Kiss those wellbeing glitches goodbye with
our simple detox plan plus ultra-easy diet and supplement tweaks.
Your body-boost plan If you have digestive,
skin, joint or mood niggles, then detox is a great first move… with our
experts’ food and supplement ideas the next.
Still remembering detox as a kind of hair
shirt-style diet of the 90s? Forget all that – this time we’re not talking weight
loss, but a great kick-start to a brighter, healthier you. We’re using our
strict but delicious plan to prep your system for some really effective
wellbeing changes – with best advice from the experts on the following pages.
Rick Hay’s Hardcore 3-Day Detox!
This is a bit of a hard-time plan created
for us by Australian nutritionist Rick Hay, but it will spring-clean your whole
system. “When your digestive system is under-functioning, the walls of the
intestines can be coated with waste, reducing the absorption of nutrients,”
says Rick. “Mild cases can lead to fatigue, bloating, constipation – even IBS.
If left untreated, it can lead to headaches, mood swings, skin conditions –
even ulcers.” The rules? So few: eat, drink and take only what it says and add
three to four glasses of filtered water through the day to help flush toxins
and keep you hydrated.
Breakfast
Fresh strawberries, yogurt, and a
drizzle of sugar-free syrup
EAT Berries
and sugar-free yogurt with cinnamon on top, plus a sprinkle of almonds.
Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar levels and has a calming effect on the
digestive tract. Phytonutrients in berries improve the immune system and their
fibre helps with digestion.
ADD A few
prunes or a glass of prune juice if you like – if you’re constipated, you can’t
detox!
DRINK A cup
of unsweetened dandelion tea. Or your herbal tea of choice, such as fennel,
fenugreek or liquorice. Dandelion’s bitter qualities aid liver function – good
for fluid retention, bloating and inflamed skin conditions.
Mid morning
EAT A bowl
of green leaves dressed with olive oil plus almond slivers or pine nuts, olives
and some citrus fruits if desired, such as orange or grapefruit. Greens help
cleanse the colon, olive oil provides good omega fatty acids and nuts help cleanse
the intestine.
TAKE Aloe
vera juice – to help cleanse and to soothe the gut and a great way to combat
bloating and flatulence. Always take as directed.
Lunch
EAT Lentil
and vegetable soup. To make: Add a cup of lentils, plus 2 cups .of spring
greens to 300-400ml (1/2pt – 14fl oz) water. Simmer slowly and add turmeric,
chilli and ginger. Easy to digest, the thermogenic herbs help speed up the
cleanse, which means less work for the digestive system.
DRINK A cup
of dandelion or herbal tea of choice.
Mid afternoon
EAT Fruit
salad with a handful of almonds and a dollop of sugar-free yogurt to flush
toxins and aid regularity.
DRINK A cup
of warm water and the juice of half a lemon with honey to cleanse and aid
digestion.
Dinner
EAT Soup to
start – as per lunch, but add half a cup of brown rice. This helps regulate
blood sugar levels to keep hunger at bay. Then, a small to medium portion of
steamed fish of your choice, with a selection of steamed seasonal veg. The
protein supports the body’s system anf vegetables help to cleanse.
DRINK A
glass of fresh juice – preferably a fruit and vegetable combo. This helps with
fatigue and mental acuity during any restrictive diet.
EAT Stewed
apples and prunes for regularity and colon cleanse. The pectin in the apples
soothes the gut and may help reduce digestive discomfort.
DRINK A cup of dandelion or herbal tea – keep fluids up to flush
out toxins.
Before bed
DRINK A
glass of water with one teaspoon of psyllium husk or take psyllium husk
capsules. Known as the “intestinal broom”, it’s good for cleansing and
regularity.
On walking
DRINK The
juice of half a lemon with half a teaspoon of honey in a cup of warm water.
This aids digestion, cleanses and stimulates the liver, which in turn reduces
toxins and so helps skin, hair and nails.
Rick Hay is a practicing nutritionist –
contact him direction on 07428-748783 or at rickhay.net
Keep your digestion sweet
A turbulent tum and irritating bloating
can be banished with some nifty diet changes.
AVOID White
bread, cakes, biscuits, soft drinks and sweets. “These are calorie rich and
nutrient poor, high in sugar that feeds bacteria, which encourage bloating,
flatulence and pain. Fibre free, they clog the system and create ideal
conditions for candida,* says our detox creator Rick Hay.
ENJOY
Berries, fresh fruit and vegetable juice, nuts – especially almonds, salmon or
small fish and bitter greens such as chicory or rocket which all have liver
cleansing properties. And plenty of stewed apples – they’re the perfect gut
soother.
TAKE The
psyllium husks and aloe vera as in the detox, then add an acidophilus and
bifidus supplement to encourage good bacteria and help with bloating, gas and
irritable bowel.
Try Fushi Total Body Probiotic Complex, $27
for 90 caps, fushi.co.uk. Aloe Pura Maximum Strenght Aloe Vera Juice, $15,
hollandandbarrett.com
