7/11/2014
Hot or Not | Juice Detox
All the rage with
health-conscious celebrities, a raw juice or liquid detox often promises quite literally a new
you. In just 3 days is that possible? I decided to give it a go. As a bride to be with a thirst for glow,
I’m willing to try pretty much anything.
There are many
programmes available, the leading players seem to be rawtodoor, noshdetox, and radiancecleanse.
For the purpose of this “experiment” I chose the Organic Green Vegetable Cleanse Programme from NOSH.
Why NOSH? NOSH was
founded by Geeta Sidhu-Robb. She’s widely profiled and I admire her story and her dedication to her brand. It’s also London-based and boasts a high
number of A-list celebs on its books. How could I fail?
In my opinion, for the
average person, juice/smoothie programmes seem overpriced. I find it hard to
justify the cost since vegetables and fruit, albeit organic, can’t cost all
that much can they? However, I’ve been known to clock up a good tab lunching at Itsu and post-work dining, so maybe it's value after all.
A friend referred me
to a more reasonable new client offer on the NOSH website and with their
promise that and I quote "you’ll feel lighter, brighter and
happier" (can you put a price on that?), I was sold and set to go.
The good stuff
I couldn’t fault the service. My stylish package arrived punctually the night before. Each package was labelled by date and contained all the juices numbered by the order you take them. There are even cards with tips to keep you on track. You just take the smoothies and juice as instructed. Easy.
Each day you get (as described by NOSH):
- Ginger and Lemon tonic - kick start your digestion in the morning.
- Spinach, avocado, mango, apple - anti-inflammatory to boost your energy.
- Kale, celery, banana, mandarin - powerhouse of super greens to replenish and restore.
- Broccoli, parsley, avocado, peach - cleansing, healing, clearing.
- Courgette, pineapple and mint - surprisingly delicious, sweet and tart and full of vitamin C and digestive enzymes
 |
| The daily menu |
 |
| The delivery |
 |
| Just juice |
Anything else? I had a cup of organic black coffee a day and 3 litres of water. I also spent every night soaking in a hot Epsom salt bath to extract toxins as recommended.
The experience
Having mentally prepared myself for a tough three days, it really was a breeze. I definately felt like I had increased energy levels, but I did go to bed quite early on these three days and I found the generous portions filling and tasty. I typically eat Clean & Lean (a firm follower of James Duigan’s programme) and I try to prioritise nutritious foods, however not in the quantity and concentration of ingredients found in this programme.
What I didn’t
prepare myself for was the pain. From day one, I encountered pretty
consistent and severe cramping and bloating. Not what I bought into. Detox
symptoms aside (if that’s what they were), I think I should have stopped the
programme at that point, frozen the juice and supplemented my already healthy
diet with the odd juice to sense check my tolerance level before continuing.
The curious side of me needed to see this though, so ever hopeful that I'd pull
through, I did.
Hot
or Not?
Overall, this was a mixed experience. Having all the bottles to hand, made the process
really easy and convenient - fantastic for the time poor. NOSH as a support
network were fantastic, ready to support at the other end of the line and via daily emails. Also, the convenience of having everything prepared means
that for the time poor this is a great option.
In my
opinion, the intensity of raw ingredients beyond the natural “detox” effect may take its toll on anyone with a sensitive digestion. Although supplying the body with fast nutrients, it could be a
case of too fast too soon for some.
For the other burning
question: did I lose weight? Well I’m not sure. Not one for weighing myself often, I imagine that I probably did given the self-estimated calorie count.
Above all, this
programme has shown me that I definitely turn to food to
counter emotion, especially boredom and stress. I’m definitely an
emotional eater who can confuse thirst with hunger. These few days have
taught me the difference between cravings, actual hunger and thirst and I'm now more informed to manage this.
So what about
you? Have you tried juice cleanses before? What was your experience?
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