Doing a Detox in January is the worst idea for the new year!

“New Year, New Me” I hear the cry over and over like you haven’t had the last 12 months, or ten years to redefine and redevelop yourself. So why does it have to be now?

In truth, you are constantly changing and shifting to the demands and requirements of our ever-changing world. The you, you think you are, is not the you that was present even two weeks ago.

January, perhaps due to a sense of guilt or shame from over-indulging through the Christmas period, always seems to bring out this almost zealous need to do some kind of punishing detox on ourselves, like we can be purged of our sins.

Well, I’m sorry to tell you two things that you may already know, if not at least have considered.

Firstly, whatever you do in the short term to detox, won’t last. In fact, it would possibly trigger a rebound in behaviour that would not only undo any perceived benefit of your detox but is likely to cause an increase in storage in your body and possibly even cause harm, as it is often a cycle of boom and bust that we enter into, which has been shown to progressively lead to weight gain, not loss.

Secondly, if we follow the principles of Chinese Medicine, we are picking the worst time of the year to impoverish our bodies, causing a depletion in vital energy and leaving ourselves more prone to sickness, in both the short and long term. And it’s this second point that I want to talk about in this blog.

So let’s just start by saying, give yourself a break, stop pushing and driving yourself to one form of excess or another. The business-as-usual model, bigger, faster, more, is not serving us in our lives or societies (in fact it never has).

And I’m not saying that there is nothing you can do to benefit your health in January, quite the opposite, but we will go into that later.

In Chinese medicine, which for me makes up the foundations of the kinesiology and epigenetic work I do, as well as being part of my LifeForce Qigong practice for many years, highlights that winter as a season is a time for cultivating energy and nourishing the self.

It is a cold, damp time of year that can lead to depletion in resources, for example, our Vitamin D stores, if they were adequate to begin with, last about 3 months. Which considering you don't make Vitamin D in sunlight after the end of September in the UK, means most people are depleted by Christmas, que the winter colds and flu.

It is also a time traditionally when we are relying on our winter stores, meaning that fresh nutrients are harder to come by and we do better in trying to create less output in winter and more reserving and cultivation of energy, rather than spending (that can be used as a metaphor for all sorts of aspects of your life – think about it).

But we can get fresh fruit and veg all year around now I hear you cry. Yes and no. Seasonally eating foods that don’t belong to this time of year can be weakening to our bodies.

For example, cold damp foods, especially salads, cold smoothies and juices are not at all recommended at this time of year in Chinese nutrition, because they add to cold, damp conditions of the body, the very things we want to counteract right now, making it more likely you will be ill.

If anything, what we would benefit from doing is changing to more nutritive foods, foods with a higher density of polyphenols, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which essentially comes back to my three-word mantra for diet Eat Real Food!

If we can focus on what would be traditionally served at this time of year, mildly spiced, warming, soups, stews, steamed veg (what I like to call a warm salad), veg that is gently stir-fried or sautéed, then we will be supporting the warming and nutritive elements that we really need at this time of year. These are foods that we can easily add herbs and spices to, many of which not only help out health from DNA level through to mood but won’t create additional cold and damp conditions in the body.

That doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from cutting out, what can essentially be termed, the Christmas crap!

So the alcohol, refined sugar products, processed and microwaved foods, excess grains and dairy (which most of you can’t effectively metabolise anyway and add to that cold damp energy in the body).

This really isn’t about counting calories either, which is a pointless exercise, or depriving yourself of good nutrition. It’s a time to give yourself the right nutrition for your body in this season, drop the guilt and the self-shaming and really listen to what your body needs to nurture it in the winter.

When we get through to spring, the energy becomes much more invigorating, the Liver comes into focus as a primary organ in Chinese medicine and it is a much better time to consider a detox.

For now, be kind and caring towards yourself, ditch the idea of a pointless and often debilitating January detox and nurture yourself with good, wholesome, real food.

And if you need help with this, get in contact with me.