AFP Health Reviews

Well the festive season has passed, and here we are in the New
Year, contemplating our lives and our navels. The question being is
your navel in the same place as it was before the season of over
indulgence? If you have emerged from 2005 fighting fit and still
fitting snugly into your cycling shorts, then very well done. If
however 2006 finds you languishing in your emergency joggers(the huge
ones at the bottom of the drawer) and still miserably picking over the
last of the novelty-shaped cheese snackos, then YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Help
is at hand; at this time of the year the papers and magazines are
crammed full of new diets, and the buzz word is DETOX. So should we
detox?

There are so many expensive products and plans on offer; 7
Day Detox diets, nutritional supplements, scientific-looking kits
containing herbs and exotic ingredients. They claim to eliminate
toxins that have built up within our bodies and many contain ‘diuretic’
herbs to encourage urination, and get rid of them. This all seems like a
good idea, especially if we feel sluggish or guilty about
overindulging. Thank goodness there is a wealth of products to get us
back into tip-top condition ASAP.

The problem is that there is
little scientific evidence that these things really work, other than
making us think that we are doing something healthy. The massive diet
and nutrition industries have created yet another myth, the Detox Myth,
encouraging us to spend money on pills, treatments, spa breaks, books
etc, but the benefits of the products are questionable, and the claims
are not supported by science.

Each day, normal bodily processes
(even stressful situations) produce ‘toxic’ chemical products which the
body then uses, breaks down or excretes. If you eat plenty of whole
foods and fruit and vegetables, stay hydrated, and exercise regularly,
your body will work efficiently to metabolize and deal with bodily and
environmental chemicals, but this needs to be worked at every day of
your life; and that is the naked truth of the matter. Most people just
don’t want to hear it; it seems like too much hard work and that it why
the quick-fix industries exist. They are selling us the belief that we
can behave exactly how we wish, and then spend money to make it better
quickly and without sustained effort.

So my New Year message is to reject the Detox
mentality! How much difference can a 7 day plan really make? Our body
has many different rhythms and processes some taking hours, some taking
months, and changing your life drastically for a short time will never
confer a lasting benefit. Be kinder to yourself, and take some time to
consider how you can be more healthy, then set yourself an achievable
goal each week, for example; week 1- drink 1.5 liters of water each day,
week 2: snack on fruit, week 3: find a walking partner. Healthy living
is about making gentle and sustainable changes to our diet and
lifestyle, allowing our body to acclimatize, and our tastes to adjust
slowly, until eating well and exercising becomes a habitual and normal
part of every-day life. This is the true path to a long, productive and
quality life, something that you cannot buy in a box, however much
money you spend.

Until next time, take care and stay healthy!

Vikki.

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