Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAC, CNC, CITP

The Pre-Party Detox

Stressed out about the holidays? Do you want your cake, drinks, cookies and turkey dinner and want to eat them too? Now, you can, and without worrying about the post-party bulges, love handles, and energy crashes. The Pre-Party Detox is a quick and easy cleansing program to help you get through the holidays without destroying your waistline, energy levels and immune system.

Ten Keys to Party Season Survival

1. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to prevent dehydration, the reason many people feel "hung over" from drinking too much or eating too much heavy food.

2. Take a high-quality B-complex and vitamin C supplement, both of which are depleted from alcohol consumption and stress.

3. Eat fruit--the best food to keep the lymphatic system cleansed and moving properly. More information about the lymphatic system and its role in cellulite momentarily.

4. Eat a large green salad for lunch and dinner if you're having dinner at home.

5. Eat a small healthy snack every two hours to stabilize blood sugar. Wild blood sugar fluctuations can deplete your energy, cause your body to gain weight, and depress your immune system, making you more vulnerable to those cold and flu bugs found in droves at most parties.

6. Avoid eating sweets, synthetic sweeteners or foods sweetened with them. You'll probably get enough of these treats at the party.

7. Be sure to fit some exercise into your day. A minimum of twenty minutes of vigorous activity will get your circulation going, improve lymph flow, increase energy, and help your body handle the stress of the holiday season.

8. Avoid margarine and foods made with hydrogenated fats. These toxic foods make your body's detox organs sluggish and require huge amounts of energy for digestion. Plus they lead to weight gain.

9. Avoid foods that contain synthetic colours, preservatives, and other additives. Many holiday snacks contain plentiful amounts of these toxic substances, which your liver must filter. By avoiding them throughout the day, you are giving your liver a break so it can devote its energy to holiday foods.

10. Don't overindulge at the party. Treat yourself without making a complete pig of yourself.

The Party Day Detox Plan

Morning
Upon rising drink a large glass of pure water (2 cups is ideal) with the juice of a quarter of a lemon. After sleeping your body tends to be dehydrated. The lemon also helps detoxify your body and strengthens the liver. Since the liver is the main organ that handles fat digestion, keeping it in tiptop shape during the holiday season is imperative to avoid packing on the pounds.

Before showering, rub your body vigorously with a natural-bristled body brush. (They are available from most bath and beauty shops or natural food stores.) This stimulates your circulation and the flow of your lymphatic system--a complex network of fluid-filled nodes, glands, and tubes that bathe our body's cells and carry toxins out of the tissues. There is three times as much lymph fluid as blood in the body, yet most people have never heard of it.

A recent study found that 80 percent of overweight women have sluggish lymphatic systems and that getting them flowing smoothly is the key to easy weight loss and improved feelings of wellbeing. The heavy, rich, and fatty foods that are commonplace throughout the holiday season have detrimental effects on both the liver and the lymph system.

How do you know if your lymphatic system is sluggish? Some of the common signs are: being overweight, having cellulite or fatty deposits, suffering from aches and pains, and abdominal bloating. To take the Lymph Stress Quiz, see The 4 Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan.

Be sure to eat a healthy breakfast, preferably one that includes some fresh fruit. Fruit is one of the best cleansers to get sluggish lymph moving. The enzymes found in fresh, raw fruit also help with digestion. Since fruit digests faster than other foods, it is best to wait about 15 minutes after eating fruit before eating other types of foods. This helps the fruit acids and enzymes go to work on cleansing. Eating a high fibre breakfast helps to keep your bowels cleansed. Sluggish bowels prevent nutrients from being absorbed in the bloodstream and instead leads to toxins being absorbed through the wall of the intestines into the blood, leaving you feeling tired and giving your liver more work to try to cleanse the blood.

The liver has over 500 different jobs, including filtering hormones and toxins, as well as digesting and metabolising fats. Make its job easier by keeping your bowels moving regularly and you'll feel better, maintain a healthier weight, and have more energy.

About an hour after breakfast, drink another 2 cups of pure, unfiltered water. In addition to keeping your body cleansed and hydrated, it will help you feel full. Most people misinterpret the signs of low-level dehydration as hunger.

Mid-morning
Eat a nutritious snack. Some possibilities include: fresh fruit or some raw almonds, celery sticks with almond butter, or carrot sticks.

One half hour before lunch drink another two cups of pure water.

Lunch
Eat a large green salad with an oil and vinegar or lemon dressing. Ideally, choose extra virgin olive oil or a cold-pressed oil like flax or walnut oil along with apple cider or balsamic vinegar or freshly-squeezed lemon juice with a sprinkling of herbs. Along with your salad, eat plenty of steamed or sautéed vegetables. You can also choose some lean protein foods or whole grains like brown rice.

Don't drink more than one-half cup of liquid with your meals. Too much liquid will interfere with your body's ability to digest food.

Drink another two cups of pure water about two hours after lunch.

Eat a mid-afternoon snack similar to the mid-morning snack.

About one-half hour before dinner, drink another two cups of pure water.

If you are eating dinner at home prior to the party, eat another big salad along with plentiful amounts of veggies and some lean protein or whole grains like brown rice or quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"). If you're eating at the party, snack on some raw almonds or another healthy snack like carrot or celery sticks and almond butter. This will help stabilize your blood sugar. Blood sugar fluctuations are a serious concern during the holiday season thanks to too many sweets and alcoholic beverages. Keeping your blood sugar levels stable during the holidays goes a long way toward keeping your energy levels high, boosting your immune system, and preventing weight gain.

A few simple detox tricks during the day of a party can keep you healthy, fit, and fab for the holidays and into the new year.