Feast, don't fast: a dozen delicious ways to detoxify your body from the inside out--every single day.

Most of us meet the idea of detoxing with the same dread we'd reserve for a root canal. Cleansing usually involves varying stages of starvation combined with powerful herbs to promote a laxative effect, and such unappealing practices as colonics and enemas. At the end of it--assuming you can muster up the courage to start at all--you may be cleansed; or you may just be weakened and drained.

"It's dangerous to do extreme detoxifying, and it's not really effective," says Pam Vagnieres, MS, MNT, CSCS, a nutritionist and exercise physiologist in Boulder, Colo. "The liver needs taurine, glutathione, and other amino acids to detox. If you're not getting them in your diet, your body will break down muscle tissue to find them. You also need antioxidants from food to combat the free radicals that are created when you detox." And fasting is a temporary fix, one that doesn't encourage long-term change or dietary revisions.

You don't have to starve yourself to cleanse. By following these simple principles, you can detox daily--no starving involved.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

(1) EAT LIKE A BIRD. Check your calorie consumption; most of us eat way more than we need. "The less we eat, the fewer toxins we take in," says Vagnieres. "And some really good research shows that the fewer calories you eat, the longer you live." Once or twice a month, try cutting caloric intake to 700 calories for a clay for a quick, easy cleanse. "A partial fast also works on a psychological level to remind us that we don't really need that much food to live and thrive," says Vagnieres.

(2) up YOUR H20. Water is essential for transporting waste and nutrients in the body; divide your weight by two to find the number of ounces of filtered water you should drink daily. And be careful with coffee or tea intake; caffeine can dehydrate the cells, burden the liver, and tax the adrenals. Stick to a cup in the morning, says Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, author of The Gut-Flush Plan or switch to a cranberry-lemon cocktail to prevent accumulation of bacteria in the bladder and stimulate the liver: combine 1/4 cup unsweetened cranberry juice concentrate, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/2 to 1 cup water; sweeten to taste with stevia.

(3) GO ORGANIC. Organic foods are flee of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals, and organic produce is naturally higher in antioxidants. If you must buy conventional produce, focus on those least likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues: try asparagus, avocado, broccoli, cabbage, pineapple and onions (see foodnews.org/walletguide.php for a complete list). Clean conventional fruits and vegetables in a natural produce wash solution; rinse in a clear water bath for 10 minutes before serving or storing.