So, it's that time of year again. The festivities are over, and most of us have eaten too much fatty food, had too many sweet things and taken more alcohol on board than we would normally! Some of us are simply recovering from a hectic, stressful, and frenetic time – where we shopped, cooked and looked after/travelled to family and hardly had time to sit down. Whatever the reason, many of us can feel rather lethargic and emotionally a bit flat. We can be prone to coughs and colds – and the flu rears its ugly head just as we are trying to get back to work and reality.

For many people, January signifies a time to “start afresh” and loose those few extra pounds that the food and inactivity may have brought on. For others, detoxing is about refreshment – a need to re-energise and review those bad old habits that begun to creep in towards the latter part of last year.

So, here are some positive pointers to help your body, mind, and spirit. Our tips are not about short-term fixes, but more about establishing some real feel-good factors into your daily routine. Helping give yourself a boost need not be a difficult, boring, or negative experience. It can be about learning to treat yourself in a different way – and sticking to a few easy access pointers can make all the difference.

DO:

• Drink water! Our bodies are 70% water, and our blood is 94% water! If you are constantly dehydrated you will predispose yourself to all sorts of health problems, tiredness, cellulite, and weight issues. Ideally install a reverse osmosis or distillation unit. If this is not possible – use a jug filter at home/work – and aim for a minimum of 2 litres of water daily – more if you take a lot of exercise. Add lemon juice and drink it hot in Winter if you find cold water off putting.
• Drink Detox Tea! Mix equal quantities of dried nettle, fennel and peppermint and drink 3 times daily with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
• Get more sleep! Try getting an extra hour sleep per night for a few weeks, and see what happens, it may give your body just the rest and recuperation it needs. Use Lavender, Bergamot and Marjoram essential oils in your bath before bed, or vaporise in your bedroom a few hours before you turn in. If you are stressed add Neroli and be sure to take a good half an hour winding down before you turn off the lights. If you’d prefer a pre-blended essential oil, try our Sweet Dreams blend with Lavender, Chamomile, Valerian, Cedarwood and Mandarin.
• Increase your intake of fresh vegetables (not fruits if you are trying to lose weight – as fruit contains a lot of sugar) in the form of a fresh green juice twice daily (ideally homemade as it's then full of energy – life-force – and nutrition as it hasn't been pasteurised).This will increase your dietary roughage too and create a more regular bowel movement which will further help with that detox. If you suffer from constipation snack on some dried prunes and liquorice and make sure you keep drinking plenty of water.
• Eat little and often and you'll be more likely to lose weight. Do not go for long periods without eating as this slows the metabolic rate down.
• If your alcohol intake has been particularly high, give your liver a tonic by taking “milk thistle” for a month, and drinking alcohol very moderately. Try only drinking at weekends for a month to give your liver a real boost.
• Reduce stimulants. If you are stressed and you add more adrenal stimulants into the mix, your health and energy levels could suffer, your ability to sleep well, concentrate easily and relax and recuperate could all be undermined. Try limiting colas and tea/coffee to a maximum of 3 daily – but reduce slowly if intake was high or you could feel very unwell. Weight around the middle is often associated with high stress – as the liver keeps the fat cells nearby for “flight or flight” easy access to energy, which rarely actually gets converted from fat to energy unless you get enough exercise.
• Incorporate essential oils into your daily routine to encourage detoxification and help release water retention and sluggish lymphatics. See our recommended blends below.
• Try exfoliating in your bath or shower 3 - 4 times a week to help stimulate your lymphatic system, remove dead skin cells and encourage skin cell renewal.
• Alternate your shower temperature to hot and cold to help stimulate your circulation, immunity, and lymphatic system.
• Exercise! There's no getting away from it. Find some classes or activities you enjoy, go with a friend and go regularly to ensure the results will be consistent and long lasting.
• Have a regular holistic aromatherapy massage to ease your stress levels, boost your immune system, relieve water retention and to stimulate energy levels.
• If you are significantly overweight get help from a qualified nutritional therapist – just in case you have a blood sugar or thyroid imbalance or nutritional deficiencies such as chromium that are adding to your problems.

DON'T

• Diet! Just adopt a long-term, healthier, more energising and varied food intake – with more fresh vegetables and less refined starchy foods and confectionery. Snack on nuts and seeds (not peanuts) and increase proteins as you decrease starch. Try fresh vegetable soup for lunch instead of sandwiches.
• Eat masses of white, highly refined sugar, bread, pasta, and rice – and wonder why the weight doesn't shift! Go for high nutrient foods with darker colours indicating high taste and nutrient levels.
• Aim to lose more than 2-3 lbs a week. First of all, it will be fluid then muscle not fat – and it will come back rapidly after you stop your diet.
• Engage in negative internal dialogue and pull your emotions down. Focus on what you do achieve rather than what you don't and set realistic targets.
• Keep jumping on those scales and weighing yourself. Take circumference measurements and go by how your clothes feel. Muscle weighs more than fat and you might get fitter and change your body contours/shapes completely without a significant weight loss.
• Cut out all fats! We need EFAs (essential fatty acids) to help keep the bad fats/cholesterol levels (LDLs – low density lipo-proteins ) down. Try Linwoods hulled Flaxseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds – 2 tablespoons daily – and eat oily fish 3 times a week.
• Expect change to happen overnight, but hang on in there and persevere, it may take time, but you'll get there!
• Forget that we are here to help. If you have any questions in relation to health and wellbeing – email us and we'll do our best to help you move forwards!

Detoxifying aromatherapy blends

Detox Bath & Shower Gel

Mix 100ml of our SLS Free Bath & Shower Gel with 8 drops Juniperberry essential oil, 8 drops Cypress, 4 drops Lemon, and 4 drops Lime. The same blend can be added to 100ml of Moisturising Lotion to reinforce the action.

Detox Bath Soak

Mix 2 tbsp of Epsom Salt with 1 tbsp of Bath Oil, 4 drops Lavender essential oil, 3 drops Geranium, 2 drops Juniperberry and 1 drop Lemon.

Detox Body Scrub

Mix 3 tbsp of Kaolin Clay, 1 tbsp of French Green Clay, 1 tbsp fine ground oatmeal, 2 tbsp fine ground Dead Sea Salt, 3-4 tbsp of Orange Flower Hydrolat, 4 drops Lavender essential oil, 3 drops Geranium, 2 drops Juniperberry and 1 drop Lemon. Mix well and work into the skin liberally. Leave to dry for a few minutes if you can. Massage off in the shower using circular movements with a flannel or sponge, working in a direction towards the heart.

Joannah Metcalfe
Consultant Aromatherapist

Disclaimer & Safety Advice