I try: a 3 day PHD Cleanse for a winter kick start

The idea of “spring cleaning” your body a couple of times a year has always been a favourite of mine, be that overhauling your diet or exercise regime, cutting back on alcohol and sugar – or a combination of the whole lot! I’ve also long been a fan of juicing, and for year would have a one day juice fast a week to keep my bod feeling good. I’ve got out of the habit over the last few years though, and although I juice up the likes of carrot, ginger and orange every afternoon, it’s been a while since I experienced a proper fast.

When I decided to take on the Dry July challenge I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a juice fast in there to help things along, but I’ve been super busy with work so the idea of juicing five or six times a day - and cleaning my juicer in between - seriously didn’t appeal. So… enter the work of local juice kings PHD Cleanse, who have created a range of easy-to-follow juice cleanse systems that use freshly cold-pressed, raw and unpasteurised ingredients, load your body with all the things that are good for you and make things about as convenient as they get!

Designed to help accelerate the body’s natural detoxification process, PHD Cleanses flood the body with essential enzymes, vitamins and minerals that eradicate and eliminate toxins. PHD Cleanse co-founders Rich Tangney and James Ehau, say, “New Zealand grows some of the freshest and most nutritious raw fruit and vegetables in the world. Unlike most other ‘detoxes’, we wanted to make the most of our amazing fresh produce. We found a way to deliver it to people’s doorsteps – in no-mess, no-fuss bottles – and leave them feeling rejuvenated, energised and altogether healthier.” I was pretty excited then to be embarking on the three-day version of PHD, and despite a worry that I would get “hangry” (hungry + angry!) at various points during the cleanse I knew that it was manageable and the end result would be all good.

The fact that Rich and James found a way to deliver PHD to people’s doorsteps – in no-mess, no-fuss bottles –gets a big tick from me too, as ‘having no time’ is one of the main excuses people give for not giving juicing a go. It’s also available as a 3-Day and 5-Day cleanse system - available in ‘Basic’ and ‘Advanced’ levels – so you can find a way to fit it into your life no matter what.

Each system consists of six bottled juices a day, with the Green Juice – combo of cucumber, celery, kale lettuce, parsley, lemon, apple, cos lettuce and spinach – as the predominant variant. The others are Silver Juice (lemon, cayenne, agave nectar, 'oxygen rich' detoxification water), Yellow Juice (pineapple, apple, mint) and White Juice, which is made up of cashew nuts, vanilla, agave nectar, cinnamon, 'oxygen rich' detoxification water.  Green juice is widely considered the world’s healthiest juice – jam-packed with green leafy vegetables – and it was my absolute favourite of the bunch. I wish I could have a pack delivered every week as I’d hoover it up, no problem!

I think it’s important to know about pre-cleanse protocol before starting a three or five-day journey as apparently the transition is easier if you observe it, such as sticking to meals that are predominantly made up of leafy veges and loads of water in the 48 hours preceding your cleanse. Having already started Dry July I was all good with the no alcohol factor, which definitely made things easier.

I found the first two days to be an absolute breeze, and as I said – I couldn’t get enough of the Green Juice! – but by day three did cheat a little and had a small salad. This was most likely in part due to the fact that the temperature dropped dramatically and I was imagining I needed something extra - who knows? After the cleanse I felt amazing though, and committed once again to good, mindful eating and keeping tabs on any cravings. Result!