After a Christmas of constant eating and drinking, we may well lose our get up and go and be convinced that an elf somehow got into our wardrobe and secretly tightened up all our waistbands whilst we were sleeping……..

What if there was a super-quick, effortless cure that could reverse all the effects of Christmas? What if we could ‘wash away’ all those unwanted Calories and cleanse our body of the trifle-cheese-and-biscuits-n-boozey impurities and toxins? Well you can! I thought I would get in early and tell you about the DIY detox before you even think about the New Year ‘cleanse’.

Despite how easy it is to be tempted and lured into trying a detox diet or buying detoxifying drinks, lotions and potions, believe me when I say they are entirely unnecessary. Please don’t feel you need to waste your money on the empty promises of costly products. They are not the magic bullet they might lead us to believe, whether it is a claim to lose a stone in 10 days, banish tiredness and hunger forever or eliminate all that stubborn cellulite, the companies are essentially lying.

Will I get into trouble for saying that? Well the packaging looks super healthy and the messages are convincing but no matter which celebrity has transformed their appearance, do not believe the hype; Beyonce for example has a whole entourage to help her get ready to walk down the red carpet after giving birth! There is absolutely no evidence that any detox product really works. It won’t be uniquely powerful; the blend of key nutrients can probably be found in your salad draw and fruit bowl! You could take a relaxing detox bath, followed by a detox mask and detox massage, take some detox exercise, all washed down with a detox drink. Some detox products are also downright dangerous (the coffee enema to name one) and rather unpleasant. You may well feel cleaner and healthier but what is interesting is that no-one has been able to identify exactly what these impurities or toxins are! So how can we measure their removal? You could simply do all of the above for half the price, with exactly the same benefits of making us feel relaxed and virtuous. To be honest if you are happy with that and at the end of the day you feel healthier and more in control of your body, then great! If they give you a kick start, spur you on and help you focus on being healthier in other ways, go for it!

Now here’s the but…………..if anyone has ever lost weight on a so-called ‘detox diet’ I can pretty much guarantee it will be nothing to do with the exotic ‘active’ ingredients within the product. Most likely it will be because you will have cut down on the number of Calories you consume per day, you’ll be eating more fruit and veg and be drinking more fluid! If they get you to do that, OK but just be wary of some very restrictive detox products – particularly the cleansing juice diets that are very low in Calories and nutritional value – you may end up feeling worse than when you started!

Our body is extremely capable and effective at doing a DIY detox.  The liver, kidneys, lungs and skin do an amazing job of eliminating anything that is potentially harmful to the body.  As soon as we take on board chemicals from food, drink, medications or our environment, our body gets to work preventing them from reaching harmful levels. To be honest if our body becomes ineffective at doing this we would very quickly require some pretty immediate intervention or we’d be dead!

There really isn’t anything that exists on the market today to make our own detox system work any better other than drinking plenty of water, having a healthy, balanced diet and doing some exercise. Cut down on the processed rubbish, try to get your 5-a day, wholegrains and oily fish and you will be well on your way. It’s never too early (or late) to start this sort of diet, why wait until next week?