May be you think of detox as a time-out for badly behaving celebrities. A retreat from the public, $1,000-a-day haven where they can work on their addictions and their image. Often, it is.
But this isn’t about celebrities and their addictions; it’s about you. Specifically, it’s about how you can cleanse your body and mind of the toxic agents that drain your energy on drip at a time.
It starts with your diet. Proponents claim a detox fast can speed along the elimination of toxins; give your digestive system a rest; make you look better, feel better, and sleep better; improve your mood; and leave you energized.
“Detoxification is the missing link in Western nutrition”, says my friend Dr. Dave.
“Fasting is the single greatest natural healthing therapy I know, and when applied to the right people, it helps reduce many problems and helps with greater energy and vitality”, he told me recently. “People need to take a break form their substances (SNACCs – sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and chemicals). A detox fast can give the body a rest so it can rebalance”.
By fast he doesn’t mean a diet of water. “A more common and liberal definition of fasting would include the juices of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as herbal teas”, Dave explained. “Fresh juices are easily assimilated, require minimum digestion, and still supply many nutrients. They also stimulate our body to clear wastes. Juice fasting is safer than water fasting since it supports the body nutritionally while cleansing and maintains your energy level”.
THE BASIC FORMULA
Dave starts all his patients – simply eliminating sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and chemicals. (Most people can get a huge benefit from just this stage, even if they don’t go on to the next). He then puts them on a simple, clean daily diet consisting of one piece of fruit, one bowl of cooked whole grains (millet, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, or oatmeal), and two to four heaping bowls of steamed vegetables throughout the day. “For any who feel fatigued, or feel they just need protein, 3 to 5 ounces of fish, poultry, or beans can be added”, he told me.
Typically, people stay on this program for a week or even two, and then slowly begin to add back more of their typical daily foods.
But there are cautions as well. Naturopathic physician Sonja Pettersen, N.M.D., told me that people who have been exposed to extremely toxic chemicals (agent orange or chemotherapy, for example) should never go on a stringent detox without supervision.
“Those toxins are stored in your fast”, she explained, “and you don’t want someone releasing all that stuff without supervisions”. “Those toxins are stored in your fat”, she explained, “and you don’t want someone releasing all the stuff without supervision”.
Detoxification, whether defined as an absence of the “bad stuff” (sugar, chemicals, nicotine); a mild restriction of your normal daily calories; a few days or a week of vegetables, juices, and fruit smoothies; or a complete juice fast, can be beneficial for many people. But it can be difficult.
Best advice: If you want to give it a try, start with a one-or two-day fast and work up to a loner period.
Here’s a basic program of detoxification
DETOX DETAILS
One week before fasting, eliminate:
Sugar
Nictonine
Alcohol
Caffeine
One or two days before fasting, eliminate:
Red meats
Milk products
Eggs
Wheat and baked goods
DETOX SAMPLE MENU PLAN
Upon Rising
Drink two glasses of filtered water, one glass with half a lemon squeezed into it.
Breakfast
Eat one piece of fresh fruit (at room temperature), such as an apple, a pear, a banana, a citrus fruit, or some grapes. Chew well.
Fifteen to Thirty Minutes Later
Consume one bowl of cooked whole grains – millet, brown rice, amaranth, or quinoa. You can try oatmeal, but note that it contains gluten for those who are gluten sensitive. For sweetness, use 2 tablespoons of fruit juice. For more savory flavouring, add 1 tablespoon (14 g) of Better Butter (see below) and a little sea salt or tamari.
Lunch
Eat one or two medium bowls of steamed vegetables (save the water). Use a variety, including roots, stems and greens. For example, use potatoes or yams, green beans, broccoli or cauliflower, carrots or beets, asparagus, kale or chard, and cabbage. Flavor with 1 to 2 teaspoons (5 to 9 g) of Better Butter.
Dinner
Eat the same as you did for lunch. If you feel fatigued or as though you need protein, add 3 to 4 ounces (85 to 115 g) of fish, poultry, or beans to this meal (or have the protein between lunch and dinner).
Special Drinks (late morning to mid-afternoon)
Drink water collected form steaming vegetables. Add a bit of garlic salt or veggies salt.
Better Butter Recipe
Makes 32 servings
1 cup (240 ml) extra-virgin olive oil (preferably organic)
1 cup (2 sticks, 255 g) organic butter
In a glass bowl, combine the olive oil and butter until well mixed. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
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