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Your daily detox diet is an essential factor in your ability to cleanse your body and achieve optimal wellness. The ideal diet for cleansing and detoxification is 100 percent raw with at least 60 percent fruit. A raw food detox diet usually gives the best results for cleansing and regenerating the body.
Learn more >>> The Raw Food Detox Diet
A Gentle Transition for a Healthy Detox Experience
For most people, it is often best to start gradually, so that detox symptoms do not become uncomfortable and overwhelming. If you make a sudden dietary adjustment you may experience reactions as your body releases toxins. This is often referred to as the “healing crisis” and can include headaches, digestive disturbance, fatigue, insomnia, skin eruptions, etc.
Even though you may feel like you are getting worse during this time, this is completely normal and is an indication that your body is cleansing. It is usually a good sign! If you wish to maintain your normal daily activities during this time you may consider starting out with a less aggressive approach.
Alternatively, you can adjust your diet as you progress with the cleanse, in accordance with your response, and slow down the detox when necessary. This can be done by increasing your intake of cooked vegetables and other optional foods that will be outlined in the suggested meal plans below.
How To Follow the Detox Diet Menu Plans
The detox diet meal plans are categorized in levels. Generally, you will start at Level 1 and progress to Level 4. However, it is also perfectly acceptable to move back and forwards between the levels as feels appropriate for you. At any time if you feel too uncomfortable you can go back to the previous level before trying again.
Many people also begin their detox diet plan with one to seven days in Level 4 – the mono fruit diet – to kick-start detoxification and reset the appetite in favor of fresh, healthy foods.
It can also be helpful to modify your natural detox diet depending on the weather. Most people feel better when consuming warm foods in a cold climate. However, it is still important to maintain a high intake of raw food, regardless of the external influences, when your goal is to cleanse and regenerate your health.
The most powerful detox diets such as the watermelon diet, grape fast, or lemon cleanse are best attempted during the warmer months and at those times when you have an opportunity to rest during the day.
You will achieve the most dramatic results with a raw food detox diet when you combine it with a herbal cleansing program such as the 14-Week Deep Tissue Cleanse.
Include Cooked Vegetables for a More Gradual Detox
Many people have a high level of toxins in their bodies. When you combine this with decades of an unhealthy diet it can often be very difficult to adopt a 100 percent raw food diet right away.
In these cases, it is still possible to detoxify your body very effectively while eating freshly prepared steamed vegetables and plain homemade vegetable soup. Steamed vegetables will not stop the detox, just slow it down a little. You can still achieve very good results while eating mostly raw food during the day with cooked vegetables at night.
If you prefer an even more gentle approach – or if you need to slow down the detox due to uncomfortable symptoms – you can also include small amounts of brown rice, quinoa, baked winter squash, or baked sweet potato.
Avoid regular white potatoes and white rice as they are very high in starch and low in fiber.
Starch tends to have a congestive effect on the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. It also places an extra load on the adrenal glands, which are generally depleted in anyone who has a chronic health challenge. Most grains are also highly acid-forming, which contributes to inflammation and lymphatic congestion.
If you do choose to consume cooked foods it should ideally be for the last meal of the day. It is also important to avoid eating fruit after a cooked meal as this can result in digestive discomfort.
Regular table salt should be avoided as this has a negative effect on the health of the circulatory system and kidneys. You can flavor your food with herbs, spices, lemon juice, and dulse flakes (a seaweed with a naturally salty flavor). If you must have salt, Himalayan or Celtic sea salt are the best choices, however, these are generally best used sparingly.
Most people will begin the detox diet with Level 1. Try to base your diet around fruits and vegetables – at least 75 percent raw – while following the guidelines in the Level 1 detox diet menu. When you are comfortable with Level 2 and wish to reach a deeper level of detoxification you may consider progressing to a 100 percent raw diet.
The Mono Fruit Diet
Once you reach Level 3 you will focus on mono fruit meals. This is the ultimate way of eating to promote detoxification and consists of eating meals consisting of a single fruit only.
Choose one fruit and eat as much as you like until you feel satisfied. Grapes, melon, papaya, mangoes, peach, nectarines, cherries, berries, pears, bananas and tangerines are good choices for mono meals.
One of the benefits of this way of eating is that it places the minimum demand on the digestive system, which frees up additional energy for detoxification and cleansing. Throughout the entire detox program, for all three levels, ideally eat a mono meal for breakfast, preferably melons because they are extremely hydrating and alkalizing.
Level 1 Detox Diet Menu – For a moderate detox experience
Breakfast
Fresh fruit of your choice OR Fruit salad OR Fruit smoothie
Morning Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Lunch
Create a large salad using any of the following ingredients: Romaine, spinach, spring mix, lettuce, chard, tomato, cucumber, celery, carrots, radish, fennel, red, orange or yellow pepper, sunflower sprouts, snow pea sprouts, asparagus, avocado, fresh herbs.
Afternoon Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Dinner
Start with a salad. Then follow with small amounts of the following: Steamed vegetables, home-made vegetable soup, baked sweet potato, baked winter squash, quinoa or brown rice.
Level 2 Detox Diet Menu – For a deeper detox experience
Breakfast
Fresh fruit of your choice OR Fruit salad OR Fruit smoothie
Morning Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Lunch
Fresh fruit of your choice OR Fruit salad OR Fruit smoothie
Afternoon Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Dinner
Create a salad using any of the following ingredients: Romaine, spinach, spring mix, lettuce, chard, tomato, cucumber, celery, carrots, radish, fennel, red, orange or yellow pepper, sunflower sprouts, snow pea sprouts, asparagus, avocado, fresh herbs.
If desired then follow with small amounts of the following: Steamed vegetables, home-made vegetable soup, baked sweet potato, baked winter squash.
Level 3 Detox Diet Menu – For a maximum detox experience
Breakfast
Mono fruit meal OR Mono fruit smoothie
Morning Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Lunch
Fresh fruit of your choice OR Fruit salad OR Fruit smoothie
Afternoon Snack
Fresh fruit OR Green Juice
Dinner
Fresh fruit of your choice OR Fruit salad OR Fruit smoothie OR large raw salad
Level 4 Detox Diet Menu – For the ultimate detox experience
One of the most effective ways to detox involves following a diet consisting of a single fruit only. Traditionally grapes are preferred because they have a very strong cleansing effect on the lymphatic system. However, you can choose any fruit that appeals to you.
Many people have experienced dramatic health transformations by undertaking a grape fast for a period of 7 to 40 days. This type of detox diet is extremely powerful, yet generally safer and easier to follow than undertaking a water fast.[/tagline_box]
The Detoxification Lifestyle
As you experiment with this new diet to cleanse and detoxify your body the goal is to create a way of eating that is comfortable for you, that suits your lifestyle and that you enjoy. For those with chronic health issues it may be necessary to follow the diet for many months – and in some cases several years – so in order to be able to stick with the program over the long-term this is essential. However, it is also necessary to ensure that your choices remain discerning and will produce the health outcomes that you desire.
Generally, most people do well following Level 1 for a month or so. This will allow your body to adjust to the dietary changes with the minimum amount of discomfort. After about a month you can then progress to Level 2 and so on. You can stay on the Level 3 menu plan for several months up to a year or even longer.
If your progress is slow on the detox diet plan you may consider adding botanical herbs to enhance the detox process. In people with chronic health challenges, a herbal detox can dramatically enhance recovery and reduce the amount of time needed to stay on the strict detox diet program.
For a gentler approach, you may consider the Sakara Life Level II Detox Program, which is a whole-food cleanse that temporarily eliminates common inflammatory triggers while nourishing your body with potent plant-based nutrition. You can receive a 20% discount on this program when you enter my code XOLIVEREMEDY at checkout on Sakara Life.
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Could i have pumpkin or sunflower seed as well sometimes?
Sorry for the late response – I only just saw this question. They are fine to use occasionally – preferably soaked and sprouted. However, most people do well to avoid all seeds for the first few months of their detox plan.
Mizpah, I would like to have more information about the herbal supplements. Can you provide a supplier/brand that is optimum for most people, possibly a website I could check out? (I have a severe aspirin/salicylic allergy so I can’t injest any products containing this ingredient) Thank you.
Hi Julie,
The herbs that I provide in the 14-Week Deep Tissue Detox are the best quality I have found – wild-crafted and organic wherever possible. In the future I will be putting together shorter cleanses for those who aren’t ready to commit to such an extensive detox program. If you are interested in this I can do some research for you regarding the presence of salicylates in these formulas. The formulas do not contain any additives – the salicylates are present naturally in the herbs.
Unfortunately many herbs do contain salicylates so it isn’t really possible to recommend a brand that doesn’t contain them. For your situation it would be necessary to check the ingredients in every formula and even then it may be difficult to know whether salicylates are present because there is not adequate research on this topic.
You may do better to focus on a cleansing diet based on the herbs that you know are safe for you and perhaps only use single herbs that you know you are able to tolerate.
Thank you Mizpah, I hadn’t realized there was a response here waiting for me. I will be doing more research regarding the salicylates and what I will be able to tolerate before starting one of the cleanse programs.
An update…
Mizpah, I’ve been using the herbal tinctures you ordered for me with no negative side effects. In addition, I’ve added Maju brand supplement powders to my green juices in the a.m.: camu-camu, spirulina, moringa and maca. Thank you for your advice. It is much appreciated. I’ve ordered so much from Maju that the owner contacted me the other day and wanted to know how I found out about their company and I referred them to you. They seem interested in speaking with you, I hope it was alright for me to share your name. All the best… julieann
That’s wonderful! I’m glad you are having positive benefits with the herbs and superfoods.