The first part of our detoxification guide for models and dancers aims to unclog sluggish lymphatic and blood circulation after the festive excesses.

Good lymph drainage and blood circulation are essential for the removal of toxins from the tissues into the liver, for processing and elimination by the body.

1. Avoid foods rich in saturated fat that literally clogs up your lymphatic drainage and blood circulation, especially that of small blood vessels. Saturated fat sources are cheese, non-skimmed milk, fatty meat, butter, pastry, biscuits etc.
2. Avoid hydrogenated fats (trans fatty acids) which are even worse than saturated fats as they cause inflammation in the blood vessels, make the blood cells sticky and short-circuit every single cell of your body. Trans fats are banned in some parts fo the world, but you are advised to ban them from your home now! Trans fats can be found in pastry, biscuits, ready-made foods etc. Just look at the label and avoid foods that contain them like the plague!
3. Do consume omega-3 oils, such as flax oil and fish oil, which have the opposite effect of saturated and trans fats. Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA do boost circulation and lymph drainage by making the blood vessels more elastic and the blood cells more flexible and less sticky, in addition to their anti-inflammatory action.
4. Avoid inactivity that makes the lymphatic system sluggish. Your lymph vessels heavily depend on muscular activity for their function. To get your system going you do not need some fluffy, touchy-feely massage at the spa...
5. ...The best lymphatic massage you can give to yourself is a good run, cycle or a good swim, these are the things that will really stimulate your lymphatic system. Interval training gives a fantastic boost to your blood and lymph vessels.
6. A similar strategy - but not as powerful - is to have regular contrast showers that create a pump effect on your blood vessels, boosting circulation and invigorating your system as a whole.
7. In addition to exercise and contrast showers you can look for a strong, lymphatic stimulation massage which offers much more benefits than the "softy" lymph drainage variety.
8. Avoid crash dieting and fasting that lead to protein loss and thereby weaken the blood vessels. Your blood vessels are made of collagen and elastin fibres and muscles, i.e. protein. Crash diet, means no protein intake, which means no collagen and elastin to repair your blood vessels, which ultimately means poor circulation and water retention.
9. With starvation you will also be short of flavonoids which are stimulate your (fibroblasts) collagen cells to increase their collagen production.
10. A better dieting and detox approach is to consume more protein-rich, flavonoid-rich, calorie-poor foods, such as fruits, pulses, vegetables, fish and lean meat.
11. Avoid alcohol that causes fluid retention after the initial diuretic/dehydrating phase. This is
12. A glass of red wine every two days is absolutely fine, but 10 alcohol units on a Saturday night will definitely mess up your lymph and blood circulation. Needless to say that beer is out of the question...
13. Salt is well known for causing water retention, thereby hindering the toxin-removal efforts of the lymphatic system.
14. Prefer a high potassium salt instead, found in most supermarkets. Loo for Low Salt, Solo, So Low, Lo Salt etc. These products usually contain 66% potassium and 33% sodium, i.e. an ideal balance of the two minerals. You may consume as much as you want of this salt.

The other three parts of our detox guide for models...

...deal with liver detox, supporting the digestive system and detoxifying the skin of the thighs and buttocks directly.

Introduction

Part II

Part III

Part IV