The word ‘detoxing’ has been used to describe and promote some of the most shocking diets available. Diets which often promise rapid weight loss and unachievable health benefits. Many of the ‘detox’ plans I see are downright dangerous!
Then we have the news stories or TV programmes that tell us that there is no such thing as detoxing and it’s a load of b*llocks!! Your body basically detoxes everyday and there is no point in doing a detox plan!
And we also have a huge movement towards clean eating and healthier living. You only need to look at Instagram to see all the success stories.
So, where do I stand, as a Registered Nutritional Therapist, someone with a degree in Nutritional Medicine and years of experience!?
I think it’s about time I told you!
What’s involved in a typical detox diet?
Most commonly a detox diet will use the following:
• Fasting, usually 1-3 days
• Juices or drinking certain liquids
• Eliminating foods high in allergens, chemicals, refined ingredients, sugar, gluten, caffeine, meat, acidic foods, heavy metals etc….
• Use of laxatives, enemas, colonics
• Use of supplements & herbs
These diets will range in time period from 3 days to 30 days or even more! There are many ways that the above can be done and this is where the problems arise.
If not devised properly some of these diets can be extremely bad for your health!
Do detox diets eliminate toxins?
One of the most common reasons for detoxing is to encourage and support the body to remove toxins. These toxins can be heavy metals (i.e. mercury), pollutants, plastics and chemicals that our body does not recognise or does not use. We process a lot of toxins through the air we breathe, the products we use on our skin and in the food we eat.
Our bodies have an excellent system for filtering these out and rendering them harmless via the skin, liver, bile, stool and urine.
However, we do know that there are toxins that the body cannot process, and these can be stored in the fatty tissues. For example, we know there is a correlation between aluminium and brain disease such as Alzheimer’s.
We also know that our modern-day diets and lifestyle put an enormous amount of pressure on our detoxification pathways.
We eat too much sugar, we drink too much caffeine, we snack too often, and we don’t move enough, sleep enough or eat enough vegetables! And then there’s the stress and so it goes on!
Having been to Spain (twice!!) and completed an intensive 7-day juice fasting detox with daily enemas I can tell you that the ‘stuff’ that came out of my body was not the normal day to day excretions!
In the documentary by Jason Vale called Super Juice Me, the people who took part in a 28-day juice detox programme achieved incredible results.
Even Nick Knowles experienced life changing results whilst taking part in the TV programme The Retreat (which is available to watch on Netflix).
Joe Cross was the Australian guy who took a Campervan across America armed with just a juicer to film the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, another one who experienced life changing results!
So, where does that leave us?
I personally believe that there is plenty of evidence to support the benefits of completing a ‘healthy’ detox plan written and/or guided by someone qualified to do so.
In today’s modern world, reducing the load on our over-burdened systems and addressing lifestyle factors that deplete our energy is absolutely necessary if we want to be truly healthy.
Anyone who’s been through a healthy detox plan will tell you how amazing they felt, and they would do it again and again!!!
Should we all be regularly detoxing?
Yes, we should! I personally do this around four times a year, each quarter works for me!
The trouble with this is………
It is all very well taking yourself off to a retreat where you are typically in a warm environment, away from the stresses of home life and work and have absolutely nothing to do but relax and focus on your own health – and I highly recommend it – BUT what do you do if you have to continue to function and you cannot afford the time or money to go on retreat?
I prefer the term RESET!
I recommend a reset. A reset you can easily do at home!
My reset is a gentle approach to detoxing. It aims to support your detoxification routes whilst you enjoy delicious plant-based foods. It is a nutritionally balanced plan to boost your nutrients at the same time as taking away the heavy burdens i.e. those foods and drinks which overload the system and make you feel tired and sluggish!
The benefits of doing a reset is that you get to eat nice food but are able to significantly reduce the pressure on digestion. This allows your blood sugars to balance – no mood swings or sugar cravings and frees up plenty of energy to repair and cleanse the rest of your body.
Digestion alone takes around 70% of your available energy – remember that sleepy feeling you get after Christmas dinner! By freeing up this energy you will automatically feel better.
Because the plan removes sugar, gluten, dairy (for just 7 days) and all the other foods & drinks that keep you trapped in the craving & emotional eating cycle you can expect to be liberated!
When we take the load off the digestive system, we can think clearer. The centre of your emotions is in your gut so when you free this up and allow the energy to flow it can often feel like the fog has lifted.
And of course, many people experience weight loss when they do a reset plan.
I prefer to run supported resets because it is a safer environment. You will need support as there will be questions you have about the process. I also find that a community of people of going through the same plan as you, posting up their pictures and sharing their success is incredibly motivating and inspiring.
For me, the biggest reason to do a reset plan is to have the opportunity to check in myself. It is easy for old habits to creep back in such as snacking when you’re not hungry or using food as a reward. It gives you the opportunity to STOP, step off your own life hamster wheel and give yourself a much-deserved boost!
If all of this sounds good, then I’d love for you to join me on my next supported RESET.
Just click here to find out more.
References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/detox-diets-101#benefits
https://www.detox-international.com/why-detox/
https://www.amchara.com/detox-and-cleanse/would-you-benefit-from-a-juice-cleanse
https://www.hippocraticpost.com/mental-health/strong-evidence-linking-aluminium-alzheimers/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8404/top-10-reasons-to-detox-when-you-do-it-right.html
I really think detoxing is a very important thing to do. We can flush all the toxins out and get the best out of the healthy foods we eat through absorption after detoxing. I personally think that those toxins prevent us from getting them and that’s why we should detox regularly. Thanks for sharing this.
I couldn’t agree more!!! Thanks for your comment.