Detoxification – the easy way

Common dietary excesses over Christmas and the New Year such as too much alcohol, sweet treats and larger than normal portion sizes, will probably have left you feeling lethargic, bloated and headachy.

You probably think of detoxification programmes as regimes where you have to give up everything you like caffeine, alcohol, red meat, cheese and desserts, and are left with brown rice and vegetables or a water or juice fast.

However, this doesn’t have to be the case, especially where your lifestyle, if for example you have to wine and dine clients, would make this difficult.

While alcohol is accepted as being toxic to the liver and is generally forbidden in any detox plan, it doesn’t have to be that way. Some types of alcohol are relatively pure, such as gin and vodka and have fewer pollutant substances (congeners) in them.

So, if you would find it hard to completely give up alcohol, a good way to detox without being a party pooper, would be to have one or two vodka oranges or if you prefer a long gin and tonic.    

Another good way to stick to a detox programme, would be to carry a stash of nuts and/or seeds with you. Contrary to popular belief, they do not contribute to weight gain, which may be one of the reasons you decide to have a detox. This is great news as nuts are full of minerals, such zinc, which is an important mineral to help the liver detox. It also helps you stave off hunger or having low blood sugar, especially in the evening, which can lead you to making poorer food choices and overeating. 

I doubt many people would think of sleep as being an important part of a detoxification programme.  However, sleep is vital for both restoration of energy and general health and well-being and sleep-deprived people are generally more stressed and less likely to make healthy food and lifestyle choices, so addressing this area would be key to any successful detox programme.   

Of course there is so much more we can look at for a detox programme, depending on your goal, but the above would be a good start.

If you are interested in finding out how to improve your diet further (or have a particular health concern), asking a trained nutritional therapist to carry out a dietary evaluation is a sensible step, as they will be able to work out from your diet history how to improve what you are eating or if you may be low in certain minerals or vitamins vital for detoxification.