Detox with a difference

The fortnight of festive fun is over and don't you know it. Overindulgence is weighing on your conscience, and detoxing the body, and hopefully the mind, tops a lot of priorities in January. Detoxing is a process of removing toxins from the body and although currently fashionable, is nothing new - having been around for centuries in various forms of Eastern medicine.

The simplest way to do this is to avoid normal food for a day and instead drink plenty of fruit juice and lots of water. But after coming back to normal life with a bang in the New Year, is surviving on fruit juices the only way to kick start your health? There are more gentle ways to detox, from simply upping your intake of fruit and vegetables and avoiding tea or coffee, to massages, herbal treatments, reflexology and foot spas. Many of the major supermarkets now stock detox teas and drinks alongside beauty products such as bath crystals and moisturisers - these are great ways to give yourself a boost, but it's no good drinking detox tea if you don't combine it with a healthy diet.

Eating correctly can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to cleanse our bodies. The right balance of nutrients is often all we need to help detox - apples, for instance, improve digestion and help the immune system while carrots and pineapple help clean the liver.

Combining a healthier diet with massage treatments, while expensive, will give your body a more thorough overhaul. For revitalisation, you need to book a massage that works on lymphatic drainage. The lymph system is the body's waste disposal system, acting as a defence by clearing toxins - and with Christmas just over it's bound to be overloaded. As it is prone to blockages, lymphatic drainage therapy aims to retrain the system to flow faster and more efficiently. Massage used to clear blockages and eliminate metabolic wastes and toxins, by using gentle rhythmic pumping techniques to move the skin in the direction of the lymph flow.

"Eating correctly can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to cleanse our bodies. The right balance of nutrients is often all we need to help detox."

The light massage is extremely relaxing and calming, so much so that therapists complain about patients falling asleep on the treatment table. The process can help treat a range of problems such as toxic build-up, fluid retention, excess weight and one of life's great scourges, cellulite. It can also calm the nervous system and relieve stress and tension. On the outside it helps rejuvenate the face giving a clearer complexion and slowing the ageing process.

Sessions last one hour on average, costing from £20 for half an hour up to £40 for one hour and a half. Available nationwide, see the Yellow Pages for your nearest massage therapist. Another way of drawing out toxins from the body is through the feet, through reflexology, acupuncture - or a more user-friendly foot spa. The aqua detox is a water-based treatment using a foot spa with salt-laced water infused with electromagnetic waves to draw out the body's toxins, through thousands of pores in the feet. As the water in the spa changes colour it reveals areas in the body that are toxic, and the darker the water turns, the more toxins in the body. Repeated therapy should show a rapid decrease in toxicity in the body, while vitality and energy levels are boosted.

One disadvantage is that some patients have complained of feeling sick afterwards, with some suffering flu-like symptoms for 24 hours. The treatment is available around the UK, prices range from £30-£90 for treatments lasting 30 minutes to over 90 minutes. A cheaper and more convenient alternative can be done at home, using a form of treatment called Koyotakara. This detoxifier originated in the Far East and involves attaching a sachet containing natural ingredients on to the feet in order to draw out toxins from the body. Users wear a sachet on each foot every night for seven to 14 days depending on toxin levels. There is also anecdotal evidence suggesting the therapy may benefit those suffering from rheumatism, arthritis and joint pains. A 12-sachet, six-night detox is available from Masters Pharmaceutical for £24.99.

If all this seems like to much for you, simply cutting down on your alcohol, tea, coffee and fat intake, drinking more water and eating more fruit and veg might not give your body that major initial boost, but will have longer and perhaps wider reaching health benefits. And if you're a smoker, giving up is the most beneficial thing you can do to improve your health - the ultimate detox. Call the NHS Smoker Helpline on 0800 169 0169 for advice and support.