After a month of indulgences, mince pies and mulled wine, detox this January for a fresh start to a fresh year.
StyleNest chats to professional nutritionist for The London Detox, Zoe Palmer-Wright to find out the secrets of detoxing and why we should get juicing this January.
What first inspired you to take an interest in nutrition and want to help women and men maintain a healthy lifestyle?
It was witnessing the amazing health benefits that could be achieved through healthy eating and the realisation that many chronic disease symptoms from IBS to sinusitis, to hay fever to high cholesterol can respond to beneficial changes in the diet. As well as being a valuable tool for helping manage and address disease symptoms, healthy eating has the potential to help prevent the development of chronic disease in the first place, which, in my opinion, is the ultimate goal and the future of intelligent healthcare.
You are a fasting and detoxification expert, what are the main benefits of doing a juice detox?
Key benefits that are very commonly experienced are enhanced energy levels, mental focus and clarity and greater work productivity, fat loss (often a significant amount), a rejuvenation of body tissues (both internally and externally) and this often shows in noticeable improvements in people’s skin, hair and nails. Blood tests after fasting can also show improved liver function and a reduction in blood lipids – a reduction in cholesterol levels for example.
Your juices are 100% organic, raw and unpasteurised, how important is this for nutrition?
Absolutely essential. Organic produce is free of chemical pesticide and insecticide residues. This is important as a number of health conditions have been associated with pesticide exposure and ingesting additional toxins (from non-organic juice) whilst detoxing is counter intuitive.
The goal during a cleanse is to free your body of the burden of processing new toxins, to enable the body to rid itself of old stored toxins.
Cold-pressed and unpasteurised means our juices haven’t been exposed to any intensive heating processes like pasteurisation that damage juices – this ensures that maximum nutritional content of the juices is preserved and that you get juices packed full of vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. We don’t need to preserve our juices using pasteurisation as we deliver freshly made juices on every single day of your cleanse – we never ask you to hold onto juices for days at a time or freeze them.
January is prime detox time, what should one consider before doing a detox?
January is a popular time to detox and for good reason as so many people feel toxic and ready for a fresh start in body and mind after an indulgent December. And a January detox is a great idea for the majority of healthy people. However, it’s important to choose the right time to do a juice cleanse and to consider your schedule and state of mind – if you are super stressed, depleted, frazzled and under a lot of pressure then it probably isn’t the best time to do a juice cleanse – it’s better to wait until things are a bit more manageable as it could compromise the benefits of the cleanse. Also, there are some people with certain health conditions who shouldn’t do a juice cleanse.
After a month of indulgent eating, boozing and Christmas parties, January is often the month where we feel run-down and lethargic. What advice would you give our readers to stay motivated and reach for the detox bottle instead of the chocolate bar?
A juice detox is a brilliant solution to the lethargy; bloating and weight gain many people experience in January. In fact, those symptoms are often a sign of toxicity and a sluggish liver. A January juice detox is also the best way to kick-start a healthy eating or weight loss plan. After doing a juice cleanse, the immediate health benefits and weight loss are extremely motivating and most people find it much easier to stick to their healthy diet after doing one. The last thing most people feel like doing after completing a juice cleanse is reaching for a chocolate bar.
Can you tailor packages to suit individual requirements?
The ingredients for The London Detox juices and the supplement that accompanies them have been specially chosen to ensure the best possible 3 or 5 day detoxes for the majority of people. If someone has a specific requirement due to health conditions or otherwise, we will always recommend that they consult with me to establish the best possible route forward for them.
Following a nutritional consultation, if appropriate we can tailor a detox programme for them although for the general consumers online this is not something we offer. One of the unique points of The London Detox is that it is nutritionist led and so in the event that our juice detox programmes are not appropriate for an individual we can still provide expert advice and guidance to help them reach their individual health goals.
Mum’s often struggle to piece together a healthy meal. What advice would you give mums who want to prepare time saving nourishing meals for the family?
Keep it simple but focus on quality ingredients – plenty of vegetables (so they fill half the plate), a good quality lean protein (fish, chicken or pulses such as lentils and chickpeas), and wholegrain carbohydrates (like wild rice, brown pasta, sweet potatoes). Hearty soups (chuck ingredients in a blender), stews and stir-fries are also great healthy and quick options. Steaming vegetables is super quick and also preserves the most nutrients in the vegetables. Grilling fish and meat is also super easy – season with a few herbs and a squeeze of lime, whilst making extra to reheat for the next day is a great time saving device.
Do you think it’s important to introduce homemade healthy foods from a young age?
Yes, I think it’s really important. As by introducing health foods straight away a child’s taste buds gets used to them, it sets up healthy eating habits for life and sets the stage for them having a stronger immune system, healthier digestive tract and gives them a better chance at having a long, vital and healthy life. And vice versa; feeding them too many sugary, salty, processed foods early on is a recipe for a child, adolescent and adult with weight and blood sugar issues and other health issues and who is at higher risk of diabetes and obesity and it’s often much harder to convince them to eat healthy foods later on.
For more information visit www.thelondondetox.com