Review: Rhythm Cleanse

As many of you know I am a big fan of detoxing and giving your digestive system a break for a few days every couple of months. I have tried numerous juice and food detoxes over the years, so I was intrigued when I was contacted to review a cleanse that combined cold pressed juice with live bacterial cultures to give you all the benefits of juicing with a digestive boost. I have written many times about the importance of a healthy gut and taking probiotics, so I was interested to see how this cleanse would work!

I was sent a 3 day cleanse (3 times the above) and was excited to see that the Rhythm cleanse was completely different to any others I had previously tried. On a normal day I eat a lot! As I work out 4/5 days a week I have increased my metabolic rate over the years and I definitely need to fuel those hard earned muscles. During a typical detox I do usually struggle with hunger and tiredness, but I have found this one a lot easier. The Rhythm cleanse has a really generous volume and the variety of flavours and textures really helps you to feel full and stops you getting bored. The juices are 500ml and are quite thick, while the coconut milk's fat content makes it a really satisfying treat.

1. Start of the day

The day starts with the High Potency Kefir (Life shot 200) loading up with over 200 billion diverse natural multi-strain cultures trailblazing deep in your gut. After consuming this bottle first thing in the morning you are told not to eat or drink anything for 30 minutes.

 

2. Start of the day to - Lunch time

Drink 4 x 126g bottles of Rhythm Pure Coconut over this period keeping your nutrients intake simplistic and pure whilst the loading of the cultures takes place. I tried to drink them at timed intervals i.e. High Potency taken at 7.00am, Rhythm Pure Coconut 126g at 8.00am, 9.00am, 10.00am and 11.00am. Sip on the 500ml coconut water during this period for rehydration. If you want, add a dash of calamansi lime juice to bring up your Vitamin C.

 

3. Lunch

Choose either the Coconut & Beetroot 500ml or the Coconut & Greens 500ml. If you feel hungry, have 30% of a Virgin Coconut Milk pouch. This is very filling and contains all good medium chain fatty acids which are good fuel for the body. The saturated fats in the pouch are Virgin Coconut Oil.

4. In between Lunch & Dinner for re-hydration

Sip on 90% of the Pomegranate Juice 500 ml for a boost of antioxidants. Save the other 10% for later.

5. Dinner

Which ever Vegetable Kefir you have left.

6. Dessert

Combine the other 10% of Pomegranate Juice with the remainder of the Virgin Coconut Milk to create a deep fruity tangy pudding that's totally natural.
 

The Rhythm cleanse even has a tasty dessert! Now, that's my kind of cleanse!

Cleanse packages can be ordered online via www.rhythmcleanse.co.uk

The vegetable kefir drinks and range of Rhythm shots are available singly or in multi-packs in Wholefoods, Holland and Barrett and Planet Organic and many other health food stores.

Health: Friendly Bacteria and ProVen Probiotic Review

Having a doctor as a husband and being interested in science and health myself new research is always a welcome topic in my household!

After years of tummy pains (all my friends will confirm how much fun I can be to travel with) I was tested for allergies and intolerances and subsequently have tried to reduce certain foods in my diet that I have been deemed intolerant to (mainly dairy and gluten/grains). I have written before about my success with the Paleo lifestyle, but honestly it’s not something that I can keep up 100% of the time. If I was able to work from home and prepare all my own meals I think it would be much easier, but alas with work, travel and inevitably socialising it becomes very difficult to be restrictive. Most of the time I just hate being a pain or sounding rude so will eat things I know I really shouldn’t as I don’t want to offend… though other times it is just because I’m in a bad mood and want ice cream!

Recently I have seen a lot of articles popping up about gut health and ‘friendly bacteria’ in the mainstream press. There’s a lot of differing evidence (which my husband would be very happy for me to cite, but I know most people would skip over), but ultimately imbalances in gut flora have been linked to all manner of complications from serious illness following prolonged antibiotic use to acne (see this month’s issue of Women’s Health), weight gain and even shyness!

Being a stickler for rigorous trials my husband is more sceptical about probiotics. However, I personally believe as I have been reducing some foods in my diet due to limiting my dairy intake (eg. yoghurt) it is worth trying to restore balance and aid my poor tummy in any way I can. Along with increasing my consumption of fermented foods such as kefir (I have been trying a coconut milk based one sold in Whole Foods) and Kombucha (fermented tea) I have also started taking ProVen Probiotics.

ProVen Adult Acidophilus and Bifidus 25 Billion* contains Lab4, the most comprehensively studied group of friendly bacteria of any product in the U.K. These studies conducted in Cambridge, Sheffield, Swansea, Southampton and Cardiff suggest that ProVen Adult Acidophilus and Bifidus 25 Billion provides real benefits in supporting digestive and immune health. As well as 12.5 billion viable cells per capsule they also contain Vitamin D3, C, Calcium, Zinc and Selenium.

So far they have been really easy to take (some vitamins make me feel a bit queasy). I have been taking one or two capsules after my breakfast each morning and even if it is just a placebo effect feel like my tummy is happier already! Either way I am very happy to undertake this experiment on myself and see if I feel a difference!

Have you ever tried taking Probiotics? What are your thoughts on them?