Detox

A good detox is like spring cleaning for the body. It’s also a chance to do a little damage control after a period of overindulging, stress or toxic overload.

I’ve developed a Vegan Detox Plan, with a little help from a local naturopath. My Vegan Detox Plan is largely based on the classic elimination diet (or allergy diet). It’s easy, inexpensive, gentle and completely safe. And the results will amaze you. Within a few days, you’ll start feeling more energetic and clear-headed. Within a week, your skin will start to glow. By the end of two weeks, you’ll be feeling so fantastic that you might just start spontaneously levitating. Okay, well maybe not. But you will feel pretty darn great.

A thorough detox has three objectives - to CLEAN, to REST and to BALANCE. Using only natural, wholesome foods (no fancy ingredients or equipment needed!), you can easily achieve all three. Here’s how:

1. Every morning, start your day with a LARGE glass of room temperature water with freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/4 to 1/2 a lemon is a good amount), followed by a wheat or barley grass greens drink. Amazing Grass and Greens First are my favourites. Why? Lemon juice has a cleansing effect on the liver, and the greens have a toxin-releasing effect on the blood and digestive system. Together, these two drinks taken first thing in the morning begin the detox process for the day. This falls under the “cleaning” objective.
   

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3. With breakfast, have a spoonful of freshly ground flax seeds. Start with half a tablespoon and slowly work your way up to two full tablespoons. Happily, ground flax is really easy to incorporate into just about anything - cereal, fruit, salads, soups, baked goods - and has a nice nutty flavour. Why? The flax works as a very gentle fiber laxative and will work with your body’s natural rhythms to facilitate the cleansing process in your colon and bowels. This also falls under the “cleaning” objective.
   

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5. So what can you eat?
   

6. ★All fresh vegetables
   

7. ★All fresh fruits
   

8. ★All WHOLE grains, except wheat
   

9. ★All beans, except soy
   

10. ★All nuts and oils, except peanuts (favour walnuts and walnut oil while cleansing)
    

11. ★Black tea, green tea, and coffee are OK in moderation (1-2 cups per day)
    

12. ★The best cleansing fare is nourishing, nutrient-dense food like homemade soups, stews and chili made with love
    

13. ★Why? Since the idea is to clean out and balance your system, you want to ensure that any food you put back in is the healthiest possible, and also the easiest for the body to use. Basic, whole, unrefined and unprocessed foods retain the maximum amount of nutrition. As such, your body will be able to utilize the nutrients in these foods to reap the most nutritional benefits. This accomplishes the “balancing” objective.
    

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15. What should be avoided?
    

16. ★Meat, fish, dairy and eggs
    

17. ★All sugars, refined and otherwise (this includes even natural sugars like honey, molasses, maple syrup and dried fruits)
    

18. ★Soy
    

19. ★Wheat
    

20. ★Peanuts
    

21. ★Cold foods and cold drinks should be kept to a minimum
    

22. ★Anything processed or pre-packaged (this even includes “healthy” junk food like veggie sausages, Earth Balance margarine, non-dairy ice cream, chips, bars and cookies). A good rule of thumb (and I’ve swiped this rule from Michael Pollan) is if the food contains any ingredients would not be found in a normal person’s kitchen (xanthan gum, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, carrageenan, mono and diglycerides, for example), then it should be avoided completely.
    

23. ★Why? The goal here is to avoid any and all foods that can be challenging for the body to process. Dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, and peanuts are the most common problematic foods and many people are mildly allergic to one or more of these items but never realize it until they remove them from their diet completely. Then suddenly, they find that the indigestion, gas, bloating, acne, eczema, runny nose and hay fever issues that have always plagued them are miraculously gone! Additionally, sugar (even natural forms of sugar) wreaks havoc on your hormones.  It’s nice to let your insulin take a break from the wild roller coaster that sugar forces it to go on. And as for cold food and drinks, these are harder for your body to process and utilize in general so they are counterproductive to the balance you are trying to achieve by cleansing. By avoiding these foods during your Vegan Detox, you are accomplishing the “balancing” and “resting” objectives.
    

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25. How should you eat?
    

26. ★When you plan to eat some fruit or anything sweet, try to have a little fat and fiber beforehand. A small handful of nuts or a couple of slices of cucumber dipped in hummus is a perfect pre-fruit appy. Both fat and fiber curb the insulin response to the sugar in the fruit, thus keeping your hormones nicely even-keel.
    

27. ★Do not skimp on healthy fats during this detox. Good fats are very grounding and balancing for the whole body, and they’re also very satisfying to eat. Since there are so many foods that are off-limits during this detox, having the freedom to indulge in some delicious healthy fats makes it easier to stick with the plan.
    

28. ★Similarly, do not skimp on whole grains. Enjoy lots of brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet, barley and whole oats. Whole grains fill you up and are loaded with colon-cleansing fiber. Add some beans and you’ve got a nice little punch of protein. Throw some veggies and spices on top of that and you’ve created the ultimate healthy meal trifecta!
    

29. ★Listen to your body. Aim to feel honestly hungry before you eat and avoid eating just because “it’s lunch time”. That works in reverse too - if you feel you need a little something extra even though you’ve just eaten, go for it! Your body knows what it needs, and you should trust that. During a detox, everything is resetting and you may find your appetite goes a little wonky (in either direction) for a few days. This is totally normal and you should absolutely go with the flow.
    

30. ★Eat slowly and CHEW YOUR FOOD. Sounds silly but this is actually a lot harder than it sounds. The more you chew, the more nutrients are released from the food and are mixed with digestive enzymes - this means that more of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients will be available to your body.
    

31. ★Don’t eat after 7pm if possible. Part of accomplishing the “rest” objective is making sure that your body has plenty of time to focus on restoring itself while you sleep. If you’re system is too busy digesting food during that time, the attention is taken away from the nightly internal repairs being done.
    

32. ★Experiment with flavour and get creative. Herbs and spices are your friends. During a detox is the perfect time to try cooking a new vegetable that you’ve never had before. If you have fun with making your meals, it will keep you from getting bored and feeling tempted to throw in the towel and have a brownie.
    

33. ★Be prepared - sugar WILL try to lure you with its sweet siren song. Expect this and be armed with healthier alternatives at the ready. The more sugar you are used to eating, the stronger the temptation will be. But I think if you know this going in, it’s easier to stay strong. As your body begins to detox and become less dependent on your sugar fix, you will find that it becomes easier and easier to resist. By the end of two weeks without any sugar, you won’t be missing it at all anymore; and you’ll find that something like a fresh pear or juicy orange tastes like sweet ambrosia. Just as it should!
    

34. ★Why? The main idea here is to eat mindfully and carefully, taking into account the effect that everything you put in your mouth will have. Eating in this way falls under the “balancing” objective.
    

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36. Drink at least two liters of water throughout the day. If you enjoyed your morning lemon water, go ahead and add lemon to your daily two-liter consumption as well. Why? Water taken in this amount throughout the day helps to flush out the bladder and urinary tract, and also facilitates the movement of your bowels, thus continuing the “cleaning” objective as well as setting your system up so it is able to absorb more nutrients from future meals. Since it’s nearly impossible not to eat a lot of fiber during this Vegan Detox Plan, this water will help to keep everything moving along smoothly.
    

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38. If you are currently taking a multivitamin, continue with it during your detox. If you are taking a vitamin, do make sure that it’s a good quality one - Thorne and Sisu are good brands. It is also very beneficial to take an omega 3-6-9/DHA/EPA encapsulation as well as a probiotic. There are vegan/vegetarian options for both available at most health foods stores or online. Why? The omega 3-6-9/DHA/EPA supplement works as an anti-inflammatory and provides benefit to the major structural components of the retinal membranes, nerves and brain. It positively impacts the body and all its functions at every cellular level. It also helps to protect the heart and promotes healthy hair, skin and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance. The probiotic helps to improve intestinal transit time, facilitate the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon and enhance immunity by regulating lymphocytes and antibodies. Not bad, eh? All these actions fall under the “cleaning” and “balancing” categories.
    

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40. One of the most important things you can do for yourself during this Vegan Detox Plan is to get a good night’s sleep. Commit to getting at least 8 hours per night. Make sleep a priority and stick with your commitment. And make your room as dark as you can - pitch black if possible. Why? Sleep, in general, is the time when your body repairs and restores itself. This takes a considerable amount of time every night, and when you take away from that time you naturally cut that process short. During a detox is when your body needs sleep the most. Sleeping in pitch black improves hormonal balance and stress recuperation. Getting the right amount of zzz’s every night helps to accomplish the “rest” objective of your detox.
    

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42. Exercise during this detox is a good idea, but don’t worry - what I’ve got in mind is easy and enjoyable. All I want you to do is get outside and go for a leisurely walk for about 30 minutes a day. Or take your kid to the park. Or go window shopping. If it’s raining, then grab your umbrella and go. Just get outside and get moving. If you are in the habit of taking in full blown work0uts, you can certainly continue with this during your detox. Just make sure to listen to your body and stop if you feel tired or “off”. You may find that your energy lags a bit during the first few days and it’s not uncommon to feel like just taking it easy. If you feel like this, go with it and don’t push yourself. The most important thing is to get some sunlight and fresh air for 30 minutes a day. Why? Getting outside, breathing in some fresh air and moving your body is a great way to ground yourself, and helps to keep you feeling emotionally sound. This is part of the “balance” objective.
    

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44. Rest and relax as much as you can while detoxing. Give your body an opportunity to do its thing. Schedule a massage if you are able. Read some books, watch some movies, lay on the sofa. Take it easy. This is the time to baby yourself. This is part of the “rest” objective, obv.
    

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46. You can do this Vegan Detox Plan for as little or as long as you want; the longer you do it, the cleaner you’ll feel and the better the results will be. With that in mind, I recommend detoxing for two full weeks. This seems to be the magic amount of time for detoxing because it’s long enough to do the job but short enough that it’s not insurmountable. By the end of two weeks, you will likely be feeling quite ready for a bit of jam on your toast!
    

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48. You can detox anytime. Personally, I find the Vegan Detox Plan to be most effective during a seasonal change (around mid-March, for example, when winter turns to spring). And sometimes a detox is indicated after a few days or weeks of overindulging or careless eating. You’ll feel it when a detox is in order. And there is never a wrong time to do it!
    

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52. Vegan Detox Plan Shopping List
    

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54. Vegan Detox Plan Meal Ideas