Preparing a detox cleanse of 3, 5, or 7 days can greatly impact its effectiveness. Particularly with the three-day detox, proper preparation is important. Not only will your detox be more effective, but you are also likely to experience fewer side effects. While preparation is not mandatory, we highly recommend it.
Preparation and the Pretox
Try to gradually reduce certain foods at least three days before starting your detox. Start by slowly reducing your coffee intake from three cups to two cups per day, and continue to decrease it further. Quitting coffee cold turkey can be challenging, especially when combined with a detox. Therefore, ensure you don’t stop abruptly. The same applies to animal proteins, white bread, white rice, sugary products, and dairy products – gradually reduce your consumption. At the same time, increase your water and herbal tea intake. The process of reducing these foods may cause detox symptoms such as headaches and low energy levels.
The detox preparation plan
Step-by-step removal of solid and heavy foods from your diet. Ideally, begin this process three days before your cleanse.
3 DAYS BEFORE
Avoid red meat, dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, curd, and processed foods.
2 DAYS BEFORE
Avoid meat and fish products (chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish), eggs, dairy, carbohydrates from bread, rice, and sugars.
1 DAY BEFORE
Consume only salads, soups, (raw) vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
*Do not consume alcohol, coffee, medications, dietary supplements, or cigarettes for at least three days before starting your detox.
Detox preparation tips
- Try to purchase all your food organically. Organic foods provide a higher amount of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements while minimising exposure to pesticides and foreign substances.
- You can consume raw or cooked vegetables without restriction.
- If you feel hungry, you can have healthy snacks and appetisers during the pre-tox, detox, and post-tox phases, following our recommendations.
- We recommend avoiding white rice, bread, pasta, or other products made from refined flour. Limit your intake of starchy foods and replace them with whole grain rice, gluten-free bread, sourdough, sprouted grain bread, sweet potatoes, parsnips, purple potatoes, beets, and tubers.
- Avoid refined sugars and excessive consumption of natural sugars from fruits and raw honey. Ideally, avoid all sugars, including alternative sweeteners such as raw cane sugar, inverted sugar syrup, glucose, dextrose, molasses, caramel, fructose, corn syrup, date syrup, rice syrup, agave syrup, maple syrup, etc. Sugar is also present in ginger syrup, many ready-made sauces, bread, and numerous other products. Although fruits contain sugar, limit your intake to 1 to 3 servings per day. It is better to choose fruits with lower natural sugar content, such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. On the other hand, sweet fruits like mangoes, bananas, and pineapples contain high amounts of sugar and should be consumed in moderation.
- Avoid consuming artificial food additives (E-numbers) as much as possible. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient or it sounds too scientific, it’s best to avoid it. Food should be simple.
- Avoid chemical sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, cyclamate, acesulfame-K, especially found in “light” and sugar-free products. Always read the labels!
- Ensure a diverse diet, incorporating different types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains every day to ensure your body receives an array of nutrients.
- Feel free to use healthy saturated fats from extra virgin plant-based coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, hemp seed oil, as well as animal-derived fats like butter, kidney fat, and lard. These fats should be organic, cold-pressed, and unrefined.
- Avoid margarine and low-fat spreads.
- Avoid trans fats.
- Use an average of 1 teaspoon of salt per day. Avoid regular table salt and replace it with sea salt, Celtic salt, or Himalayan salt.
- During the preparation phase, it’s best to avoid consuming coffee or alcohol.
- Green tea, white tea, and various herbal teas are not a problem.
- Drink purified (spring) water. As long as your urine has a light, transparent colour.
- If you have a slow juicer or blender, you can have a few green juices or smoothies per day according to your needs. The general rule is to use 70% or more vegetables and 30% fruits, herbs, spices, and superfoods.
How do I properly prepare for a detox?
The same applies to animal proteins, (white) bread, white rice, products with sugar, and dairy products: gradually reduce their consumption. At the same time, try to increase your water and herbal tea intake. The process of reducing these foods and beverages can also cause detox symptoms such as headaches and low energy levels. We refer to this gradual reduction of eating or drinking these products as a “pretox.”
What exactly does a pretox entail?
What foods should I avoid before starting a detox?
– When you feel hungry, during the pretox, detox, and aftertox phases, you can still enjoy healthy snacks and treats according to our recommendations.
– It is recommended to avoid white rice, bread, pasta, or any other products made from refined white flour. It’s best to limit your intake of starchy products. Replace them with whole grain rice, gluten-free bread, sourdough, sprouted grain bread, sweet potatoes, parsnips, purple potatoes, beets, and root vegetables.
– We advise against consuming refined sugars and excessive natural sugars from fruits and raw honey. It’s preferable to avoid all sugars, including alternative sweeteners such as raw cane sugar, invert sugar syrup, glucose, dextrose, molasses, caramel, fructose, corn syrup, date syrup, rice syrup, agave syrup, and maple syrup. Sugar is also found in ginger syrup, many ready-made sauces, bread, and numerous other products. Although fruit contains sugar, it’s recommended to consume no more than 1 to 3 servings of fruit per day. It’s better to choose fruits with lower natural sugar content, such as blackberries, blueberries, red berries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. Sweet fruits like mango, banana, and pineapple contain higher amounts of sugar, so it’s advisable to consume them in moderation.
– Avoid E-numbers as much as possible. Ingredients that are difficult to pronounce or sound too scientific should be avoided as much as possible in your diet.
– Stay clear of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, cyclamate, and acesulfame-K. These substances are commonly found in “light” and sugar-free products.
Aim for variety in your diet. Instead of having the same broccoli every day, try different types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains each day. This way, your body will receive a wide range of nutrients at various levels.
– Embrace healthy saturated fats from extra virgin plant-based coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, hemp seed oil, as well as animal-derived fats like butter, kidney fat, and lard. These should be organic, cold-pressed, and unrefined.
– Avoid margarine and low-fat spreads.
– Steer clear of trans fats.
– Use an average of 1 teaspoon of salt per day. Avoid regular table salt and replace it with sea salt, Celtic salt, or Himalayan salt.
– Avoid coffee and alcohol as much as possible.
– Drink more green, white, and herbal teas.
– Consume purified (spring) water.
– If you have a slow juicer or blender, you can have a few green juices or smoothies per day based on your needs. A general guideline is to use 70% or more vegetables and 30% fruits, herbs, spices, and superfoods.
How many days in advance should I start with the pretox?
– 3 days prior: Avoid red meat and dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and processed foods.
– 2 days prior: Avoid meat and fish products (chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish), eggs, dairy, and carbohydrates from bread, rice, and sugars.
– 1 day prior: Consume only salads, soups, (raw) vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
Refrain from consuming alcohol, coffee, medications, dietary supplements, and cigarettes at least three days before starting your detox.