So, now we know why to detox and the importance of effective detoxification, but a bit overwhelmed when it comes to water fasting, juice fasting, detoxing with green smoothies, mono-meals, brown rice, raw food? Here’s a short description to help you make sense of it all.

First of all, how long does a detox last? Well, anything from 1-30 days or more, although most are for a duration of at least 3 days as real detoxification is achieved after 72 hours (did you know that the entire cell lining of your gut is renewed every 72 hours?!) which is why at least 3 days are required for a ‘deep detox’.

- Fasting: by definition, a fast is when you abstain from solid foods, drinking only water or fruit and vegetable juices. It’s fine to do a short fast at home on your own (much easier to gather some friends together for motivation) but for longer fasts of 7+ days it is recommended you follow a professional program. A lot of energy is used in digestion, assimilation and elimination of food. Fasting is a great way to give your digestive system and organs of elimination a break so that they can focus on repair and growth rather than daily maintenance.
Water fasting produces the quickest results and is the most extreme form of fasting (as only water is ingested). The advantage of fruit and vegetable juice fasting is that your body receives concentrated forms of vitamins and minerals which help with repair, rejuvenation and cleansing.*
- Detox diets: can include, for example, green smoothies only (smoothies contain fibre so they are considered a semi-solid rather than a liquid fas)t; mono-meals – eating only 1 type of food such as brown rice or fruit mono-meals, especially melons as they are very cleansing; eating Raw food only would also be considered a detox diet if you habitually eat mostly cooked, processed foods.
- A cleanse is a term often interchanged for any type of detox although it is often attributed to less extreme forms of body cleansing such as the detox diets mentioned above. These are less ‘hard-core’ options for those who are new to detoxing and want to start off gently.

Unlimited water and specific teas that boost detoxification are permitted on any detox program (except a water fast perhaps). Such teas include rosehip, nettle, milkthistle, dandelion and freshly squeezed lemon or ginger in warm water.

It is important to prepare for a detox to ensure optimal results. This means that for a 3 day detox you would start to cut out certain foods at least 1-7 days before you start. These include: meat, dairy, gluten, caffeine, alcohol, all processed foods, refined carbohydrates, refined sugars, cutting down on natural sugars (e.g. honey, dried fruit), adding in more raw foods.

It is equally important to ease out of a detox by ‘breaking-the-fast’ (this is where the term ‘breakfast’ comes from as you have fasted throughout the night), again, for approximately the same amount of days by gradually re-introducing certain foods, starting off with with plain foods such as brown rice and steamed vegetables.

It’s quite easy to include regular, short detoxes into our yearly schedule and this alone will make a great difference to your overall health. And although it is highly beneficial to have an ‘official’ detox of 3 days or more at least once a year (at each change of season would be ideal) there are simple ways that you can help your body’s detoxification process on a daily basis:

• drink more water
• get enough sleep – 8 hours if possible and go to bed by 10pm
• exercise – move your bootay!
• get some fresh air every day
• dry skin brushing
• use only natural, chemical free products (see my blog section ‘Natural Beauty’ for homemade recipes)
• eat REAL food (no processed, pre-prepared foods)
• eat organic food
• reduce external pollutants (ditch the plastic – use wood, glass, ceramic instead; use stainless steel pots and pans instead of tefal)
• manage negative emotions through awareness (this also means addressing them), meditation, exercise
• reeeellllaaaaax….

Here are some great websites you might want to check out:

• Green Smoothie Queen: organised green smoothie detoxes from 3-21 days as part of a well supported program/community
• Detox Lifestyle: personalised detoxes to fit into your individual lifestyle and needs
• Caroline Cain: Holistic Health: stay posted for our next 3 day Juice Feast and Yolates (yoga/pilates) detox
• JuicingBook.com is a great website that will (most likely) answer all your questions about juicing.

I encourage you to share your detox experiences in the comments section below and please do ask me any questions – if I don’t know the answer, then I’m sure that I know someone who does!

*There are different advantages offered by either fruit or vegetable fasting – this is an important point of consideration before planning and undertaking a juice fast.

Please note that the information in this post is for informational purposes only and is by no means comprehensive or to be used as a sole guide for a detoxification program.