7 Day Cleansing Diet

A 7 day cleansing diet can be a good idea if you've overindulged over the holidays or while on vacation and you need to get back on track with a healthier diet and exercise program. Being super-focused on everything you eat for a week gets you back in the mindset of doing the right thing for your body after a period when you haven't been doing so well.

Types of Cleansing Diets

When you think of a cleansing diet you might think of the Master Cleanse Diet or some other type of fad diet that involves eating little or nothing over the course of the time you are doing the cleanse.

While this sort of liquid diet or all one food diet is a popular idea of what cleansing is about, the truth is you can do a 7 day cleansing diet that involves more food than you might expect. The important thing is that you only eat certain types of food to help clean out your body.

The idea behind a cleansing diet is that the body is assaulted daily by toxic materials, whether that's from pollution, the food we eat or the plastic products we use in our homes every day. Proponents of regular cleansing say it's important to give the body time to rest, heal, and bring those toxins out of the body to maintain optimum health.

Others say that detox diets are not actually effective at removing toxins from the body, and that most of the bad things we come into contact with are naturally and easily eliminated by the body, regardless of what we eat. But even those experts say that if going on a fast or detox diet helps get you refocused on the kinds of foods you should be eating, it's a good idea.

What Goes into a 7 Day Cleansing Diet

Eating raw fruit and vegetables is a good way to cleanse your system.

As mentioned earlier, there are different ways to approach a 7 day cleansing diet. Some people like to detox by drinking only fresh-squeezed fruit juices and filtered water for the duration of the cleanse.

Others simply cut out processed foods and meat, or choose to eat only raw foods for a week. This sort of diet is a much more reasonable approach and likely just as effective because it still gives the body a break from the less-healthy foods you're regularly putting into it.

Sample Cleansing Diet Plan

If you'd like to try a cleansing diet but aren't sure where to start, here are some ideas.

1. Cut out all meat, fish and dairy products. If desired, you can also cut out tofu and other meat alternatives, as well as beans.
2. Don't eat any processed foods or simple carbohydrates.
3. Stick as much as possible to raw, organic fruits and vegetables as the main part of your food. If you want juice, make sure it is freshly squeezed and not from a bottle.
4. If you feel like you have to eat something cooked, try brown rice. This is a healthy, fiber-filled food that will help you feel fuller, and organic varieties are available.
5. The point of a cleansing diet isn't starvation. Go ahead and eat when you are hungry, again sticking to raw, unprocessed foods as much as you can.
6. When you come out of the diet, don't go back immediately to eating as you used to. Start by gradually adding in more cooked foods. After a week or so of transitioning back to a more regular diet, you should be able to start eating more meat and processed foods again. But maybe you'll find you don't have the taste for them anymore after your week of healthy eating!

The main point to remember when considering a cleansing diet is to be gentle with yourself. Don't think that fasting entirely is the only way to clean your body out. And if you've been sick, have a health condition or take medications that require you to eat regularly, make sure to get your doctor's approval before undertaking even a gentle cleansing program.