Ukraine’s lifestyle bloggers and celebrities have been bitten by the detox bug.
Fad diets are out, and drinking only smoothies and fruit juice every one-and-a-half to two hours, along with unlimited amounts of water and herbal tea, is in.
But while detox programs claim benefits such as improving skin tone, boosting the immune system, and reducing weight, they’re definitely not to everyone’s taste.
Youtube blogger Lera Kameskaya thought that detoxification would go smoothly for her. She ordered a detox course that was to last three days. But at the end of the first day, she felt abdominal pain.
“I was a little disappointed in the evening. I felt really weak. I couldn’t even stand up,” Kamenskaya said, speaking about her experience in a video on Youtube. Before detoxing, she took a blood test and an ultrasound scan, and their results indicated she was in the clear to start the program. But she had to give up on the second day, and start eating solid food.
Tatiana Fedorova, a stylist at Ukrainian television’s 1+1 channel, had a better experience with her detox program, but still admits that only her stubbornness helped her to get through the full five-day course. She suffers from gastritis, and her doctors were against her taking the program, saying she should limit herself to a one-day detox course.
She went ahead anyway, and lost two kilograms. Now she’s eyeing a 10-day course.
Kamenskaya and Fedorova’s contrasting experiences show there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” detox program – they have to be tailored to an individual’s particular metabolism and physical condition.
And nutritionist Oksana Skytalinska says detox is not just about drinking juices, it’s about a healthy lifestyle. Humans, in fact, have their own internal detoxification system – the liver. Keeping it healthy, by avoiding too much sugar and fried food, should eliminate the need to go on a detox program in the first place.
“Natural” detox also requires eating food that is rich in protein, while not too high in fat, including diary products, eggs, beans, nuts and poultry. A significant portion of a healthy diet is made up of vegetables — especially leafy greens, which are rich in folic acid, an important element in the natural detoxification system.
Besides that, food rich in dietary fiber is essential. It absorbs harmful toxins and high-cholesterol “bad fats.” According to Skytalinska, healthy fats — such as olive oil, and the oils in flax seeds and nuts – along with vitamins C and B, and magnesium, are also important in cleansing the body of toxins.
Above all, Skytalinska told Kyiv Post, a healthy lifestyle and proper detoxification also require regular exercise and sufficient water consumption. The immune system is also boosted by taking a cold bath or shower and then going into a sauna, and getting at least seven or eight hours of sleep, on a regular schedule, in a dark room. Why dark? Because it stimulates the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps animals regulate their sleep cycles, which is a powerful antioxidant, she said.
Smoothie or juice-drink-based detox, on the other hand, is simply not for everyone, Skytalinska said. For a start, juices contain lots of organic acids and can have an acidic taste.
But on yet another hand, it is good to drink only juices for a single day, Skytalinska said, and gerontologists, scientists who study the aging process, recommend reducing one’s calorie intake in general. According to Skytalinska, the right way to do detox is to do it two days per week — but not on consecutive days. If the body reacts badly to the process, it’s best to start with just one day a week on detox, and then take it from there if all goes well.
On each day of detox, calorie intake should be from 500 to 700 calories. It’s not mandatory to stick only to fluids – salads (without sweet dressings, of course) are fine, in moderation. Juice drinks or smoothies should be neither too sweet nor too sour. According to Skytalinska, ideally pulped vegetables should be added to fruit juices to ensure a Smoothie is properly pH-balanced and nutritious. Use a juicer to make fresh juices from celery, cabbage leaves, pumpkins, apples, spinach, Skytalinska recommended.
“If we reduce calories, we will extend the lives of our cells. We will have a very low risk of disease,” she said.
To buy juices or order a detox course, go to http://wowdetox.com.ua/ (price start from Hr 600 for one-day program), http://detoxshop.com.ua/ (Hr 552), http://eatit.com.ua/ (Hr 590-690).
