Veggie Blog

A rejuvenating 5-day body detox plan

In today’s world, you can hardly spend a day without meeting some pollution. At work, you may not be completely sure about the cleanliness of the water you drink or the food you eat. Around other people, you can hardly avoid air pollution, be it from smokers, sprays or vehicle exhaust. This can affect health in one way or another, even when your body shows no obvious reaction.

For these reasons, many people turn to a detox plan as a way to support a healthy body, a clear mind and good relationships with others.

How the body cleans itself

Our body has its own system of healing and detoxifying: the liver, kidneys, lungs, gut and skin remove waste every day. There is no evidence that this system becomes ‘overloaded’ in healthy people, but it does work best when you eat well, drink enough water, sleep and avoid smoking and too much alcohol.

Short detox plans are not a medical treatment and cannot remove toxins faster than your organs already do. What a plan like the 5-day detox can do is give you a break from processed food and help you start healthier habits, which many people find refreshing.

What to eat on the 5-day plan

Detox food is the core of the 5-day detox plan. During the plan, certain foods are avoided. Your meals consist mainly of fresh fruit and green, young vegetables. Fried food, processed food and food additives are left out. Meat is also dropped for a day or two; this is a matter of choice, as meat is digested normally by a healthy body.

Good foods to include are garlic, broccoli, beets, and seeds or nuts. Fresh fruit juices can be taken as drinks; if you take medicines, ask your doctor about grapefruit juice, which interacts with many drugs. Drink plenty of water as well, around six to eight glasses a day. Water helps your kidneys do their work, and waste leaves the body mainly in urine and stool.

Although you eat less while on the plan, you should not go hungry. Because your intake is limited to healthy foods, many people find it gives them a lift, but eat enough to keep your energy up.

Safety tips

There is no need to repeat the plan on a fixed schedule; a healthy everyday diet matters more. To make sure a plan is safe for you, consult a dietitian or doctor first, especially if you are pregnant, have diabetes or another health condition, or take regular medication.

After a few days of eating mostly fruit and vegetables, many people say they feel lighter and more alert. These are personal reports; the plan does not flush toxins out or change how much oxygen reaches your body.

Taking care of yourself on the inside matters as much as how you look on the outside.

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