What is a detox and why is it needed?
Recently, the word "detox" found in beauty blogs much more common to all the word "diet". Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Drew Barrymore, Renee Zellweger, Madonna, and Beyoncé proudly lead an army of "greens", and the Internet is overwhelming to try detox retreat, try detox menus, or perform detox workout. Wonderzine decided to figure out what a detox is and who needs it.
What is detox
Whether we like it or not, something extra is constantly being put off in our body, be it unnecessary kilograms or toxins with which the entire civilized world has recently declared a cold war. Toxins are poisons that are harmful to the body, which trap us everywhere: in low-quality water and food, in inorganic cosmetics and household chemicals, in the environment (especially if you are a metropolis resident), in medicines and even in synthetic clothes and furniture. Toxins announce the main culprits of most diseases, poor immunity and digestion, dull and dull appearance and accompanying all of the above depression and stress. In theory, our body is designed in such a way as to get rid of all unnecessary. But when his own resources are not enough, various cleansing programs, detox gurus and nutritionists, who have recently started to appear like mushrooms after rain, come to the rescue. So, detox is for the body the very button "reset", clicking on which you can start the natural functions of cleansing and restoring our body.
What is the essence
Despite the existence of many programs and methods of purification, they are always based on several indestructible rules - if you follow them, you can do this general cleaning in your body. These include a certain diet, the exclusion of harmful dishes and the addition of products that promote - or at least not interfere with - the detoxification process (in the first place on this list are all kinds of green cocktails and smoothies, fresh juices, green salads, mashed soups, superfoods, legumes and cereals, subjected to minimal heat treatment), as well as physical exercises, SPA procedures, healthy sleep, relaxation and minimization of factors contributing to body pollution and stress. It is also recommended to use a lot of liquid in the form of plain water or herbal tea. Under the ban are all semi-finished products, white flour products and sweets, fast food, soda and juice from the packages, fried and fatty foods, meat and dairy products, and sometimes such innocent, seemingly foods like potatoes and bananas. In the black list of detox you will also find all known bad habits such as alcohol, smoking and a cup of aromatic espresso in the morning. As a result, chlorophyll, antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins and fiber should become your best friends, and harmful fats, empty carbohydrates, dyes and flavor enhancers, including all products containing sugar and salt, are officially declared enemies.
But the game is worth the candle: as a reward for food austerity you will find an endless list of bonuses, among them - getting rid of excess weight and allergies, improving the complexion and skin color, solving almost all problems with digestion, strong immunity, excellent mood and energy enough for at least another six months.
I learned about detox from my friend Zhenya Kazarnovskaya. Her slenderness and brilliant eyes made me think about cleansing - before that I had never tried a single diet in my life. For several years I have been fasting, but this is a religion, and a diet for the sake of changing the appearance never entered my life. I really liked the state that you experience during detox: I did not drink a single gram of coffee, and I had more strength and inner excitement than on the most intense working days, when the amount of work is such that you become reactive (though drinking a ton coffee). And then - not a bit. The most difficult was the rejection of bread. It was not difficult, but simply unbearable! But despite this, I will definitely go through the purification once again and advise everyone to try it at least once.
How to prepare and go detox
Preparing for detox can take from a week to a month, it all depends on the source data and the innate love of green salads and fresh juices. If the latter is not to rush into detox right away, you shouldn’t rush into your body: the body can simply not cope with the amount of toxins that have accumulated in it, and then you will have to push the idea of cleansing into a long box. During preparation, it is necessary to gradually abandon banned products and add as many recommended ones as possible: for example, replace white bread with whole-wheat bread, white rice with brown, and cereals containing gluten with gluten-free ones. Directly detox itself can take from several days to several months - it all depends on your goals, abilities and willpower. It will take about a week to get out of detox, during which you need to add familiar foods and watch your body react. If you suddenly feel uncomfortable after eating, for example, bread, then this is a sure sign that it is better to refuse it altogether. The best time to go through detox is the beginning of spring and / or autumn. It was at this time that the body, according to experts and nutritionists, gets rid of everything superfluous without much difficulty. It is also desirable that during detoxification you are not distracted by thoughts about future deadlines, dinner parties and breakfasts with colleagues, during which it will be difficult for you to deny yourself a cup of forbidden cappuccino with a croissant. So it is advisable to plan your future detox in such a way that it coincides with your vacation or, at least, with a quiet working regime.
Detox retreat
If you have unlimited financial possibilities and time, but your willpower is a little pumped up, it is better to go to one of the detox retreats scattered around the world, where you don’t have to worry about the quality of the products, their preparation and the search for a yoga teacher or a fitness trainer. Such retreats are usually held in picturesque places, and all you have to do is just enjoy the beautiful views and taste the miniature dishes served by the best chefs on expensive china. The hottest areas are the Henri Chenot Clinic in Merano and the Complete Retreat of the English naturopath Lisa Jeans in Spain. The price of lost kilograms and acquired health will amount to 4,170 euros per week in the first case and 1,750 euros in the second. As a rule, during the detox retreats, the schedule is planned in such a way that you simply do not have free time not only to think about food, but even to read a book. Light meals (mainly raw food), fresh air, walks in the mountains, yoga, strength exercises, meditation, dancing, massage and other pleasant SPA-procedures - this is an exemplary list of activities that await you throughout the week. Fans of such programs are many movie and show business stars, where they leave about four to five extra pounds after or before filming in the next film masterpiece.
I learned about detox many years ago, after my friends visited Lisa Jeans in Spain. My first detox was at Kalari Kovilakom in India. Unfortunately, I could not stay for a full term (21 days) and reduced the program to 14. Detox is a serious process that requires serious consideration. In India, Panchakarma is offered, where toxins are removed through hot, warm melted butter mixed with herbs and medicines that you drink for four to seven days. On the second day I started a real break-up. The whole body ached, it was difficult to find a place in which the pain let go. But it's worth it: the result after 14 days is not only a cleansed body and a minus a couple of kilograms, but also a detox of the brain: much of what seemed important was a complete nonsense after the clinic. After this trip, detox once or twice a year became a mandatory program for me. So early next year I plan either Chiva-Som in Thailand, or Villa Paradiso on Lake Garda. I recommend detox to everyone - for him it is not even necessary to fly over the oceans. You can clean at home, there are many different detoxes, the main thing is to strictly follow all the rules.
Detox home delivery
If you just don’t have time to walk in the mountains and bask under the strong hands of massage therapists, but you still want to get rid of the hated toxins, specially designed nutrition programs will come to the rescue, and a courier will take you to your home or office. The market leaders in Britain are recognized by The Pure Package, whose clients are Lily Cole, Florence Welsh, Mark Fast, Hugh Jackman and others. Also, detox on juices is gaining more popularity now, the so-called juice cleanse: companies like BluePrint, Liquiteria, Ritual Cleanse and Organic Avenue offer delivery of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies with talking names Skin trip, Killer x, Royal flush, Transition and Booster. In our country, this task is perfectly handled by the company Just For You and its more budget version Green Diet. In this case, you also get rid of any concern about the quality of the products and the search for recipes, because in the courier's big black bag there will be not only a variety of fresh juices, smoothies and salads, but also an exact schedule when all this should be eaten and drunk. The duration of the program you choose yourself, but the recommended period is from five to seven days, after which you can talk about some visible result.
Himself a specialist
The most budget option with which you can do a detox is to go through it yourself, with the support of sites like Salatshop and Yoga Journal, which regularly run detox programs online. Here you are responsible for finding the necessary products and their preparation, as well as for your own motivation and performing additional procedures. And if you want more, you can become a real detox guru yourself by studying on the Detoxworld website or at the school of renowned raw chef Matthew Kenny, where you learn the basic rules of detoxing, and then you can teach them the rest.
I have a girlfriend, her name is Alyona Doletskaya. From time to time, they, along with my wife, begin to take care of my health and take with them to various detoxes. Thanks to them, I drank cucumber juice in Spain for a month, did not give up enema in Thailand, and went with a bottle of diluted suspension in the mountains in Austrian Carinthia. The most difficult thing in detox is not the process itself, but the development of its results afterwards. Moscow life washes away all its charms for two months. Without violence over common sense, detox is a useful thing: it not only cleans the stomach with intestines, but also the brain.
THE PHOTO: cover photo via Shutterstock, The Pure Package / flickr.com