Demything Detox Diets

In recent years there has been an increase in demand for the so-called detox diets and cleanses. Many products claim that they cab help you to lose weight, get fitter, feel more alert and improve your concentration and mood, all just by “detoxing” your body and cleansing yourself of all those harmful things that seem the plague the modern human digestive system.

Well, first off, lets deimyth the de-tox. Our bodies, or to be more precise our liver, has the constant task of removing toxins from the food and drink we consume to cleanse the body, to keep us healthy.

A person with a healthy diet who partakes in regular exercise will generally have a perfectly healthy digestive system. Colonic irrigations, enemas and cleanses are really not required if you are already healthy, and mostly a waste of time and money if you do not plan to make permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle.


A few years ago I read a newspaper column by a woman who had colonic irrigation cleanse with a friend. Her friend was a healthy eater and took exercise often. After the cleanse the nurse advised her friend that there was nothing to clean, her bowels were already clean due to the fact that she followed a healthy and well balanced diet.

So if you eat healthy and exercise you really do not need to “detox”.  And even if you have been eating junk food for years, within a week or two of eating healthy you body will be cleaner. Eating foods which contain roughage (insoluble fiber) provides you with nutrients, vitamins and also helps to keep your insides clean.

However, if you are convinced that you need a detoxifying concoction, then try one of these drinks that will perk you up and give you a refreshing little boost.

Lemon Detox Drink

With a detox diet it is good to start the day with a warm lemon drink. Just squeeze fresh lemons into warm water. This drink will go straight to the gut to help keep you regular. Drinking cold drinks first thing in the morning can cause the bowels to tighten up, leading to bloating problems.

Linseed / Flax seed Infusion

About half an hour after your lemon water drink a linseed / flax seed brew. There are two ways to make a linseed brew. Either use 2 heaped teaspoons to infuse a glass of water (the quick method) or soak 3 teaspoons of linseeds in a glass of boiled water the night before, then drink when cool in the morning. In both cases do not drink the linseed, the flavor and nutrients have already been extracted into the water.

Breakfast


On a detox day breakfast is the third meal of the day! For breakfast you should eat just fruit served at room temperature. Best not to eat oranges due to their acidity. Grapes are good but should be eaten on their own. Best fruit options are: apples, cherries, papayas, pears, pineapple, plums, apricots or berries.

An alternative breakfast option is a vegetable soup made with cucumber, ginger, alfalfa and carrot. A warm healthy soup to start the day in not as strange as it may first appear!

Tea and Juice Breaks

Throughout the detox day you can drink teas and juices – remember that you are detoxing yourself not starving yourself. Camomile and nettle teas work well. The juices should be seasonal and drunk at room temperature. In the winter it is OK to add some warm water to help control the temperature.

Detox Lunch

The detox lunch is a simple affair. A raw salad served with sprouts is a popular option for lunch. Light cucumber and celery soups are also good. Homemade ones ensure that you eat healthy ingredients.

Detox Snacks

As a detox is by its nature very low in calories, it is important to have plenty of healthy snacks available to pick at during the day. The best options are sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

You should also drink smoothies in the afternoon to fill the gap. Take a look at our selection of smoothies.

Detox Dinner


Dinner should be similar to lunch, i.e. a raw salad with raw sprouts.

Detox Supper

No doubt about an hour after dinner you will be feeling hungry again. Now is the time to eat the vegetable soup that you started earlier! The vege soup is very simple. Just wash and peel the following vegetables: carrots, red beets, potatoes, celery, parsley and turnips. Add them all to a pot of water, add some cayenne for added flavor. Simmer on a very low temperature for about 2 hours before serving. Once again, preparation is essential!

Finished the Detox Day With Another Warm Lemon

You should finish your day with another warm lemon drink, just like the one you had first thing.

If you get hungry in the evening / late at night then it is OK to eat some celery. Ideally you should be in bed early and aim to get at least 10 hours sleep.

10 Comments on “Demything Detox Diets”

  1. AAfter Search says:

    I am not so comfortable with too much fruits. So, what do you think about having a high-fiber cereal breakfast? Can I have a boiled egg?

  2. MotleyHealth says:

    Cereal and eggs is not really a detox, more a normal breakfast!

  3. I cant eat most vegetables can i just make soup out of carrots and potatoes?

  4. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Kailah, you have to use what you can, so if you cannot eat celery and cucumber then replace with something light and healthy. Carrots and potatoes are high GI and not ideally suited to a detox. But you use what you can. Try it and report back on the results.

  5. I am interested in the One Day Detox Diet, but I do not know what linseed is so I can make the linseed brew.

  6. MotleyHealth says:

    Linseed oil is also known as flax seed oil. It is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum, Linaceae)

    You can make a flaxseed tea infusion with 1 Teaspoon Ground Flax Seed infused in 8 Ounces boiled water.

  7. I was reading an article online and it mentioned that liquid chlorophyll is good for so many different things. Is this true? And if so what is it good for?

  8. MotleyHealth says:

    There is some research that suggests it does have some health benefits, however I cannot find anything specific to health for humans. The paper “Green vegetables, red meat and colon cancer: chlorophyll prevents the cytotoxic and hyperproliferative effects of haem in rat colon” concludes

    “green vegetables may decrease colon cancer risk because chlorophyll prevents the detrimental, cytotoxic and hyperproliferative colonic effects of dietary haem.” Source: https://academic.oup.com/carcin/article/26/2/387/2476080?login=false

    So it could help with the reduction of bowel cancer risk. Some other studies suggest it could act as an anti-oxidant, but then there are so many other anti-oxidant sources and whether drinking liquid chlorophyll is any better than eating a healthy salad or some berries is not known.

  9. Ok thanks for the info. By the way, what are the benefits of a detox? I have heard individuals such as Lee Haney (8 time Mr. Olympia)suggesting people should detox before they engage on a workout plan. Is there any benefit of doing this? How often should a person detox?

  10. MotleyHealth says:

    If you have a healthy diet already there really should be no reason to detox. The liver is constantly detoxing, that is its function. If you do not usually have a healthy diet, then changing to one should help your liver function more efficiently, which means better detoxification. Generally “detox diets” seem to be calorie restrictive diets with some specific ingredients, such as lemons and limes. Eat plenty of salads and healthy fruits and limit refined, processed foods and red meats (i.e. a healthy, balanced diet) and you should be OK.

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