Boots Detox 5 Day Plan

...had a go, using the Boots 5 Day Detox Plan.

The package you can purchase from boots costs £13.50. Within the plastic presentation box you'll find 5 phials containing a liquid, and a blister pack of 5 tablets, as well as a detox guide booklet. The detox package comes in two flavours - either strawberry, or apple. I chose apple.

The Idea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's little information on the front of the box ...
...does say:
"Your body is designed to naturally flush out toxins. But a bus modern lifestyle can leave your system struggling to cope. Alcohol, pesticides and other toxins can all find their way into the body. Combat the effects with this 5 day plan that re-energises your detoxifying organs to leave you feeling revitalised."

There's not much more additional information on the back of the box, except for a repeat of what ... more

I've heard a lot about detox - Carol Vorderman went well into it, producing her own books / videos and the likes, and you often hear of other celebrities taking the detox option to help them feel great. For a while now I've considered having a go myself, so last week I had a go, using the Boots 5 Day Detox Plan.

The package you can purchase from boots costs £13.50. Within the plastic presentation box you'll find 5 phials containing a liquid, and a blister pack of 5 tablets, as well as a detox guide booklet. The detox package comes in two flavours - either strawberry, or apple. I chose apple.

The Idea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's little information on the front of the box to explain the detox process however, this is what it does say:
"Your body is designed to naturally flush out toxins. But a bus modern lifestyle can leave your system struggling to cope. Alcohol, pesticides and other toxins can all find their way into the body. Combat the effects with this 5 day plan that re-energises your detoxifying organs to leave you feeling revitalised."

There's not much more additional information on the back of the box, except for a repeat of what was on the front of the box (though worded a little differently) and very brief instructions on how to use the phials and tablets. Additionally there's information on the nutritional information and ingredients.

The Rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First off, I wanted to know what I was going to be able to eat and drink during my time on the plan. The booklet gave a bit of advice on this, though not as much as I would have hoped. The booklet itself starts of by telling you the 'how, why and what' of detoxing, followed by 'the benefits of detoxing', followed by information on 'how detoxing works'. The next three pages basically advertise some of Boots' other products that compliment the detox process such as additional supplements and products for the skin.

Finally, I reach the page I really want to read - 'the essentials while detoxing'. First piece of advice offered by the book - drink more fluids. It advises to drink at least 1.5 litres (3 pints) per day. Next, change your diet - it advises to change to a more balanced diet as this can 'work wonders for your system and can also result in weight loss and increased energy levels'. The general advice is to eat and drink natural, fresh produce. The booklet goes on to list some good detoxifying foods. These are:
- Fruit - fresh or dried
- Vegetables - preferably raw or steamed
- Nuts, pulses and seeds
- Fish
- Brown rice
- Wholemeal bread
- Olive, walnut or sesame oil
- Garlic
- Herbal teas
- Fruit juice - preferably not made from concentrate
- Vegetable juice

It then lists things to avoid:
- Dairy products (it states these are difficult to digest)
- Red meat (again, difficult to digest)
- Processed or convenience food
- Artificially sweetened food
- Tea, coffee and alcohol (as these dehydrate your body)
- Sweets and chocolate

The final piece of advice is that you should also try to stop smoking and avoid skoky environments.

The rest of the booklet is dedicated to giving a bit of advice on taking the holistic approach (regular exercise, deep breathing and improving your environment), and advising on potential side effects, and a few FAQ's. There are a few side effects listed - common ones apparantly include: mild headaches, spots, increased bowel movements, a furry tongue, and lulls in energy.

Doing the Detox
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First off I took a shopping trip and stocked up on veg. There were some ingredients that I tend to eat on a regular basis that weren't really mentioned within the booklet - to be on the safe side and to get the most from my detox I avoided these (e.g. pasta). I'm a vegetarian, so missing out on the meat wasn't a problem for me.

Each day the contents of one of the phials had to be mixed with one litre of water and drunk throughout the day. In addition, one of the tablets also had to be taken. There's not much info provided to tell you what these are or what they are for, though where the ingredients are listed it states 'Antioxidant Supplement' before listing all the ingredients for the contents of the phial and tablets, so I presume that the phial and tablets were basically supplements to aid your body in flushing out the toxins.
The contents of the phial amount to 30ml, so when mixed with a litre of water the taste is fairly mild. The apple taste was quite pleasant and refreshing, not too unlike apple juice. I'd been worried that it would taste sickly and artificial, but fortunately it wasn't bad at all. I took the tablets daily at lunch time with a sip of the water/phial contents mixture.

Throughout the five days I ate very healthily sticking to basic ingredients of vegetables, fruit, oats and wholemeal bread. Most mornings I ate porridge (made using either soya milk or water or a combination of the two). For lunch I'd tend to have a wholemeal bread roll, with something like mushrooms in. For tea I tended to have a vegetable bake of some sort, changing the types of vegetables I used each time - this was simple to produce, just a case of boiling or dry frying some veg (e.g. chopped leak, mushrooms, sweetcorn, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, carrots, green beans etc) mixing a bit of tinned chopped tomato with the veg I'd prepared, putting all the ingredients into an ovenproof dish and topping with a few wholemeal breadcrumbs.

The Results
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day one I didn't really feel any different. I didn't particularly feel hungry, and I enjoyed what I ate.
Day two was pretty much the same. I still didn't really feel much different.
On day three I got a couple of spots... possibly one of the side effects? Who knows, maybe it was just a coincidence, but I'd like to think it was a side effect of my body getting rid of toxins. By day three I also noticed I was actually feeling quite good - not a huge change, but I felt less sluggish. It was kind of strange, I hadn't particularly felt like I was sluggish before doing the detox, but I certainly felt less sluggish. I'd also lost a couple of pounds by day three too.
Day four, and by the evening I really felt like I could do with a glass of wine with my evening meal, but I didn't lose my willpower and stuck to water.
Day five, the final day, soon came around. I still had that feeling that I was less sluggish and had a bit more energy - we're not talking tons of hyperactive style energy, I was just feeling really good inside. Presumably then my detox had worked. By day 5 I'd also lost 6 pounds in total, so it's been a good 5 days from that respect too, especially as I'll be off on holiday soon, so any extra help with a bit of weight loss before donning the bikini is worthwhile!

Post detox, starting mid way through what would have been day 6 and carrying on to days 7 and 8 I had a headache. I've no idea whether again this is a coincidence, or maybe it's my body adjusting to eating things like cheese and the odd piece of chocolate? I've not particularly over indulged on these foods, but still, can't help wondering whether it's a side effect or not.

The Verdict
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm a bit cynical... The 5 Day Detox Plan cost me £13.50. Would I have achieved the same results had I just stuck to the same diet of plenty of fruit and veg and drinking only water for the week? It's something I'll have to try one day to see. I certainly found my 5 Day Detox beneficial, as I did end up feeling good, as well as a little bit lighter. I guess because of the good results I can't not recommend the product to anyone thinking of doing a detox, but as I've said, perhaps it's not really required?
Detoxing isn't recommended on a regular basis, just a few times a year - I think that perhaps in four or six months or so I'll give detoxing a go again, though at the moment I'm undecided as to whether I'll buy the kit again or give it a go without.

Rather than sit on the fence, for this review I am going to recommend the product, and I'll give it four stars - one knocked off for that thought in the back of my head. * * * * 

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