This diet is adapted from Henry Osiecki The Physicians Handbook of Clinical Nutrition
This is one of my favourite detoxes to do and I highly recommend it to everyone, it is simple and achievable. Also useful for bowel problems, bacterial overgrowth or yeast overgrowth (though focus more on vegetables than fruit because of its high sugar content), eating too much, eating poorly, after substance abuse, convalescing after illness or just a general detox that can be incorporated monthly, seasonally or yearly into your normal health regime.
You will need a time when you are not too busy, preferably not working, especially the first three days. It is best to plan all your meals and you will need a juicer. All foods must be fresh, in season and preferably organic. If you have a family they need to understand what you are doing and support you in it. Maybe they can participate too, or just include a few aspects of the detox in their diet.
In the beginning you may experience symptoms such as headaches, pimples, smelly discharges, dizziness, nausea and generally not feel so good. This is just the spring cleaning part, after the first few days you will feel like a million dollars.
Day 1
Fruits.
Vegetables – cooked (lightly steamed) or raw (grated).
Cereals/grains – (e.g. brown rice).
Day 2
Fruits.
Vegetables (raw).
Day 3
Raw fruit only.
Day 4,5,6
Juices only (diluted with water) or raw fruit and vegetables.
Herbal teas (e.g. buchu, nettle, chamomile, peppermint).
Clear vegetable broth (from any veggies, especially tops of root veg, dandelion leaves, nettles, seaweeds etc) every 2 – 3 hours (this can be pre-prepared and refrigerated/frozen if needed).
Day 7
Add, to what you have been eating for the past three days, some small serves of fruit and vegetables.
Day 8
Then add cereal/grains.
Plain yoghurt (and/or acidophilus/bifidus supplement)
Day 9
Slowly back to normal (but healthier) diet. Eat less of the foods that you routinely ate every day before the diet (e.g. less or eliminate cows milk, wheat, sugar, caffeine). Experiment with new taste experiences, (e.g. tofu, miso soup, beetroot muffins).
- Eat well but don’t overeat. Eat small serves, 5 or 6 times a day.
- Eat more in the morning less at night.
- Aim to drink more water, filtered, but not with meals.
- Start and finish the day with a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon.
- Juices should be freshly prepared and not stored.
Forbidden: alcohol, tobacco, caffeine (tea, coffee, chocolate, cola), soft drinks, meat, sugar (any ingredient ending in -ose), dairy products (except the yoghurt on Day 8), processed foods (any
packaged product that has several ingredients or any preservatives).
- Even when you have finished the diet, try to avoid or limit the above list of forbidden foods.
- If you get constipated, drink more water or add psyllium husk.
- If you get faint or dizzy, add a little honey to your juice.
- Do not be too concerned about getting adequate nutrition – you may supplement with alfalfa, spirulina or a quality multi-vitamin supplement. You may be advised to support your liver with a specific liver supplement to aid detox pathways.
- If you feel like 9 days is too much or you cannot find enough time, you can make it a 7 day detox and just do one day of juices/broths/herb teas (during day 4,5,6). So then, obviously, day 7 would become day 5, day 8 would be day 6 and day 9 would be day 7.
- Get plenty of sleep, meditate, smile, avoid stressful situations as much as possible, this time is dedicated to you and your wellbeing. And while you are detoxifying your body you may as well keep the mind clear to!
- Paint, write, read, dance, laugh, play, cry. Crying detoxifies your body of emotions!
- Take gentle exercise, warm baths, sauna, yoga, tai chi, do some dry skin brushing and get a full body massage.
- Enjoy cleaning out the old and making space for the new!
NB: Please consult your health practitioner if this is the first time you have attempted a detoxification programme! You may cause serious damage to your body or your health if you detox (or fast) unsupervised.