The 7-day detox: does it work?
Summer means BBQs, ice cream, pub gardens and, paradoxically, ‘swimsuit body’ preparations. Here's how Charlotte got on trying to shed some burger weight.
I stumbled across the seven-day ‘Detox Box’ at a trade show earlier this year, and wondered whether the curious ingredients within it (such as Hawaiian spirulina powder, barley grass powder and dried goji berries) could really improve my wellbeing and waistline. There was only one way to find out…
Time to experiment
Matthew Ford, Operations Manager for Creative Nature, who produce the ‘Detox Box’, said at the time: “Obviously we can’t offer any weight loss guarantees, but if you take the seven-day mild detox challenge, and abide by the other rules we suggest, then it’s very likely that you’ll notice a difference in your wellbeing, and overall health.”
Certainly, my body could do with a cleanse from its daily ritual of not enough sleep, caffeine, and on-the-go breakfasts. So I decided to fully commit to the seven-day detox, promising to incorporate the following ingredients into my diet, all of which were chosen by nutritionist Sarah Flower for their “natural detoxing and cleansing” properties.
Great British hemp protein powder
What is it? Made by pressing hemp seeds and gently milling what remains to bring you a rich source of protein, amino acids and omega oils.
What will it do to me? The protein in hemp powder should slow down digestion of carbohydrates, which will help keep blood sugar levels balanced. In essence, I’ll feel fuller for longer.
How much should I eat? 1-2 tablespoons a day (one for the first three days of my seven-day detox; two for the remaining four days). It’s best disguised in apple juice, or a milkshake.
What does it smell like? Farms.
Organic New Zealand barley grass powder
What is it? “Barley grass contains every vitamin and mineral known to science,” say Creative Nature. It can be used as a multivitamin supplement.
What will it do to me? Keep me topped up with all those essential vitamins needed for a healthy body. (Please note – barley grass is high in vitamin K, and people on Warfarin or other anti-coagulants should exercise caution before consuming it.)
How much should I eat? Begin with ¼ teaspoon per day, then increase to one full teaspoon a day. Again, sprinkle it in a shot of fruit juice and down it in one.
What does it smell like? Grass, but a little sweeter.
Hawaiian spirulina powder
What is it? Spirulina is the latest superfood phenomenon, and claims to prevent everything from liver damage to breast cancer. It’s actually an algae, and one of the oldest organisms on earth. It contains 60% vegetable protein and a range of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
What will it do to me? Spirulina boosts energy and can lower cholesterol. It can also speed up metabolism apparently, and is a good source of protein.
How much should I eat? 1-10g per day, ideally disguised in a very strong-tasting fruit juice. It’s pretty potent. Creative Nature suggest including it in a spinach soup recipe, although I don’t think I’m brave enough.
What does it smell like? My colleague Matt described it as “musty socks”, while our designer Justin said it was more like “fish food”. You really must prepare yourself for spirulina.
Ningxia goji berries
What is it? You’re probably familiar with these dried berries. Creative Nature source theirs from the Ningxia province hills in Northern China. They taste like salty raisins.
What will it do to me? Goji berries are a rich source of vitamin C and betacarotene, and as a result are known as the ‘Chinese wonder fruit’. So I imagine a handful of these a day will leave me feeling pretty perky.
How much should I eat? 10-30g a day (one or two handfuls). They’re fine eaten as they are, but Creative Nature also recommend baking them into their own (very low fat) flapjack recipe.
What do they smell like? Old raisins.
Other ingredients
As well as the above, I had a pack of loose ‘Teatox’ herbal tea to enjoy throughout the week. Described as a “gentle yet powerful” concoction of Pau D’arco, red clover, yellow dock, dandelion and burdock root, boldo leaves, milk thistle, lemon peel, ginger, cardamom, fennel, and pepper. There's no more than four cups of that allowed a day.
And, of course, Matthew had forewarned me about “the other rules” to abide by: eat organic to free my body from agrochemicals; drink only filtered water (I didn’t realise that the regular kind was a problem); stop smoking; avoid alcohol and caffeine (even at the weekend!); drink plenty of water; no fizzy drinks; and no processed or junk food. All in all, a jolly week was ahead of me.
How hard was it?
I’d never eaten any of those powders before, so I looked forward to trying something new. But, alas, other than the goji berries everything tasted pretty awful on my first day. I had to dilute all the powders in a whole cup of apple juice to stomach them. The smell was also off-putting.
Feeling slightly disheartened, the next day I made one of the recipes that Creative Nature suggests – goji berry flapjacks. Unlike most flapjacks, this recipe didn’t call for butter or sugar. Instead, I had to make them from rolled oats, goji berries, mixed seeds, agave syrup, and a very little golden syrup. The crumbly mixture, totally devoid of fat, was alien to me – it took three times as long to cook (the oven had to be set at the low temperate of 100C to “retain nutrition”) and the end result looked unworthy of the name ‘flapjack’. But, for all my prejudices, it actually tasted OK. Obviously not half as sweet as a regular flapjack, nor as chewy, but it did taste wholesome at least, and the rest of the office had no trouble hoovering them up.
The caffeine ban was hard, but I was used to the initial withdrawal symptoms, having given caffeine up before for lovefood challenges such as living below the line and the juice diet. Besides, the Teatox tea (pictured left) was tasty, and satisfied my craving for a hot beverage in the morning.
Not having chocolate, or any other ‘junk food’, was harder – who doesn’t crave a sweet treat at 3pm on a Monday afternoon? I tried to nip that in the bud by eating copious amounts of goji berries, but they didn’t hit the same spot as Dairy Milk.
Of course, other than processed foods you can carry on eating as normal with the Creative Nature detox. So I could still look forward to my usual toast for breakfast (homemade bread), interesting packed lunches, and something nice for tea. I didn’t even change my portion sizes all week.
I carried on ingesting the recommended quantities of all three powders, albeit grudgingly, for the full seven days. They became more palatable as time went on, although never enjoyable. I found it easiest to sprinkle each dose into a shot of apple juice, rather than try and incorporate it into a recipe, because then it was over quicker. The worst by far was the spirulina powder, and on the penultimate day of my detox I’m afraid I just couldn’t stomach it anymore.
How I felt afterwards
The first thing I noticed, after four days on my detox, was how much energy I had. Not consuming processed sugar and caffeine initially made me feel sluggish, but it didn’t take long to get over that initial slump. I wasn’t as tired on my way to work, and I didn’t fall asleep in front of the telly every evening either.
I did lose some weight (only two or three pounds), which could have been a direct result of not eating any junk food for a week. Or it could have been facilitated by the metabolism-boasting qualities of spirulina. But regardless, I felt lighter in body, and happier for it.
My skin seemed to shine too, although I would imagine that had more to do with drinking nearly three litres of water every day – at least double what I usually have.
All-in-all, the week-long experiment was probably worth it in the end (despite my offended taste buds), because I did notice a positive change in my wellbeing. I’d carry on with the goji berries no problem, perhaps as an alternative to a sweeter snack, and could be persuaded into downing a shot of hemp powder or barley grass powder in apple juice every day. But I’m afraid this is in the end of the road for spirulina and me.
Have you ever tried a detox? What wonderful powders worked for you? Share your experiences in the Comments box below.
Goji berries image courtesy of Didier Descouens
More diet challenges
A month on the 5:2 veggie diet
Living below the line, on £1 a day
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