I say it all depends on what your aims and expectations are from a detox?
If you are doing a detox programme to give your body a chance to rest and reconnect then this is actually being mindful about your health. However, if you are doing a detox just to lose weight then you will feel deprived and most probably it will back fire as soon as you stop detoxing.
A healthy detoxification is about cleansing and nourishing the body inside and out. This is a very personal journey and usually a one-fit-for-all approach is not advisable. The following suggestions should be evaluated by you and your doctor and adjusted according to your personal needs, background and lifestyle.
In my case, everytime I detox, I re-evaluate my relationship with certain food groups such as dairy for example, which actually is not easy for me to digest and by having total break from it for a short period of time heals and helps to restructure my digestive system. It is the same with coffee – although I only drink 1 cup per day – sometimes by having a break for a few weeks it makes me feel great, creating a more alkaline environtment inside my body! Then I go back to it slowly and enjoy that 1 cup in the most mindful of ways!!
There is the notion of deprivation which goes against the mindful eating approach, but when you do it for health reasons, it does not backfire, and on the contrary, I eat/drink less then before my detox.
As you know, fasting and detoxing actually derive from spiritual rituals of religions belief systems and philosophies such as yoga. And of course, it is a holistic approach during the time of fast or detox which includes other parts of life like praying, meditating, helping others, being more intravert and using the “pratyahara” withdrawal of the senses for that period (like giving a break to social media!) so that body, mind and spirit can connect (or reconnect) to the core.
So I beleive, when a detox/fast is made with a higher purpose like above, it does have its place in mindful eating.
I would to have thoughts on this subject? I am very curious to know how others perceive detoxes, fasts and mindful eating.
I have now started my detox, easing into it this week by decreasing the 5 main groups, caffeine, sugar, gluten, alcohol, dairy and anything that is hard for me to digest such as lentils and bulgur in my case!
Many Muslim friends around the world are fasting this month for Ramada, so if you can manage to eat healthier at the times you are allowed to eat (after sundown and before sunrise), research supports the health benefits and healing process such as rejuvenation and aiding in the recovery of some chronic diseases. I would suggest the book called, Fasting and Eating for Health by Joel Fuhrman for further reading.
So whatever your purpose may be, if you want to give it a try (after consulting your doctor, especially if you have a medical condition), here are my articles on detoxing.
In this article you can find a simple menu planning guide, shopping list and daily routine a short detox programme.
