Demystifying the Detox Diet: What it’s for, when to go on one and what it should involve

What is it for?

Somewhere along the way, the words ‘detox diet’ became an unusually loaded term. Like ‘fake news’ or ‘I’m getting really into cryptocurrencies’, it’s a phrase that’s subject to lots of wildly different and sometimes conflicting views and explanations. It’s especially strange in this instance, given that detoxing has been around in some form or another basically forever – the function of the human liver, for starters, means that detoxing is technically a part of any diet.

Yet while it’s true our livers are constantly detoxifying our bloodstreams, they’re not necessarily coping as well as they could be with the various challenges that contemporary life throws in their direction. The evolution of human biology is a wondrous thing, but it’s a little much to expect it to respond to the sudden bombardment of today’s toxin-filled lifestyles...

From pesticides and fertilizers in food, to heavy metals in skincare products and over-eager medicine prescribing, the modern world is a bit of a minefield for our bodies. Even the mental stresses of coping with it
all can increase toxicity. All those toxins completely mess with blood sugar levels and the body’s ability to store good levels of key nutrients. The result? Tiredness, sickness, inflammation and an unnaturally addictive
consumption cycle that becomes increasingly difficult to break.

A great detox diet then is one that gives our liver and body a well-thought-out boost in the face of these various challenges. Simple strategic changes to the way we consume food and drink can really help negate the toxic impact of our world. If your intake is supporting rather than pummeling your liver, healing your gut, balancing your blood sugar levels and reducing the overall amount of toxins in your bloodstream… then you’re probably
on a pretty good detox diet. That’s the simple crux of what we’re trying to do with our Detox Kitchen meal plans, really (while also proving that such diets can be genuinely satisfying and delicious to boot).

When should I go on one?

It’s one thing to know what a detox diet is, but knowing when you need to undertake one is just as important. As a general rule of thumb, we’d suggest you think back to when you were at your healthiest – how does that
compare to right now? If you’re feeling more faded-glory than prime-of-your-life (or maybe you just never felt that great in the first place) then it’s probably time to give detoxing a go. Below is a checklist of more specific signs that it’s time to give your body a helping hand:

- You’re always tired

- You crave sugar and carbs

- You can’t concentrate properly and often feel foggy-headed

- You have trouble sleeping

- You suffer from bloating and other digestive issues

- Your joints ache

- You’re depressed, stressed and/or anxious

What should it involve?

A good, effective detox diet doesn’t have to be some extreme, tastebud-terrifying ordeal. If you take a look at our meal plans or the food we serve in our delis, or check out our cookbooks and recipes online, you’ll see that it’s all pretty simple and enticing: lots of balanced dishes made up from fresh, organic whole foods that taste all the better for having those qualities. The truth is there’s no strict definition for what constitutes a detox diet but we’d suggest that the following is a pretty good way to approach your own programme:

- Make whole foods the foundation of your meals, not additive-filled packaged foods.
- Consider ditching any food that you may be intolerant to for a few weeks (soy, gluten, peanuts, eggs, corn, shellfish and dairy are all common ones).
- Take a break from alcohol, which your body processes as a toxin.
- Embrace superfoods for a healthy gut (lemon water, leafy greens, beets and berries are a great starting point, or try adding in some chlorella supplements or adding wheatgrass powder to your juice).

In short:

Adhering to this simple framework should make a real improvement in the way you feel. You may not be able to change the toxin-filled world we live in that easily, but you can certainly help your body deal with it more effectively!