Scrap The Yearly Detox

The new year is finally here; I hope you have all had a great Christmas and New Years and enjoyed the fantastic food and drink that comes along with it.

However, the seasonal celebrations can often leave us feeling jaded and overindulged. So it is no surprise that the word Detox can sound appealing, especially with big companies pushing a plethora of Detox practices such as fasts and crash diets.

These can be detrimental to your fitness as the majority are extremely low calorie and primarily liquids, in turn, these type of diets can cause severe health risks such as vitamin deficiencies, muscle breakdown, irritability and headaches. Depriving your body of these essential vitamins and minerals can be bad news for your body, and can often cause more harm than good. 

Ok, I know what you are thinking, ‘So what should I do instead?’ Well if you keep an eye on my social media this month I will be posting some top tips on how to stay healthy this year, such as keeping active and introducing a digital detox. You may also want to have a look at some of the holistic treatments I have on offer at the salon.

What I hope you take away from my no-tox tips, is that there is no need to go to extremes and deprive your body in the pursuit of weight loss, instead simple lifestyle adjustments and taking time to show your mind and body some love can make all the difference! Have a happy, healthy January and let me know if you try any of my ditch the detox tips.

Uh oh! I’ve had a bit too much to drink and now my skin is suffering!!

Whilst many of us just enjoy the occasional social drink throughout the year, Christmas with all the parties and extra celebrations that take place, often mean that alcohol consumption increases and quite dramatically.

So why does alcohol have such a bad effect on our skin?

Alcohol is a major cause of free radical formation, vascular damage (i.e. broken capillaries and redness), dehydration and premature ageing. But why?

• Alcohol is toxic to the body and puts a strain on liver function (one function is to detoxify the body overnight) which can cause the skin to look sallow or even yellow
• Toxins in the body affect the immunology of the skin and its general metabolism is impaired
• This toxicity also causes inflammation which then increases free radical formation
• Alcohol is highly dehydrating which compromises the protective barrier on the surface of our skin, one result is the skin doesn’t naturally exfoliate, or desquamate to use the technical term, giving matt, dull, flaky, rough, grey colour and accentuating fine lines all over the skin’s surface.
• The loss of the protective barrier also leads to increased sensitivity and reactivity in the skin
• Which also contributes to the creation of vaso-dilation damage on the skin, as the surface blood vessels expand with alcohol leading to broken capillaries, particularly on the cheeks and nose area
• There is a known link between alcohol consumption and the development of acne rosacea, a persistent and difficult condition to treat and distressing to the individual
• A general blemished appearance and the skin will look puffy due to the tissue fluid leakage from dilated blood vessels
• Skin will be more photo sensitive, leaving the skin even more susceptible to UV Light damage, creating irregular pigmentation
• In general, the skin will be more easily irritated with permanent or fluctuating diffused redness
• Alcohol is a diuretic, so not only does it force more water out of the body, it also makes it difficult to rehydrate because alcohol hinders the production of the hormone Vasopressin and that’s the hormone that helps to reabsorb water
• It decreases the single most important Vitamin to the skin and super antioxidant – Vitamin A. Vitamin A is key for cell renewal and cell turnover. This is where we get our glowing skin from. A lack of Vitamin A means it’s harder to protect yourself from free radicals.
• The presence of sugar and salt in drink triggers the hormone IGF-1 which causes an over production of oil, again affecting the balance of the skin’s protective barrier
• Sugar leads to inflammation
• Salt leads to bloating and undereye bags

OK, doesn’t sound good does it? But, occasional excess is quickly repaired by rehydrating yourself.
So let’s think about how to minimise these and other effects during the party season……..

• Increase hydration levels by drinking water in between glasses of alcohol, so reducing the alcohol consumption and helping to offset the dehydrating quality of alcohol
• Eat while you drink as food will slow down the release of sugar
• Low intensity exercise can help clear the head after a party
• Walnuts are high in antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. Antioxidants neutralise free radical damage caused by alcohol
• Eating Avocados which are high in dietary fibre and good cholesterol, help to keep liver damage at bay
• A supercharged apple and banana smoothie is classed a heart helper in a glass according to Men’s Health magazine and eating Tuna due to Vitamin D will help boost testosterone – alcohol does not improve your sex life!
• Drink wine, spritzers rather than hard spirits and avoid sugar laden mixers, use soda water or tonic instead. Red wine does contain antioxidants in called Polyphenols
• Dr Perricone suggests the following post indulgence routine;
• 10-12 ounces glass of water
• 1000 mg of Vitamin C
• 1200 mg of n-acetyl cysteine, an amino acid
• 100 mg of alpha lipoic acid, an antioxidant
• 1000 mg glutamine, an amino acid
• 500 mg of pantothenic acid, a B-complex capsule
• At Ginger Tree we stock the Advanced Nutrition Programme and would recommend Skin Vit C Plus, Skin Complete (Vit A & Antioxidants) and Glutamine
• Lastly, there is a homeopathic remedy called Nux-V and as a post party first aid rescue, a low dose can help clear the head and nausea. Available from Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy.

So you know what happens to your skin and you’ve got some tips to help you through the season…..everything in moderation.

Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year