No, we’re not doing another detox or cleanse, EVER

Don’t get us wrong, we LOVE juicing. But we don’t believe in using juice as meal replacements for the proposes of a cleanse. Holiday season is over, and we’ve all over indulged a bit on the mince pies and mulled wine. But the way to get rid of that holiday weight is by eating right and exercising. Unfortunately there is no magic formula which will incinerate the extra pounds you’ve put on.

Juice cleanses whereby you subsist only on juice for 3 to 7 days is unhealthy and therefore counter productive. Your body needs all 3 macronutrients: carbs, fat and protein to function properly. It also needs a minimum amount of calories. Juice cleanses don’t offer you sufficient amounts of nutrients or calories (offering only  around 1000 instead of the 2000 you need). And sure you’ll lose water weight (by starving yourself), but it’s only temporary because once you start eating again, you’ll just regain the weight lost in a snap of a finger.

I’ve done a detox before called, the master cleanse: You have a glass of salt water in the morning, then for the rest of the day, you drink a concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. Needless to say, I was miserable by the end of the first day and utterly famished by the second.

I ended up giving up on the third day and in my depressed state, gorged on a pizza to make myself feel better. Then I was back at square one. Gwyneth Paltrow tried the cleanse herself and found it “hallucinogenic” and said her experience was “not what you would characterise as pretty. Or easy.” To read more on her take on detoxes, click here.

Unless you’re a drug addict, you don’t need to “detox”. Your body has it’s own detox system and that’s through your organs– liver, kidney, skin and lungs. You don’t need to deprive yourself of food to make your organs work better, in fact, it’s counter productive!

What to do instead

If you feel that you need to “detox”, perhaps after a night (or month) of heavy drinking, then the right thing to do is limit alcohol. Had too many christmas puddings? Up your veg intake and try limiting processed sweets.

Juices are a really healthy addition to any well balanced diet. And when we say “juices” we don’t mean juices that come in litre cartons from your supermarket. If you’re going to juice, make it yourself at home or buy it from a cold pressed juicery (our favourite is Raw Press in Mayfair London, because their juices are stored in glass bottles not plastic). Have a green juice to start your day and follow it with a breakfast of eggs and spinach or oats with nuts. Snack on a smoothie instead of a kit kat bar. Just don’t forget that you need real food.

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