There’s no better way to jumpstart a healthier routine and boost your confidence this summer in your swim suit or bikini than with my 24 hour summer detox. Unlike its stricter cousin the fast – which I don’t recommend because fasting for long periods can make your metabolism slow right down and deprive your body of vital nutrients – this gentle detox won’t slow your metabolism or leave you starved. It simply boosts your nutrient intake and helps cleanse your body of toxins naturally.

Detoxing for 24 hours will make you feel lighter in yourself and reduce your susceptibility to bloating, stress and illness but the most immediate and striking improvement you may notice after detoxifying is that you will have much more energy. Other benefits include: shinier hair, clearer skin, better sleep, improved digestion, sweet breath, a more sensitive sense of smell, a clearer brain and a calmer state of mind.

 

Although I wouldn’t recommend it on a weekly or monthly basis, every now and then, say every 3 to 6 months, I do recommend a 24 detox to give your digestion a rest and to help your body rid itself of accumulated toxins. Remember, rather than starving you of nutrients, which will just cause your blood sugar levels and your mood to sink really low, on my 24 hour detox you will be eating plenty of cleansing, natural foods and drinking lots of water to support your body’s own in-house detox system, which is so effective that even the most sophisticated detox product can’t compete with it. You’ll also be encouraged to relax as much as possible as stress can affect your digestion and trigger weight gain, especially around your waist.

 

Try to choose a day when you can be sure of as much peace and quiet as possible. The day before starting your detox, try to cut out as many as possible of the following stimulants: tea, coffee, chocolate, alcohol and tobacco. Meat and processed food should also be avoided. Then on the day take as much rest as you can and drink pure water, little and often. It also helps to spend as much time outdoors as possible in the fresh air, which should be easy in the summer, but keep your activities gentle.

 

After your 24 detox summer try to stay off stimulants and processed foods for a week or, even better, for good. Take stock of your diet, chew your food slowly when you eat and listen to your body at all times – it instinctively knows what foods are good for you and what are not.

 

Note: If you are taking medication or have any chronic health condition; it’s very important to check with your doctor before following any detox plan.

 

On waking: Don’t lie in when you wake up; fling open your curtains, let the sunlight in and start your day. Lying in upsets your body clock and gives you symptoms of jet lag without the holiday. You should always aim to get up around the same time each day. If you think you aren’t getting enough sleep try to catch up on your sleep by going to bed earlier. As soon as you get up, drink one glass of warm or room temperature water, mixed with the juice of one lemon. This will flush your kidneys out and stimulate peristalsis, the contractions that move food through your digestive tract.

 

Breakfast: About half an hour after your glass of lemon juice have your breakfast. Eat plenty of summer fruit, for example peaches and strawberries, and combine them with a little protein, such as nuts and seeds. If you eat fruit on its own, its high sugar content will set you up for a crash later on. I also recommend oat porridge with chopped almonds and apple slices. Sprinkle some cinnamon and nutmeg, spices that will help stabilise your blood sugar.

 

Mid morning snack: Have an apple plus a handful of sunflower seeds.

 

Lunch: Prepare a seasonal soup: Saute 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 diced onion with some extra virgin olive oil. Add summer vegetables like carrots, squash, celery and peas and enough water or vegetable stock to cover the vegetables. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Check after 15 to 20 minutes to see if the veggies are fork tender. Serve hot.

 

Mid afternoon snack: Have a bowl of mixed berries with some raw, unsalted nuts followed by a pot of live, natural yogurt.

 

Dinner: Steamed fish or tofu with as much green bean or lentil salad as you like dressed with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and extra virgin oil. You can eat any kinds of beans and lentils, including red kidney, haricot, black eye, pinto and red, green and brown lentils.

 

During the day: Drink at least 8 glasses of filtered or mineral water. You can also enjoy diluted fruit juice and herbal tea; like chamomile, both will help cleanse your body. 

 

Exercise: Try to get at least 40 minutes of exercise. Break into a sweat if you can. If you don’t want to go for a walk or run put some music on and dance around for about half an hour or in two or three sessions of fifteen minutes. Best to get your exercise as early in the day as possible, as working out before bedtime will keep you awake. (Making love is, of course, an exception to that rule.)

 

Deep breathing: Most of us breathe shallowly from our chests rather than from our stomachs, depriving our bodies of much needed oxygen. Oxygen is a potent detoxifier. It not only feeds your muscles and cells, it detoxifies your organs and is just as important as eating healthy food. The way we breathe can have a big impact on our health so throughout your 24 hour detox try to incorporate deep breathing into your normal activities. Take deep breaths from your stomach, filing your lungs with air. (See ‘Deep Breathing’ in this newsletter for more tips on improving your breathing)

 

Before you go to bed: Be sure to have a relaxing, warm bath with aromatherapy oils. If you feel hungry after your bath try nibbling on some celery sticks as they are loaded with magnesium, which is a calming nutrient. Try to be in bed before 10 pm. A good night’s sleep is a detox and weight loss essential because lack of sleep disrupts hormones and triggers metabolic changes that mean you don’t process food well; between six and eight hours a night is considered optimum. Remember, you need your bedroom to be dark for chemicals in your brain to recognise that it is time for sleep so buying some black out curtains is a good investment for your health, especially during the summer months when it stays lighter for longer.

21%. According to the US Department of Agriculture that’s how much vitamin C is lost when you cook broccoli. To retain as many nutrients as possible don’t boil but lightly steam vegetables using small amounts of water.

Just 20 minutes of housework a week boosts moods while regular exercise in middle age can slow down ageing, according to research.

Two studies published earlier this year have now added to the weight of evidence on the benefits of taking exercise. The first showed how just 20 minutes of housework or gardening a week can reduce feelings of psychological distress. Those who managed to do even more exercise each week or who took part in sports had their spirits lifted even further, it showed. Although exercise is known to boost people’s mental health, researchers from University College London (UCL) wanted to find out how long people should exercise for and what type was best. They asked 19,842 men and women taking part in the Scottish Health Survey how much exercise, and what kind of activities, they did every week. People were also quizzed about their state of mind, with 3,200 members of the group found to be suffering stress or anxiety according to a commonly-used mental health scale.

 

The study found that any form of daily physical activity was linked to lower levels of distress even when factors like age and long-term health problems were taken into account. The range of activities shown to improve mood included housework, gardening, walking and sports.