How to: Detox

Mon, 9 April 2012 11:54AM

If you feel like you’ve over-indulged this past Easter weekend (uh, join the club), you might just be hoping to come across some get-healthy inspiration. Well, look no further!

Sure, we know PRIMPED is a beauty site, but looking good starts with feeling good, and lashings of lipstick and illuminiser can only do so much if your skin and hair aren’t glowing from great health. Just like Kimberly Snyder’s, celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy and the Body You’ve Always Wanted, photographed here with her just-as-glowy client and friend, Hilary Duff:

But more on the super-healthy Kimberly in a minute. For now, let’s talk detoxing in general …

And no, detoxing doesn’t have to be extreme, like one of those week-long juice cleanses or lemon fasts. Nor does it have to be difficult. As most nutritionists will tell you, a good detox – like a stay at a health resort – should be all about setting up simple, good eating habits for life (not restricting food so much that you’ll end up bingeing and going right back to where you began).

So, ready to get started? Read on for our top tips for clearing out the system. Follow these for a week or so and (after perhaps a few days of headache-y sugar- and caffeine-withdrawals) we guarantee you’ll feel better than ever – and look glowier than ever – before you know it.

Cut Out … meat (except for fresh seafood), dairy (except for organic plain yoghurt), wheat, yeast, processed or packaged food, fried food, refined sugar, caffeinated drinks… And, of course, alcohol and cigarettes.

Focus On … salads and vegetables (eat at least five serves daily – although limit starchy veggies, like potato and pumpkin), fruit (two serves daily), whole grains (e.g, brown rice, quinoa, oats, barley), eggs, fish, nuts and seeds, natural muesli, non-dairy milk (e.g., soy, rice, almond). If your budget can stretch to it, go for organic produce as much as possible.

Up the H2O. Commit to drinking two litres of water a day, which will help keep your system flushed and hydrated, as well as keep hunger at bay. Start every morning with a cup of hot water, flavoured with the juice of half a lemon – it’s a great way to cleanse the liver and prepare the body for the day. Throughout the day, sip on herbal teas or try an LSD (dandelion soy latte) if you’re craving your old coffee ritual.

Think Small Meals, More Snacks. To establish an effective metabolism rate (which means a more manageable weight long-term), start eating smaller meals, but more in-between. Breakfast remains the most important dish of the day; fuel up on natural muesli, yoghurt and fruit, or oatmeal garnished with soy milk and berries. Lunch could be an egg salad with brown rice or a bean and vegetable salad, while for dinner, try steamed fish and veggies or a barley-rich minestrone. Snack ideas: a handful of nuts and seeds, rice cakes with hummus and tomato, a banana smoothie (with soy milk, natural yoghurt and maybe some extra bran for good measure), or crudités like carrots and celery dipped in fresh salsa.

Post-Detox … Consider seeing a nutritionist to help you plan out the best eating programme for you. Make sure it’s realistic enough to stick to, but healthy enough to keep that detoxed glow going on and on.

Warning: Skin & Sugar: Post-detox, get used to eating much less refined sugar (cakes, biscuits), avoiding artificial sugars, and limiting your fruit intake to two serves per day. There’s a lot of talk in beauty circles about the skin-ageing effects of glycation, which is – short story – when an excess amount of sugar in the body cross-links with collagen and elastin, thereby decreasing their functioning. Many companies have started to add anti-glycation technology to face creams. But a much cheaper and more effective way to fight glycation is by avoiding excess sugar in the first place!

For More Inspiration and Ideas … Buy Jody Vassallo’s great little recipe book, Detox ($9.95 from selected health food and book stores)– it’s packed with snacks and dishes that are as good for you as they look and taste.

And if you’re very, very serious about doing a health-180, check out The Beauty Detox Solution ($24.95, from book stores).

Again, it’s not about a short-term cleanse, but more about making long-term lifestyle changes that will keep your system clean and functioning effectively (and so, your skin more glowy). It’s a plant-food-oriented, alkaline-based way of eating that does require quite a lot of effort and prep work, so much so that you probably won’t be able to follow it to the letter … But chances are you’ll get some great tips and inspiration, even if it’s just making her famous, celeb-loved Glowing Green Smoothie.

Good luck, Primpettes!

Posted by: Katrina Lawrence

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Tags: caffeine, detox, glycation, health, health retreat, healthy, hilary duff, illuminator, illuminiser, inner health, juice detox, Kimberly Snyder, sugar, water