Detox, or to give it its full name ‘detoxification’ has been around since humans first became civilised and is a very natural way of getting rid of harmful pollutants that may have built up in our bodies.
Sometimes people are scared of ‘detoxing’ because they think that it will mean going without food for the entire process and existing only on water with the occasional shot of lemon juice. But this is not the case. Detox is simply a way of cleaning out your body, helping to give the internal organs a little breathing space, so that they can recharge and continue to operate as they should.
In this book you will learn just how to detox safely, with minimum discomfort, so that your body becomes clean, pure and is returned as near as possible, to its optimum state of well being.
Who needs to detox?
Every day people are subjected to toxins. These build up in the body and mean that instead of dealing with natural substances only our poor old kidneys and livers have to handle lots of ‘foreign’ matter, in other words : the ‘terrible toxins’.
This can make people more susceptible to stress, so if you are constantly feeling as if you are stressed out and tired, then a detox program could certainly help you to regain some balance.
But there are other symptoms of too many toxins being present in the body and these include:
- Tiredness,
- Overly rapid pulse rate
- Swollen ankles
- Craving sweet or salty/fatty foods
- Poor digestion
- Insomnia
- Cellulite
- Decreased sex drive
- Problems in concentrating
- Dry mouth
- Bladder problems
There are many more symptoms, but these are often the most common and the ones that can be most easily remedied, by a simple detox program that will help flush out all those toxins, leaving you fresh and bright, with a renewed vigor and zest for life.
What are toxins?
So what are these toxins? Well basically toxins can be grouped into three different sections. There are exogenous toxins, endogenous toxins and finally autogenous toxins.
Exogenous toxins are ones that are created from outside, or things that we eat. They can be residue from herbicides that are sprayed onto vegetables or fruit, but they can also be stimulants, alcohol, caffeine, too much sugar or fat in the body, the build up that has been caused by breathing in fumes that are in the air if you live in a city or big town.
Endogenous toxins are more complex. These often are formed in the bowel and they are the residual waste that have been created after you have a virus or some kind of bacterial infection. So, you get an infection, you get ‘better’ and you think that life carries on as normal. Well deep in the heart of your bowel, lots of little toxins are left over from the infection and they just clog up the work that your bowel is trying to do! The only thing you can do to help your bowel is to get rid of ‘em.
Finally, the last group of toxins are the autogenous toxins. These are all made by you yourself. Everyone has these. They are simply a way of the body dumping out some refuse, as a result of the natural metabolic process. So they are completely natural, but they can still act as a barrier to your body working as well as it could.
When is it best to detox?
You may read different things about the best time to detox, but in reality there is only one best time to go through a detox program and that is NOW! Some people like to detox in spring, because they think that it is a time for new beginnings, time to clean the home, yard and basically get fit for the summer. But it is really ok to detox any time. After all if you are thinking about detoxing in the fall and then you leave it till spring time, then you may well forget about it, so try to plan your detox for as soon as possible, to make sure that it actually happens.
There is only one time when detox may not be a good thing and that is if you are facing a really difficult time in your life, in terms of your health, or the health of a loved one, or if work is particularly stressful etc. There is no point setting yourself up to fail, so try to build in a few days where you can just unwind, relax and have a nice easy time of it at the start of your detox. That way you are more likely to succeed and this makes the whole process just that bit more enjoyable and fun!
You also need to be aware that if you are living a toxic lifestyle at the moment, whereby you are eating lots of processed food, or sweet, fatty foods, drinking lots of alcohol or coffee or even just caffeine based drinks such as cola, then you will have to prepare your body for detox. That means you will have to cut down on caffeine, alcohol and other toxic foods, so that you do not feel withdrawal symptoms after you start your program. So if you are very toxic, start cutting down for a week before you actually initiate the program.
How long does detox take?
Our detox plan is a 10-day one, which will help give you enough time to really cleanse your body, without being too rigorous. You will be living on more than water and a squeeze of lemon juice, so don’t worry you will do just great!
Some detox plans are shorter than 10 days, but they can often be very difficult to follow and so you start off with the best of intentions, but the process is simply too arduous, so what happens? Well you start off day one just great, day two is a bit of a struggle, but on day three, well boy, you have just had enough, so you quit and head down to the nearest burger bar or pizzeria and you are suddenly blitzing your body with toxins that you had actually been trying to get rid of!
That’s isn’t any use, so we are going to take you through a nice, easy detox plan. You will have the chance to pamper yourself, get a little quality time for yourself and just look after yourself for a little bit.
Ok, so by now you have probably figured out when the best time to detox is and you can’t wait to get started. But before we go into the program, we need to look at the process in terms of what happens to your organs when you detox. Just to give you a little motivation!
The Liver:
The liver will effectively sweep up all the toxins that are in your body. So this means that when you detox, the liver has a chance to get rid of all the toxins. So how does it do this? Well, giving your liver a bit of a break, through your program, means that it has the time, capacity and the energy to alter toxins, so that it can make them easy to get rid of in your urine.
It also leaks toxins into the bile it produces, which makes it easier for the body to get rid of the toxins through your bowel movements.
The lungs:
The lungs will also get some breathing space (excuse the pun please) because they will not have as many toxins coming in and as a result, they can simply breathe out the toxins that are in there. These toxins are the ones that we breathe in, through living in polluted cities.
The kidneys:
The kidneys are the unsung heroes of the body! Those little guys are kept really busy, since they take all the waste stuff that is in blood system (up to 12 pints an hour) filter it, take out all the nasty stuff, the toxins and then send the fluid back to the body, so that the blood is cleaned. They keep going, all the time, never usually complain, but giving them a break from having to filter out quite so much junk, will mean that they can work just that little bit more efficiently.
The intestines:
The intestines have to ‘cope’ with all the dietary toxins that we eat or drink. So they get the full impact of all the salt, sugar, caffeine and alcohol. They also (often) have to deal with a lack of fiber in the diet. This means that they cannot ‘hook’ toxins onto fiber and then get rid of the toxins. A detox program can increase your fiber intake and thereby give your intestines a chance to clean out some of the toxins lurking in your guts.
The skin:
The skin is often overlooked in the detox process, yet as the largest organ in the body, the skin can be used to eliminate toxins, through increasing sweat production. Initially the skin may look a little bit weary or even spotty as all those toxins start flooding out. But after a week of detox your skin will look refreshed, renewed and much more relaxed than it has for years: so stick with it!
Who can’t detox?
Anyone can detox to a greater or lesser degree, but if you are pregnant, lactating, have a serious medical condition or are diabetic, then you should check with your physician prior to undertaking the program outlined here. People who have kidney problems, liver problems, gallstones or any other medical condition should only embark on this program if they have first discussed the program in detail with a physician.
This program has not designed to be followed by anyone who has a serious or chronic medical condition, nor is it appropriate for women who may be pregnant or lactating, so ensure that you are well enough to undergo the program. If you are unsure as to whether or not it is appropriate for you, then discuss it in detail with your physician.
OK: LET’S DO IT!
So now all the preparation has been done. If you are a caffeine junkie or like too many salty foods or too many glasses of wine of an evening, then you should have spent a week or so preparing for this detox process. But if you live a relatively healthy lifestyle, then you can just jump straight in.
As you are going through each day, then it may be helpful to consult the sections on supplements as well as alternative therapies that may help ease the process of detoxification. So if you have a day where you are finding things a bit tough, then flick through to the sections on supplements and then alternative therapies, just to equip yourself with all the weapons you need to beat those toxins out of your body: for good!
There are some things that you are going to have to live without for 10 days. They will not assist the detox process and may simply work against it. So they cannot be taken: even in moderation.
These are:
- Coffee, tea, alcohol and all drinks except water, fruit juice and herbal teas
- Salt
- Processed foods
- Sugar, even hidden sugars in food. Sweeteners are also not allowed.
- Sweets, cakes, biscuits
The following foods also cannot be eaten in the first few days:
- Fish
- Meat
- White rice
But the good news is that there is plenty that you can eat. But often it is best to go through your store cupboards and have a look at what you have in and lock away all the bad things. It is really easy to have a weak moment and you are looking in the store cupboard for something when you see a chocolate biscuit and then you think that one biscuit won’t hurt, after all you have been so good for so long. And before you know it you have eaten the biscuit and then a little voice pops into your head and says that since you have broken out from the detox process and you may as well just give it up now and have a big plate of fries and a burger. So don’t let that little voice win. Go through all your cupboards and lock everything that is forbidden out of sight.
If other people in your household aren’t participating in the detox process, then make sure that they can still have access to all their ‘normal’ foods, but ask them to store them away carefully.
Remember that you are doing this for you and those who are around you and love you need to give you lots of love and support. Ideally, everyone in the house should detox at the same time, but in the real world we know that isn’t always possible, particularly if you have kids or your partner is facing a real busy time at work. So be realistic and if you have to do it on your own, then simply embrace the opportunity to do something really good for yourself. Look on it as cherishing yourself: not ‘doing without’. If you adopt a martyr position, then it is more likely that temptation will get the better of you. In other words: think, act and be positive about the process!
In the recipes for the meals that you will have during your detox process, you will find that the ingredients are flexible. This is not a calorie counting diet and you will find that since you are not having a lot of carbohydrates in the first few days, you may feel hungry. So if this means that you want to cook a huge plate of cauliflower or broccoli, then by all means go ahead. Do not feel that you have to starve yourself: if you do then it is harder to stick to the program.
You will also find that the recipes are very flexible and that it is often specified that you should cook an item according to taste. Well that is simply so that you can be more in control, so that if you like your salmon cooked until it is extremely soft, then by all means cook it this way, but if you like it cooked so that it is only very lightly cooked, then again, feel free to enjoy it like this.
Some detox programs are very rigid and say that you need to steam salmon for 15 minutes and your vegetables for no mare than 5 and so on. But the difficulty with these is that they get too focussed on everything being absolutely inflexible and so the whole process can feel too restrictive. Yes your body may be able to get more omega oils from salmon if it is very lightly cooked and yes the minerals it contains may be easier to access if the salmon is not overcooked. But can you keep up an extremely strict and restrictive regimen for 10 days? Or do you think it is more likely that you will keep it up for two days, then get upset because your vegetables steamed for 6 minutes (but hey, they tasted great) and then be more likely just to abandon the whole project and feel like some kind of failure? Whereas, if you have a regimen that allows you just a little more flexibility, then aren’t you more likely to stick with it?
You may also find that you simply do not like some of the items that are listed. For example, some people do not like sunflower seeds, which are a really good source of vitamins and minerals and are reputed to have a calming effect on the body, thus acting as a way of ensuring that you stick to the program. But if you do not like them, it can be hard to stick with the process. The best advice is to just try to eat them, but if this becomes impossible, then try something like sesame seeds, or pine kernels or nuts.
Choose your foods with care!
You are about to embark on a detox program to rid your body of toxins, so as far as possible, always, but always, choose organic produce that has been carefully grown and nurtured without using pesticides or any nasty chemicals. Otherwise, you are simply putting more toxins back in your body. Initially you may find this awkward, due to the expense involved, but you will be cutting down on expensive items such as meat and fish, so you will find that the shopping bill is not much higher than normal.
This is too important to mess up just for the sake of fruit or vegetables that may cost a couple of dollars more than standard produce. After all, aren’t you worth just that little bit extra?
Before you start on the detox, make sure that you have lots of vegetables in and that during your detox you are able to source, fresh and organic vegetables with ease. Do not leave it until day 1 and then find that you have to spend most of the day trying to find vegetables and fruit that are pure enough for you to eat on your detox. Buy in some organic honey as well as some extra virgin olive oil (the purer the better).
If you do not eat meat or fish, then some of the recipes will not be suitable for you. But it is possible to simply substitute beans, barley, lentils, chickpeas or another source of your usual protein, whenever meat or chicken is specified. There are a few fish dishes and one or two with chicken, so the main bulk of the program is actually pretty meat free, so don’t be afraid, it can be undertaken by vegetarians as well as meat lovers. Vegans may find that it is not suitable due to the fact that honey, mustard and other non-vegan ingredients are used.
When you get up today, congratulate yourself for doing something really good: for you! Think positively. This is going to be a really exciting 10 days. You are going to have a really good time, You are going to cherish your body. Wow, this is just going to be so good for you, so let’s get started…..
If you want to then you can fast today and drink only water, herbal teas and some fruit juice. However, this is a matter of your personal choice. Many people love this because it immerses them in the detox process immediately and has some kind of symbolism associated with it, so that people can feel cleansed at a very deep, almost spiritual level.
But for others, particularly if you have not been eating very healthily for some time, this really is a step too far.
½ hour before breakfast:
One cup of boiled water (allowed to cool slightly) with a dash of lemon or lime juice in it.
Breakfast:
Fruit juice, preferably freshly squeezed with some fruit. Figs or bananas are a good choice. No melon (they can be difficult to digest unless eaten on their own).
Morning snack:
Fruit: Anything apart from melons.
Lunch:
Cooked wholemeal rice and salad washed down with apple or carrot juice.
Afternoon snack:
Chopped or grated carrots, tomatoes, watercress.
Dinner:
Salad made from lettuce, celery, watercress, raw broccoli and tomatoes.
Supper:
Fruit (again, no melons). Bananas can help you to feel full and sleep easier.
Through the day:
Plenty of herbal teas and fruit juice, along with water. Aim to drink at least 4 pints of fluid a day, rising to 5 pints if you can manage it: but don’t overdo fluid intake.
Take things easy today, don’t overdo exercise or go for a sauna, just relax, read a little, try to have a nice relaxing bath or shower and pamper yourself a little.
It can be helpful to keep a journal of how you feel and the ways in which your body seems to be reacting. This can be helpful to learn lessons from your detox, so that you can adapt a generally healthier lifestyle, after your program has ended.
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