Detoxing is definitely the flavour of the new year – but is it safe? I recently posted an article on The Coconut Oil Detox , how it works and what to do. It’s a great detox and will definitely give any digestive system a kick start. However I don’t agree with all detoxes and I also don’t agree in doing detoxes for the wrong reasons.
This article in the Sydney Morning Herald gives a good down to earth perspective on detoxing and offers 3 detoxes, easy, challenging and hard. Here’s the link.
Fresh start the flavour of the month
The basic concept of detoxing is to purge, purify or cure the body of something. I have had years of experience at doing this. In my early years before I really came to terms with the fact that I was susceptible to candida infections I would do crazy things like go on watermelon fasts for 3 weeks! My one goal was to cure my ailments at whatever cost, only thing was that I was feeding the problem not curing it.
Detoxing – Is It Safe? 
What you need to think about before going on a detox.
1. Do you have diagnosed IBS, systemic candidiasis or other digestive or gut related conditions? If so it is definitely not recommended to do any vegetable or fruit juice fasting. When you juice vegetables or fruit, all you end up with is the sugar and water from the fruit or vegetable as all the fibre has been stripped from it and now sitting in the waste bucket of your juice machine. You could however look at incorporating more vegetables into your diet with my green smoothie recipe or try out the cultured vegetables.
2. Do you have a poor diet, excess alcohol intake or take recreational drugs, and lead a sedentary lifestyle? Then detoxing could be the way to kick start a new way of eating and a new perspective on life. This doesn’t mean you have to be radical and fast for 15 days but instead you could detox by eliminating foods that weigh your system down and instead give your body the foods that will provide energy and fuel, not just pleasure and comfort!
3. Are you struggling with weight loss? Have you tried dieting, yo-yoing here and there and not making much progress. Your metabolism could benefit from a boost like the coconut oil detox. It could also benefit from some consistent exercise and cutting out problem foods that will slow your metabolism down.
4. Finally think about long term habits rather than short term results. A fast or detox is good for giving you that boost or shedding some excess weight but you can’t fast forever, nor can you be doing detoxes every other month. You want to think about life long eating habits and exercise routines that are doable and sustainable.
Have you tried any fasts or detoxes that have worked well for you. I would love to hear from you.
The longest detox I’ve tried is a few days, my philosophy is that lengthy juice detox diets are probably not the best thing for a body. I usually replace one meal a day with a glass of juice.
thanks for the great article!