Cleansing Diet
by Ryan Harrison, MA, BCIH
Of course, each one of us is absolutely unique, and dietary needs vary from person to person. Getting a detailed nutritional profile from a trained Dietician, Nutritionist, or Nutritional Consultant is a great way to determine your particular nutrient requirements.
But in general, there are several basic things to keep in mind about good nutrition practices and choices, and how they can supercharge your cleansing and detoxification experience. We’ve put together a guideline below to help.
Bon appétit!
- Water: drink plenty of good, clean water each day
- Vegetables: minimum of 5 servings daily
- Fruits: minimum of 2 servings daily
- Grains/Starches: 4-8 servings daily (choosing whole grains over refined)
- Legumes: 1-3 servings daily (i.e., beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, etc.)
- Healthy Fats: 3-9 servings daily (i.e., monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, omega-3s)
- Herbs/Spices/Seasonings: Experiment daily to benefit from the natural health promoting qualities of herbs
- Dairy: No more than 1-3 servings of low-fat or non-fat each day; choose organic if possible
- Eggs: Average of 1 per day
- Seafood: 2-4 servings per week
- Lean Meats: No more than 1-3 servings per week (i.e., chicken, turkey, tenderloin, flank steak, etc.)
- Alcohol/Sweets/Caffeinated beverages: The fewer you take in, the better.
Don’t confuse this sample menu with a detox diet – these are foods to help support a cleanse. So, what would all of this look like if you were to put it into practice? Let’s take a look:
|
Typical |
Better |
Best |
|
Pancakes, waffles or French toast with syrup; coffee with cream and artificial sweetener |
Pancakes, waffles or French toast with fresh fruit; coffee with cream and raw sugar or honey |
Whole-grain pancakes, waffles or French toast with butter or nut butter and fresh fruit or honey; green tea with lemon and/ or honey |
|
Blueberry bagel with 2 tbsp cream cheese; chocolate milk |
Blueberry bagel with 1 tbsp light cream cheese; orange juice or milk |
Whole-wheat bagel with natural (no sugar added) peanut butter; milk or water |
|
Cheeseburger, French fries and a soda
|
Grilled chicken sandwich, side salad with ranch dressing and a soda
|
Lean turkey burger with cheese on whole wheat bun, side salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and water or sparkling water with lemon
|
|
Candy bar |
Granola bar |
Handful of mixed nuts with raisins and dried berries |
|
Supreme or Meat Lover’s pizza, breadsticks and chicken wings |
Vegetarian pizza, small side salad |
Large salad, slice of homemade veggie pizza on whole-wheat dough |
|
Chili dog with fries |
Hot dog with onions and relish, with baked chips |
Veggie dog on whole wheat bun with ketchup, mustard, onions and relish, and a side salad |
|
Soda or diet soda |
Bottled, flavored iced tea |
Sparkling water with citrus or berries |
|
Ice cream
|
Low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt
|
Organic, unsweetened plain yogurt over mixed berries
|
