The short answer is yes, but how you do it very much depends on the person and it depends on the detox.
The purpose of a detox is generally two-fold: to cleanse the system of built-up debris (toxins, undigested food, extra fat, etc.) and to give the system a short break from the hard work of constantly digesting food.
If you’re someone who already has a very clean diet – meaning a diet made up almost entirely of whole, nutrient-dense foods with little to no sugar, processed foods, chemical additives, caffeine, etc. – then you likely aren’t in too much need of the first purpose. However, you may want to do a 1-2 water or broth fast, or a vegetable juice cleanse, just to give your digestive system a nice break where it has to do almost no work.
I only suggest a fast or juice cleanse like this for a very short time (1-3 days max) and always encourage people to do it at a time when they can rest for most of the time. The idea with this type of detox is to let the body completely rest for these few days so that it can focus its energy on healing, recharging and regenerating rather than on digestion or assimilation of nutrients.
However, if you’re someone who does not have the cleanest diet – meaning you pretty regularly eat foods like dairy, sugar, processed foods with ingredients you don’t have in your kitchen, factory farmed meat, processed meat, caffeine, etc. – then I think a water or broth fast, or a vegetable juice cleanse is too intense and I instead recommend a detox that focuses on eliminating all of those nutrient-poor foods for a period of 14-28 days and replaces them with whole, nutrient-dense, high-fibre, high-vibration foods.
This gives your body a chance to cleanse itself of that built-up debris (toxins, undigested food, extra fat, etc.) without the shock of something as intense as a water fast or juice cleanse. This is a gentle way to cleanse and reset the system.
Please note the focus on whole, nutrient-dense, high-fibre, high-vibration foods. Taking some diet pill or powder or shake or bar or anything else that isn’t real food, as close to its original state as possible is actually going to have the opposite effect. Yes, even if it says “natural” on the box. These manufactured foods are foreign to your body and digestive tract and end up requiring more energy for your body to break down and resulting in more build-up of debris in your system.
Clients and readers were asking me all the time about detox programs and I saw so many people putting themselves on programs that I knew weren’t going to be good for them, so eventually I decided to create my own.
My Fueling Greatness: 28-Day Detox & Transformation program includes a meal plan made up of delicious gluten-free, plant-based meals and snacks that are all made entirely from whole, nutrient-dense, high-fibre, high-vibration foods. But, the meal plan and recipes are only one part of this program.
We also dive deep into the key principles of healthy eating so that, long after you complete the program, you can have great confidence and consistency in how you’re fueling yourself.
And, I help you get more in tune with your own, personal relationship and patterns with food and I give you tools and strategies to help you change those patterns so that you’re more in control of your choices.
The next round of Fueling Greatness kicks off on September 14. This is a group program that’s run entirely online so you don’t have to go anywhere! Grab you spot before September 1 and you’ll save $50 off the regular price! Learn more here.
