Within a few weeks of our second child being born I felt very low on energy feeling completely out of it virtually all the time. I’d lost count of how many times I’d been to see the doctor, and every time I was told the same thing – you’re fine it must be stress.

I was visiting a chiropractor one day for an old war wound, and she suggested I needed to detox my body, and take some time to learn how to detox your body with a view to changing my eating habits. It sounded like a good idea, so I spent a few weeks doing some research to learn all about it, and get to grips with what is really involved and why the natural health industry recommend regular detox dieting and suggest getting started with the 1 week detox so avidly.

Another thing she suggested to me was to try a foot detox. I now use a foot spa about twice a week, but as a suitable alternative, those detox pads can be just as good – but doing it this way you miss out on the relaxing foot massage at the same time

Here’s what I learnt to detox your body.

Lots of water and herbal teas

One of the most important things you need to is drink lots of water while you are following a detox diet as it helps to eliminate water-soluble toxins from your body. It also helps to prevent constipation, helps your internal organs function more efficiently, and improves your complexion. Your goal should be to drink about 8 glasses (or 2 liters) of water each day, but increase that when the weather is hot.

A general pointer is to increase your water intake by about half a liter for each hour of exercise. The healthiest type of water is filtered tap water. Try to store your water at room temperature rather than in the fridge. If the thought of drinking that much water is overbearing, try herbal teas as well – loose leaf tea is the better option if it’s available. Green tea, horsetail, camomile and roibosch (or redbush) in particular are great choices as their hidden ingredients help boost the detox process. Roibosch (Redbush) tea is especially healthy as it is a rich source of natural antioxidants.

How To Fit It All In

That may seem like a lot of water to drink but it’s a lot easier than it first looks. Start your first glass of water with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice or root ginger instead of (or as well as) your morning coffee – this is a great way to activate your metabolism and bowel then try to drink another glass each time you take a break from your work.

Whenever you sit down to eat drink a galss of water first, if you make tea of coffee during the day drink water as well, another during the evening and perhaps a final glass of water last thing at night. Feel free to substitute some water with herbal teas.

The Fresher The Food The More Power It Adds To Your Health

This means choosing fresh food whenever possible and juice or blend them for maximum benefit or just eat them raw, for example as snacks, crudites, salads, and juices. Raw fruits and veg are still full of all their natural enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Once food has been kept too long, or when it is heated and cooked, its nutritional value plummets.

Buy locally grown produce if you can, ideally at farms and markets in your area. Food from other countries is generally harvested before it is ripe (so it will be short of it’s full vitamin and mineral supply) and will have a longer time to lose nutrients on it’s trip to the supermarkets.

Should You Go Organic

Buying organic produce where possible is better for your health but not totally necessary, because organic is usually much more expensive, but a little organic produce will go a long way to getting you started.

If you can’t buy many organic foods, don’t worry. It’s more important that you eat plentiful amounts of fresh foods, whether they are organic or not, rather than not get enough of them. However, there are some good reasons for concentrating on organic food on a healthy detox diet.

Organic foods are free from artificial pesticides and sprays, so they contain the lowest possible amounts of artificial, potentially toxic chemicals (such as nitrates). The practice of organic farming is very contentious due to the fact that there is growing evidence that the ‘cocktail’ effect of pesticide residues can cause long term health problems.

Organic foods are subject to a lot less processing. Ultimately this means organic foods not genetically modified and are free from hydrogenated fats and artificial additives. The taste and flavor of organic food is usually much better as well.

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