Detox 101 | The Complete Guide for an Efficient Detox!

I kept on postponing my spring detox since the beginning of this month. Today, I finally decided to begin detoxing, by using a juice cleanse detox diet.

To make things easier for me and to help and encourage you to begin you detox diet too, I decided to write this article. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about detox diets! I gathered all info in one place! You can choose from 4 types of detox diets, all of them were tested and I strongly recommend each one of them. I also added some extra tips for making your detox diet even more efficient! You’ll also find how-to videos and book recommendations.

Hope you’ll find this article useful! If you have any other detox tips, please leave a comment below and I’ll update the article. Thanks!

Detox Diets (tested and recommended)

Detox Diet No.1:  Raw Vegan Detox Diet

In my opinion, this is the easiest detox diet you can try. There are so many people who have a raw vegan lifestyle, so why can’t you be raw for just one month?! Although I am not raw vegan and I don’t encourage a 100% raw vegan lifestyle, I admit that raw foods have their benefits. So, a raw detox diet can be very effective!

Duration: You should keep a 100% raw vegan detox diet for 1 month. It’s not that difficult, especially now that spring is here. I advise you to eat only local foods, so avoid tropical/imported fruits and veggies. I’m not saying those aren’t healthy, but I follow the macrobiotic principles and one of the most important ones is “Eat local foods!”. By eating local, you’ll also spend a lot less on this detox diet.

How to: Eat lots of raw fruits/veggies/nuts! To enhance the detox effect, you can also add some/or all of the detox tips mentioned below. 

Recipes: Here are my Salads and Raw Goodies Pinterest Boards.

Detox Diet No.2: Green Detox (Chlorophyll Diet)

Chlorophyll detox diet is absolutely amazing! This diet is also recommended to those of you who struggle with excess weight. This is a great weight-loss diet too, and unlike most weight-loss diets, this one doesn’t torture your body by depriving it of essential nutrients. It does the exact opposite! Your body will get the nutrients it needs and you will also lose those extra pounds!

Chlorophyll is also known as “plant blood”. This has a very similar composition as human hemoglobin, the difference is that chlorophyll contains magnesium and human blood contains iron.

In case you haven’t already heard about the Gerson Therapy, you should definitely read this book The Gerson Therapy: The Proven Nutritional Program for Cancer and Other Illnesses and watch these documentaries: The Beautiful Truth: The World’s Simplest Cure for Cancer and The Gerson Miracle. 

The Chlorophyll Diet can also be used to treat different illnesses. Of course, in this case, it should be kept for more than 10 days and it should go hand in hand with other therapies. Read the book mentioned above and you’ll understand how to do it.

Duration: 7-10 days for healthy people, more if you want to heal yourself from a particular illness. Read The Gerson Therapy book for more details.

How to: Eat lots of dark, leafy greens, rich in chlorophyll. Also, drink lots of fresh green juices and smoothies, like wheatgrass, kale, spinach juices.  

Detox Diet No.3: Juice Cleanse Detox

This is my favorite detox diet. All you have to do is drink lots of fresh juices (smoothies are accepted too).

Duration: 7-10 days. You can also keep this for less than that, let’s say 3 days, but it’s less effective.

How to: All your meals will consist of drinking fresh fruits and veggies juices and smoothies.

Recipes: Here’s my Smoothies and Juices board on Pinterest.

Detox Diet No.4: The Macrobiotic Ohsawa Diet

I wrote more about this diet in this article: Macrobiotic Diet 101 | Everything you need to know about macrobiotics! I believe in the macrobiotic principles and I try to follow them as much as possible. I can say I am a gluten-free, macrobiotic vegan! 🙂 If you follow this macrobiotic diet, it is best to keep it gluten-free. Even if you’re not gluten intolerant, it can cause inflammation in the body. 

My last year cleanse diet was based on this macrobiotic Ohsawa program. It may be a little bit difficult at first, but from day 3 and on you’ll no longer feel hungry or crave other foods. At the end of this diet, you’ll feel a lot better!

Extra tips for enhancing the detox effect

1. Detox Baths

Duration: 40 minutes

How to: You’ll need the following ingredients: Epsom salt, sodium bicarbonate, ginger powder, pure essential oils. For an adult, you’ll need the following quantities: 1-2 cups Epsom salt, 5 Tbsps sodium bicarbonate, 1 Tbsps ginger powder, a few drops of pure essential oils of choice. Read more about aromatherapy here: Aromatherapy and Its Great Health Benefits

2. Vitamin Water

Make your own vitamin water at home! All you need is filtered water and some fruits/herbs. See the whole process here.

Also, you have to drink at least 3L of water per day!

Another efficient method is to drink a glass of warm water with lemon juice, each morning on an empty stomach. You can also add a pinch of cinnamon powder, for an extra metabolism boost.

3. Superfoods and Spices

Superfoods and spices have amazing health benefits. You can also use them in your diet, by adding them in your food or in your juices and smoothies. If you want to learn more about them, check out this article:  Antioxidants 101 | Everything you need to know about antioxidants and their anti-aging properties.

4. Dry Brushing

I recently discovered this technique and I love it! Here’s a great video with all the instructions you need to start dry brushing at home and have perfect glowing skin.

5. Yoga and Meditation

You also need to purify your mind, not only your body. You can start by meditating for at least 10 minutes per day. Also, here is a great yoga for beginners video, I found on YouTube.

6. Natural Supplements

You can enhance the detox process by adding some natural supplements to your diet. The choice is your whether you want to use them too or not.

Photo sources: www.sxc.hu and Pinterest.