A detox is something which can be done as many times as three times a year. It is not dangerous unless you are on medicine which could interact or make the medication you are on inactive.
The body has a natural means of detoxing however, if you have never done this before I am sure you have some questions. These are some of the typical questions I am asked before a detox regime.
FIRST DOUBT – the body detoxifies itself, so why do it?
True, the body does indeed detox naturally. It's doing it right now. But the body has never been so overloaded with toxins as today. Saturated fats, hormones, pesticides and insecticides (never mind any other horrors that might lurk in the food chain) make life hard work for the liver which has to break all these down. The liver evolved during millions of years in which man was subject to periodic lack of food due to a combination of natural disaster, war and famine. It is not built to cope with an environment of continual abundance of food, including food containing toxins. It converts those toxins that it can't handle into fat tissue (which is why people with high toxicity find it hard to shed fat) or sends them into the lymphatic system.
SECOND DOUBT – if I feel ill or weird or my bowel movements change, it must be bad for me.
WRONG!! If sugar, alcohol and caffeine form part of your daily diet, then to quit all of them all at once can come as a shock, causing anything from sweating and shaking to diahorrea or constipation. A liver in full detox mode may cause headaches, tiredness, lethargy, a feeling of nausea and even depression. Don't worry! Take no action! These symptoms will disappear after four days. You will then start to feel livelier and better able to concentrate. Your skin, hair and nails will look healthier; your eyes, brighter; and your stomach, flatter. Your bowel movements will become regular. If you have sinus troubles, congestion and irritable bowel syndrome, these should disappear too. However, if the symptoms seem unbearable, cut down to half a dosage until you feel more comfortable. If the symptoms go on beyond four days, ring my office for some direction as to what to do and what might be wrong.
THIRD DOUBT – surely there must be some danger or at least some negative aspects of detox.
Yes. If you are pregnant, breast feeding, overweight, diabetic or have a heart condition, please detox gently. Sudden weight loss and dramatic changes to your diet can put a strain on the heart. Breast-feeding mothers beware: when detoxing the body releases stored up toxins. These get into the blood stream and then into mother's milk. So you really don't want to be feeding your baby your own toxins.
This detox diet is maximum strength. I cannot deny that it requires a modicum of will power and determination. But remember, you will emerge from it both feeling and looking ten years younger. Once you have decided to give it a go, you may as well get it right. So how can we make the most of this detox experience?
Take a piece of paper and write down a truthful account of how you feel (tired, exhausted, bloated, nervous, unconfident, easily distracted, short tempered…etc). Then, write down what you hope to achieve by your two-week detox: take your pick of weight loss, improved sleep, stronger nails, glossier hair, a clearer head, a longer temper….feel free to keep going in this vein. You never know what detox will do for you. It affects different people in different ways. It will almost certainly help with all of the above and plenty of other symptoms besides.
Prepare yourself by buying all the foods that you need in order to feel sated (below, see shopping list of 'Can't Have' and 'Can Have' items). Detox is not about starvation. It is merely about abstaining from foods that, eaten in 'normal' quantities, upset the natural balance of the body.
Begin each morning with half a lemon squeezed into warm water. Lemon does all sorts of wonderful things to the body but it can wear down the enamel on your teeth. If you are concerned, drink it through a straw.
During detox, a devil will sit on each shoulder, one saying, 'Why bother? Give up!', the other saying, 'If you see this to the end, you will feel and look great, and feel very proud of yourself'. To make sure the right devil wins, throw away or hide banned foods. Bag them up and put them in the freezer for a rainy day. Replace them with foods that you can eat and snack into at will. I cannot stress enough that this diet is not supposed to make you starve. You are merely supposed to eat the right foods in abundance while hydrating your body with water.~
Denying you your caffeine fix first thing in the morning is rather a mean trick, so instead I suggest you try ginger tea which will give the system a real whiplash. Choose a good herbal tea that you enjoy. If you still want that coffee buzz, then try dandelion coffee or coffee substitutes.
Take exercise. This will speed up toxin expulsion. Sweating also helps detoxify and clarify the skin.
If you complete the two-week detox without a hitch, give yourself a treat. Make it something special, like a spa treatment or a new outfit. You should also prepare yourself a slightly lesser treat should you lapse but manage to return to the programme. NB If you lapse, remember cancel the main treat, otherwise you are not taking yourself seriously.
I can already hear wails of 'Aaagghhh, you are tearing me from the things that I love more than any other, the things that make life worth living…!' Well, that's the crux of it. These thrilling, intoxicating, moreish foodstuffs have taken over. Instead of being enjoyed occasionally, they have become a daily must-have, can't-live-without crutch. In removing the crutch this detox regime will increase your intake of foods that feed the body with nutrients and antioxidants. It will use these as building blocks to give greater health and strengthen the immune system. You will feel more confident about yourself, not only because you feel and look better, but also because of the sense of accomplishment (I've done it!) that detox brings.
TOUGH LOVE
When my clients are wobbling about their diet sheets I give them a pep talk to put a few important things into perspective:
1 Firstly, this diet is temporary. You only have to follow it for one month. That's 30 days (give or take a day or two…). Not long. You can do anything for a month if you put your mind to it. Yes, even you.
2 Remember that most religions – Buddhism, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Hindu, Jainism, Judaism, Mormon, Muslim and Pagan, to name a few – willingly abstain from some foods during the year's festivals. However, many people have never been exposed this kind of discipline around food so forgoing their favourite latte and muffin for even 30 days seems too much to bear. I call this Flabby Willpower (see the 'Get Real' chapter for how to get over it). Think of this month as a challenge: you will find out how determined and persistent you can be and that will have a knock-on effect on other areas of your life. (Plus, if all these religious observers can do it, you can do it too.)
3 There is one big blessing – you will not be hungry. When you're a hardcore meat and two veg kind of person and are confronted with the pitta diet (no meat, fish, dairy, wheat) you think 'EEEK! What's left to eat?' The answer is an incredible number of things. None of these are reducing diets in which your primary aim is to lose weight (though you probably will). You can eat as much as you like, just of the right things. I repeat, you will not be hungry.
4 However, that doesn't mean you won't feel pain. The first few days are the worst. Giving up coffee and sugar, for example, can make you weak, sweaty, light-headed, and headachey. Normally these symptoms pass by day four, when your energy levels start to rise.
YOU'VE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD…
From 1940 to 1954, there was food rationing in Britain. Butter, meat, tea, sugar and eggs were rationed and many other foodstuffs including cakes, biscuits and many fruits were in very short supply. People had to creative with their food.
Here is a 1940 recipe for 'Lentil Potted Meat' from a wartime Nottingham cookbook:
Soak some lentils overnight. Cook in a stew jar in the oven with half a cube of Oxo. Season with a pinch of dried sage and a small blade of mace. When soft, strain and pound in a bowl with some margarine to the consistency of potted meat, and put in a suitable jar.
As you can see, not much meat. Not much of anything really, bar the lentils. Typically, the war diet was high in vegetables and unrefined carbohydrates, and low in fat and sugar. That's a long way from the high fat, refined carbohydrate, pizza, burger and deep-fried chicken diet we eat today. Yet the WW II generation have grown up to be the healthiest and hardiest in living memory. A 1999 study funded by by the Medical Research Council found that 'post-war austerity and food rationing created a more conducive climate for a balanced and healthy diet…and that the food and nutrient intake of young children at that time was better than today'. The diet you are about to go on contains many of the same foods people ate then. Full of vegetables, wholemeals and unprocessed. In 1957 Harold Macmillan said people had never had it so good. The problem now is that we've got it too good. If there's one thing that will make you healthier, it's encouraging a little of the austerity years' attitude to food into your life.
DIETING DOs AND DON'Ts
Whichever diet you're starting, there are a few things to remember before you set off:
1 This diet takes two weeks but you can do it for a month, so choose a time when you do not have much on, when you can go to bed early and get lots of rest. You may feel low in energy at some points.
2 Look at the diet sheets and plan what you will eat a few days' ahead. This means you need never break your diet because you're starving or low in delicious things to eat.
3 Don't eat in front of television, while reading a book, or listening to something challenging or distressing. Create a calm and peaceful attitude to food.
4 Before each meal take a few moments to breathe deeply and enjoy looking at the food, rather than absentmindedly devouring it as quickly as you can. Take your time over it. Chew slowly.
5 Leave a little space in your stomach at the end of a meal to give your digestion room to function. You should eat to about three-quarters of your stomach's capacity.
6 Avoid packaged, canned or frozen foods, non-organic foods grown with chemicals, pesticides and chemical fertilizers; and foods with chemical additives.
7 During the month, many strange things may happen. This is a detoxification of the body but it frees up the mind too. You don't know what's going to come up. You might start having unusual dreams or get very angry about things which normally don't bother you at all. Carry a pen and pad around and jot down reactions or feelings that seem unusual. They all mean something and can help the deeper reasons why you are suffering.