The detox begins...

Last Tursday was my 32nd birthday. Wow, it looks big when you write it... I have been toying with the idea of doing a detox for months and finally, something clicked and I decided now is the right time. This is my new year, so for me the timing is perfect. A spring clean, inside and out...in two weeks I will be unstoppable!

There are numerous signs that may tell you a detox is worth doing. Some include sluggishness, tiredness, headaches, difficulty sleeping, joint pain, skin problems, bloating...the symtoms of living for many people! How to do a detox will vary from person to person, but the simplest advice I can give is to focus on giving your body time & space to eliminate and cleanse. This means reducing the burdens that we usually push on our liver and other organs of elimination, like kidneys, intestines and even skin. Detoxing is more about what you don't do, than what you do, do. So, the simplest detox goes something like this:

Remove from your diet all of the foods and chemical substances that put pressure on your body. These include dairy, red meat, sugar, tea & coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, refined & processed foods (that's food in boxes and white bread, rice, pasta etc) Reduce the amount of grains in your diet, even wholegrains and feast on brightly coloured vegetables, small portions of fish and organic chicken. Drink plenty of water, herbal teas and get lots of sleep. Get some gentle exercise every day (walking, yoga, cycling) and decide that for one solid week, you will get in excess of 8 hours sleep every night. The world will continue to turn, your body will thank you for the rest and you will be bouncing with energy by the end of your detox.

I have decided to start my detox by removing all of the above mentioned items (if you are a fan of perfume, fake tan, body potions & lotions, consider eliminating them too, there are plenty of gentler alternatives and a break will really benefit your skin) and beginning a kidney cleanse, in preparation for next week's liver flush. The liver flush is a an overnight process, preceded by drinking a litre of apple juice a day, for 6 days, which helps to soften any gallstones in the liver of gallbladder. The flush cleanses the liver of toxins, fat & sludge and flushes out the 'stones' of fatty and calcified deposits that are called gall stones.

The purpose of the kidney cleanse is to prepare your kidneys for the liver flush, as there may be quite a lot of sludge and toxins released from the liver. The kidney cleanse is a 5 day process, where you drink the mix below first thing in the morning, 5 days in a row. If your kidneys are in good working order, you may not need to do it, but if you have any history of UTI's or kidney infections, then it is worthwhile. Don't feel any pressure to do either kidney cleanse or liver flush, it's not a vital part of a detox!

The kidney cleanse goes like this:
First thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, drink the following concoction, in one sitting:

475ml filtered or bottled water (no fluoride or chlorine)
2 organic lemons, in their entirety, skin, pith and flesh
Good pinch of cayenne pepper
1tsp maple syrup (for sweetness only, exclude if you're tough like me!)
Put the whole lot in a blender and blitz until it's all liquid.

Don't eat for at least an hour after you've taken this mix and be sure you are close to a toilet. I started this yesterday morning and felt fine all day, this morning I was very glad to be working from home and close to my bathroom.

One word of warning, if you are giving up drinking a lot of tea or coffee, or eating lots of sugar, be prepared for some headaches. If you really need to, take a painkiller, but try to get through without. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, or take a nap if you can. Headaches, spots & tiredness are all part of the detox. It's normal to feel that way and you will come out the other side, I promise!