Well here we are in limbo. Those odd few days in between Christmas and New Year when we’re not really sure if we’re at the end of one year or the beginning of another. School is out, of course, and I’ve given up doing any serious work. Writing this will be challenging enough — I’m at the kitchen table, surrounded by a sea of Christmas debris and a lot of glitter. There’s an endless stream of breakfast requests and Belle is weaving a woollen parent trap around my legs. She’s determined to tie me to my seat, but equally adamant that I should make her toast. On top of that, Mako Mermaids is blaring from the TV in the background and the neighbours are mowing their lawn.

The overstimulation is at an all-time high and it’s only 9.15am. After this, I’ve promised to play with Star Lilly the Fur Real unicorn and Marly the knock-off American Girl. By that point, I might be on the wine.

Just like Cup Match, Christmas seems to legitimise several days of daytime drinking. Sometimes helpful (in unicorn situations) and sometimes not helpful (er, poor liver)! It’s no wonder, then, that we all start thinking about a detox around now. The problem is, in the never-ending cycle of my-philosophy-is-better-than-yours, even the concept of “detox” is taking some heat. So what’s the deal — is detoxing a myth, a fad or an effective reality?

Let’s start with one very simple thing. Your body is insanely clever and amazingly designed. Given the right set of tools (eg nutrients and friendly bacteria) “toxins” such as pesticides or alcohol (in moderation) can move in and out of your system with relative ease. Also, through normal metabolic processes, your body is constantly detoxing and, as such, achieving a “clean” state where you are completely pure is unrealistic. That’s one of the reasons why some medical professionals (or members of the public in general) consider the concept of a detox to be pseudoscience or marketing rubbish. In that respect, I agree.

However, if we’re realistic about how we use the term “detox”, the concept can be very valid. Ignoring the overhyped extremes, most real-food cleanse or detox programmes simply involve moving away from the patterns that overload detox pathways, and moving towards habits that support them. Just as you can mentally “detox” from stress by learning to manage your workflow and emotions, so you can “detox” from Christmas by ditching the alcohol and Quality Street. All we’re talking about here is getting into the habit of eating healthy food again after several weeks of eating badly. So long as we understand that, then we’re all good! (There’s also some cool stuff to know about phase one and phase two liver detox which is completely legit, but we’ll save that for another time.)

What’s the upshot? Anything that promises to magically restore your health and vitality through a packet of tea bags or random supplement is probably too good to be true. Just as you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet, so you can’t drink your way out or supplement your way out either. Our mantra at Natural is to “choose food that nourishes you”; we all have to remember that food is for nourishment and not just pleasure, although our aim is to make it both! Your choices will literally build you up or knock you down as you weave your way through life. So, if you find a great programme (obviously we recommend ours) that helps you “detox” from all those bad habits and settle into a healthy new mindset, then you should go for it. Let us know how it goes!

•The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist. She is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/utrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda