Femina. ..it is a LOOOOOOOOOOONG read, but worth it if you are into detoxing 

HEALTHY WARNING:

It's always a good idea to check with your doctor before you embark on a detox plan. But if you're in relatively good health and on little or no medication, you should be able to follow this two-week plan without problem.

...every day we breathe in toxins from polluted air (not to mention smoking) and eat and drink them in the form of pesticides on food and in processed foods packed with chemicals, sugar and salt. This huge toxic burden overloads the body's organs of digestion and elimination: the skin, colon, lungs, kidnets, gallbladder and, most importantly, the liver. Our bodies deal with toxins either by neutralising them or excreting them, but those that are not eliminated, due largely to an overburdened liver, build up in our fat stores.

Toxic overload can cause headaches, muscle aches, joint pains, allergies or flu-like symptoms, chronic fatigue, irritability and mental confusion. A detoxing or cleansing programme rests your overloaded organs of digestion, improving your state of health and vitality - you, only better!

Although weight loss should not be your primary motivation, detoxing is a great way to lose a few kilos by shifting deposits of stored toxins in body fat. If you visualise fat stores as rubbish bins full of toxic waste, then removing the rubbish will eliminate the need for the bins- dump the waste and lose the fat in the process!

The good news is that you don't have to fast to detox. These days it is believed that the liver is unable to cope with a complete fast due to the unprecedented pollution of food and our environment. Fasting in fact can be dangerous, releasing too many toxins into the bloodstream at once. So be kind to yourself and do this gently.

Juicing is the best way to deliver the most nutrients in a hurry and a juicer is a great aid in sustaining a healthy lifesyle...

GETTING READY - THE PRE-TOX

It's important to plan your detox: start on a Friday or Saturday, or when you have some time off work. Rest is an important part of the process of detoxification, as is a peaceful state of mind. For at least the first two to three days, you should go to bed early and rise late, have little stress and some good clean fun to keep your spirits high.

Detox your food cupboard and fridge and plan your shopping list beforehand - I call it 'the pretox.' Clear out all foods that might sabbotage your efforts. You want healthy, life-giving, cleansing foods in your house and plenty of good options for when you feel peckish. Tell your friends you're having important 'me time' for the next fortnight and turn down invitations to paint the town red - you'll have lots of energy for that afterwards!

Drink plenty of water in the run-up to and during the detox. Distilled is best, but the main thing is to drink water. The same goes for food- organic is the best because it has no pesticide residues, eat loads of fresh fruit and veg anyway. Be sure to wash all foods well and buy the best quality you can find and afford.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Detoxing causes the fat stores and other tissues to release stored toxins into the blood stream, which delivers them to the various organs for disposal. In addition, giving up certain foods, such as wheat, dairy and sugar, can lead to symptoms of withdrawal. These two processes can make you feel quite sick and symptoms could include nasea, headaches, aching muscles, lethargy, mucous or other discharge, a pasty tongue, crankiness and light-headedness. You'll probably feel worst on day two and three. Don't take medication - sit it out and remind yourself that these symptoms signal your journey back to good health.

TO EXERCISE OR NOT TO EXERCISE?

Take it easy for the first three to four days - go for strolls or swim a few laps. Exercise produces free radicals- by-products of living, much like fuel in a car produces exhaust fumes. If you produce too many when your body is trying to clear accumalated waste and existing free radicals, you can overburden your body and end up feeling awful. Step up your regimen after the first few days if you feel up to it.

Rebounding (bouncing on a mini trampoline) is one form of exercise that facilitates detoxing. It gets the lymph moving so that impurities are excreted. Your lymphatic system doesn't have the benefit of a pump (like the heart is a cardiovascular system) - your movement keeps lymph flowing. Consider investing a mini-trampoline 

LET'S DO IT! THE TWO WEEK DETOX PLAN

Each night before bed, squeeze the juice of a lemon into half a litre of water. Drink this whenever you'd normally reach for plain water - it's a wonderful liver-cleansing aid. In the mornings, try to wake up gently and have a glass of hot lemon water straightaway. Walking up to a screeching alarm sets all the wrong chemicals in motion in the body, so try not to use one during the precious few days you've set aside to cleanse. Going to bed early will help you to automatically wake up at the right time. Sleep in itself is therapeutic and healing - there are certain activities that the body can undertake only when you're asleep, so give it the time it needs.

Before breakfast each day, mix a teaspoon of psyllium husks (available at health shops) into a big glass of water, and drink. Psyllium, from the plantain plant, is an intestinal cleanser and bulk laxative that expedites the elimination of watse and toxins and prevents constipation. Remember, don't overeat when detoxing, even when you're eating only the healthiest foods - you want to rest your system. Eat only what you need to.

Breakfasts

Choose from one of these each day - be guided by what you feel like having. Aim for a variety and try all the options in the course of a fortnight.

• Fresh vegetable and fruit smoothies - try celery, strawberries and apple with a few nuts tossed in the blender
• Ice blocks with frozen banana, blueberries and a few walnuts - blend well
• A big fruit salad with organic Bulgarian yoghurt, ground sunflower seeds and a few almonds. Choose any fruit you have in your kitchen, but not grapes.
• A glass of vegetable juice with a fruit or two tossed in and sipped slowly. Pineapple and carrot juice is delicious and refreshing, bursting with beta carotene and digestive enzymes. Drink as much as you need.
• If you're feeling deprived, have a portion of cooked oats with rice milk, a little organic honey and some crushed seeds
• If you're ravenous in the mornings, add a scoop of whey protein isolate powder (available at health shops) and a spoon of lecithin granules to a punnet of blueberries and blend. The protein content will keep you going for longer. if you have blood-sugar imbalances, this option is recommended above the fruit-only breakfasts

Lunches

 

The cleansing, detoxifying action of raw salads is one of nature's greatest gifts. They don't have to be boring though, and can contain anything fresh, whole and bursting with nutrition. Treat yourself to lots of arthichokes to improve digestion and increase bile prodcution. You could do cold soups - they're sort of like a liquid salad. Choose a different one each day:

• A blended soup of carrots and beetroot (great liver cleansers), cold or slightly warmed on the stove, if you prefer.
• Kale, cabbage and spinach soup, seasoned with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• Baby-spinach leaves, walnuts, strawberries and roasted red-pepper strips make a tasty salad. Dress with a little extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (organic, if possible)
• Apple, tomato and red-pepper soup - and explosion of antioxidants
• Salad of mixed leaves, sprouts, celery and cucumber slices, dressed with fresh orange juice and a little olive oil. Sprinkle with lightly roasted pine nuts.
• Make a lettuce wrap: fill two strong leaves with red-pepper sticks, carrot sticks and baked butternut with a mashed boiled egg and a little organic mayonaise. You can also use dandelion greens in place of lettuce to improve digestion.
• Steamed or grilled fresh salmon served on wilted spinach and seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and herb salt. Serve with a sliced, firm ripe tomato. Oily fish supports liver function, helps the liver process fats and reduces the production of triglycerides.

Evening meals

 

Warm soups are great for summer detox suppers - you get the full benefit of nutritious vegetables in a form that is easy to digest. Remember that when you expend less time and energy on digestion, your body can detox more readily. Serve the soups with a small green salad - you'll sleep like a baby after this sort of meal. Make soups from the following ingredients, or similar combinations of what you have on hand.

 

• Potato soup: blend steamed potatoes with parsnips, a few cashew nuts and some carrot juice
• Green soup: blend dark-green leafy spinach with a quarter of an avocado and freshly made celery juice. Add a sprinkling of herb salt to taste
• Tomato soup: blend tomatoes with garlic, basil leaves, a few olives and fresh orang juice
• Cucumber soup: juice a cucumber and blend with a little tahini and lots of fresh mint leaves
• Carrot soup: juice a few carrots, add some pulp and blend with a few pumpkin seeds and lots of coriander
• Sunflower soup: blend red peppers with a small amount of sunflower seeds, carrot juice, onion and chives.
• Exotic curry soup: belnd garam marsala with a dash of tumeric, cauliflower, brocolli, carrot juice and some diced vegetables (such as courgette, aubergine, onion, garlic and peppers) that have been soaking in a little lemon juice and olive oil

Snacks

 

When you really feel you need a snack, have a mini-meal. Choose from any of the suggested meals, just have less and enough to satisfy yourself. After a few days you probably won't feel like snacking between meals.

 

Your evening ritual

 

Try to do at least one (preferably more) of the following every evening. Turn off the phone, light lots of aromatic candles, put soothing music and make the most of your me time.

Detox bath Add 1/2 cup of sea salt, 1/2 cup of Epsom salts and a few drops of lavender essential oil to a hot bath and soak for at least half an hour. The salt will draw out toxins and the lavender will relax you. Wrap up warm and go straight to bed.

Mask it Make a mask from avocado, cucumber or oatmeal (or buy a deep-cleansing one) and slather this on your face. Relax and focus on the sensation of impurities being drawn out

Facial cleanse Clean your hands and face, and then lie down comfortably. Make tiny gentle pinches all over your face, including your eyebrows, nose and lips. This will draw oxygen to your face, leaving it looking wonderfully rosy and healthy

All-over skin treat Take a bowl of soft, celan sand. Mix a cup of olive oil and a few drops of peppermint oil. Rub this mixture into your skin, but not your face. Massage for as long as you want and then rinse. This might sound a bit strange, but you won't believe how silky it makes skin feel.

Grudge budge Go through your address book. Is anyone causing you grief? Is there something you would like to say to someone but can't? Make this the time to get it out your system! Write down all your grudges on one piece of paper. Read through it mindfully, then burn the paper. Let the problem go, forgive and relax as you focus on the cleansing feeling of carrying no bitterness towards anyone.

Dream a little Write down all your special plans for the coming six months. Pick out the most appealing one and daydream that it has already happened and you're in that moment. How do you feel, what do you look like - enjoy imaginig how good it's going to be when it happens! Thinking happy thoughts (or recalling wonderful experiences) releases endorphins, which make you feel great

 

DETOXING AT A GLANCE

 

AVOID sugars, alcohol, cigarettes, refined food, red meat, wheat and dairy products

INCREASE  sulphur-containing foods such as garlic, legumes, onions and eggs

ADD plenty of fibre from apples, pears, psyllium-seed husks, oat bran and legumes

INCLUDE the cruciferous family of vegetables (cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower) for their special liver-cleansing compounds.

EAT protein (fish, eggs and lean chicken) but not at supper, when your digestive system is winding down

PROTECT your liver with detoxifying foods such as arthichokes, beetroot, carrots, cucumber and celery.

SPICE your meals with tumeric, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, chilli, onion, rosemary and thyme

DRINK six to eight glasses steam-distilled water (if you can) or plain water to flush out the toxins

REPLACE good bacteria by taking a good acidophilus supplement daily for at least three months

GEAR UP your levels of glutathione, a tripeptide made up of three amino acids and responsible for eliminating toxins such as, mercury, pesticides and solvents. Good sources of glutathione are asparagus, avocado, walnuts, cabbage, brocolli, dill and cooked fish

SUPPORT your liver with blueberries, watercress, oranges, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, almonds , dandelion, green tea and chicory

SUPPLEMENT with a good multivitamin that has magnesium, selenium, copper, zinc and Vitamin C, but no iron; a vitamin B-complex; milk-thistle capsules (between 140 and 600mg daily): and a high-dose supplement (3g minimum daily) of omega-3 fish oil. These will take the edge off many of the withdrawal symptoms, alleviate fatigue often felt on a detox and assist the liver in manufacturing gluthathione.

 

DETOX BOOSTERS

 

Alleviate withdrawal symptoms and turn your detox into a special time of pampering while your body rejuvenates itself.

 

• Have a relaxing massage (especially lymph drainage) or a facial
• Lie in the bath, with plenty of scented candles, your favourite music and fruit and vergetable sticks handy to munch as you relax
• Treat yourself to a sauna, especially an infrared one
• Watch a comedy- laughter is so detoxing
• Dance to your favourite CD
• Clean out your cupboards - this will make you more inclined to keep your insides clean too
• Stroke a cat or dog -enjoy the warmth and affection it offers

 

Femina magazine