Water and juice fasts to cleanse your body have become a huge hype recently. You read about them everywhere and one program seems crazier than the other.
But I always wonder: Have the people and magazines promoting these fasts really ever tried them?
Well, I have. And you know what? I hated it! Because as a family & business manager, wife, dog owner and cargo bike taxi driver (that is how I take my kids to day care), I simply cannot live on water or tea alone, and also juice fasting just wasn't enough for me to be able to function properly. I felt like I was starving myself and, honestly, when I am hungry all the time, I'm so not a nice person.
However, the thing is we all should give our body a proper spring cleaning every now and then. Because even with a reasonable lifestyle, we are surrounded by so many toxins in our food or household products, for example, that sooner or later our system will shut down if we do not get rid of the junk accumulating in our cells: we will look and feel old and tired, get sick way more often than we normally would and won't enjoy life as much as we could.
As an orthomolecular nutritionist I specialize in healing and preventing disease through natural supplements and Superfoods. Whenever I read something about the latest detox trend, it really bugs me that there are so many cleanse fads promising you high-speed weight loss or insane detox results. But honestly: if you do not actually change your diet sustainably, you will end up with more pounds on your hips than you were trying to get rid of before you decided torturing yourself with a (juice) fast.
Also, drinking some fishy ready-made detox miracle juice full of crazy crap might actually weaken your system instead of helping it regain its innate strength. But even if you prepare your juices yourself: they simply will not provide your body with sufficient nutrients or the roughage it needs to really scrub your bowels clean. You will feel hungry, your motivation takes off to detox nirvana and your chances of dropping out and beating yourself up about it will be sky-high.
To spare myself this misery, I decided to put together my own step-by-step detox guide. One that is actually fun and, above all, based on common sense.
If you want to kick start your health, consuming liquid food only for a couple of days is actually a good idea. This will give your intestines a break and flood your body with nutrients. To make sure you do not starve yourself, you simply consume green smoothies in addition to plain veggie juice. If you also pimp your juices with a little bit of fruit, you will get incredibly delicious “salads in a glass“. They are fun to make, will help you control your hunger and are a terrific way to start cleansing your body.
During the first two days or so, you might feel some detox reactions (think headache or dizziness) but these are part of the deal and once you've flushed the dirt causing these symptoms out of your system, you will be bursting with energy.
After “smoothie fasting” for three days, I always want something to chew on again. I keep on juicing, but I add light meals plus a variety of Superfoods to my diet. These provide me with all the strength I need to successfully juggle all my responsibilities and even leave me sufficient power to work-out. Thanks to lots of plant-based protein, my metabolism is dancing salsa and I do not only burn fat but also build muscles.
After about a week, I usually start cooking again. It is still mainly alkalizing veggies, greens and extra Superfoods on my menu but, really, this doesn't even feel like a cleanse anymore.
All in all, it takes about 10 days for me to really jump-start my health and to make sure I stay on track, I just stick to a couple of simple detox routines. Easy peasy, right?
To cut a long story short: no matter what trendy glossies or detox experts try to sell you – cleansing your body doesn't have to be so hard. There is no need for expensive retreats which will detox your bank account rather than your body or specialists shoving tubes up your behind.
If you want to detox, you can do so on your own and all it takes is are organic, high-quality ingredients, a little bit of know-how, a pinch of mindfulness, some exercise and plain common sense!
Do you want some proof? I've been following my own step-by-step guide about three to four times a year for a long time now and despite two pregnancies and a really busy life, I look and feel way better than in my twenties. And you know what? Last time I did a round of common sense detoxing my husband gave it a try, too, and he loved it so much that, in the future we will always be detoxing together!
