Active Lifestyle Cleanse Information

Our Active Lifestyle Cleanse was developed to flood your body with potent plant nutrition — temporarily eliminating common inflammation triggers and giving your body a break from the stress of digesting dense foods.

Using practical dietary principles, you will receive six nutritionist-formulated drinks and an evening salad to deliver high-density doses of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes that will help restore the metabolism and hit reset on the body’s systems. Our juices are cold-pressed, the crème de la crème of juicing, retaining more nutrients to flood your body with potent plant nutrition.

For a cleanse to work, you need to nourish the body, not starve it. So, to support this liquid cleanse, your selected meal option provides you with an abundance of raw organic produce and a source of fibre and vital nutrients required for effective elimination.

Staying hydrated is vital during a cleanse — often when we think we are hungry, we are thirsty! We also recommend incorporating some herbal tea into your day, such as nettle, hibiscus, dandelion or milk thistle.

That said, this cleanse is not an exercise of deprivation. If you are feeling ravenous at any point reach for whole raw vegetables and fruits — we recommend low sugar fruits like green apples, kiwifruit or berries.

Sleep is equally essential to getting the most out of your cleanse as it plays a crucial role in maintaining balance. During periods of rest, our body’s energy shifts focus from the external to internal activities — stimulating cellular repair and fighting free radicals. Quality sleep is vital, restorative and reparative.

1. Sunrise - Vitamin C Boost

An alkalising dream, Carrot provides beta-carotene which your body converts into Vitamin A — vital to immune function while working to balance the blood’s acidity as well as blood sugar levels. Coupled with a sea of antioxidants and Vitamin C from freshly pressed citrus, you can literally drink to reinforce your immunity while folate (Vitamin B9) promote blood circulation and cleansing. Turmeric, used in India for thousands of years, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory containing curcumin (the bioactive component) to support immunity. The addition of Lemon supports digestion and detoxification — a must for any cleanse.

Ingredients: Orange or Tangelo, Carrot, Lemon, Turmeric.

2. Blue Coconut Hydration Aid – Electrolytes & Hydration

Your body is at its best when the cells are provided with a slightly alkaline environment, where your pH is neutral — somewhere around 7.365 to 7.45. High levels of acid in the body can cause inflammation, digestive issues and a general lack of vibrancy. An abundance of vitamins, minerals and added electrolytes help to create an alkaline tonic, also helping support nerve and muscle function.

Ingredients: Water, Coconut, Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Blue Spirulina, Lime Juice, Xylitol, Tremella

*Birch Xylitol is naturally derived from birch bark. It has half the energy density of cane sugar and despite being a pure carbohydrate has negligible effects on blood sugar and insulin levels. Studies find that Xylitol is effective in inducing demineralisation of the deeper layers of enamel — the opposite effect of tooth decay.

3 Drink Your Greens — Alkalising

You receive two of these seasonal cold-pressed green juices spiked with Lemon, Ginger Parsley and Coriander to help you detoxify deeper! The combined action of fresh organic herbs, Fennel, Broccoli, Celery, Bok Choy and Kale flood your system with essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and live enzymes. Greens are one of the most potent and powerful foods on the planet — so the greener the better. Drink Your Greens is formulated to facilitate digestion, and help the organs eliminate toxins and purify the blood.

Ingredients: Cucumber, Green Apple, Fennel, Broccoli, Celery, Bok Choy, Kale, Parsley, Coriander, Lemon, Ginger.

4. Lunch

For our Active Lifestyle Cleanse, we like to include a meal in the middle of the day to provide more sustenance and boost energy. Your selected meal option provides your body with a diversity of raw organic produce, health-promoting, disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants — and the fibre needed to support digestion and elimination. If you find it challenging to incorporate a diverse range of plants and functional foods daily, we hope that our meals inspire you to eat more of the rainbow after your cleanse.

5. Drop Your Beets — Blood Cleansing

Betacyanin, the pigment found in beetroot increases the production of enzymes that naturally detoxify the body and that, combined with antioxidant activity, protects against oxidative stress while improving digestion and blood quality. Beetroot also delivers folate (Vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C — a must for any cleanse. Carrot provides an abundance of Vitamin A — a powerful antioxidant while the addition of Lemon and Ginger to support digestion and detoxification.

Ingredients; Beetroot, Carrot, Green Apple, Lemon, Ginger.

6. Magic Mushroom Milk — Energising

Cacao contains bliss chemicals — serotonin, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylethylamine to deliver a natural high while also providing the body with essential minerals such as magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese. This milk is our go-to energy drink whenever we need to re-spark creativity and focus.

Recommendations: If you’re exercising, try having this around 0.5 - 1 hour before you go. Because this contains cacao, we suggest you don’t have this one just before bed.

Ingredients: Almond milk, Cacao Powder, Dates, Coconut Sugar, Lion’s Mane, Ashwagandha, Chaga

7. Dinner

To support this Cleanse, your selected meal option provides your body with a diversity of raw organic produce, health-promoting, disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants — and the fibre needed to support digestion and elimination. If you find it challenging to incorporate a diverse range of plants and functional foods daily, we hope that our meals inspire you to eat more of the rainbow after your cleanse.

Cleanse FAQ’s

What Cleanse is right for me?

This depends on your unique health and fitness goals.

For beginners and those with an active lifestyle we recommend our Active Lifestyle Cleanse, designed for those who are new to cleansing or who have a strenuous exercise schedule or physically demanding job, thereby needing a little more sustenance to get them through the day.

For seasoned cleansers, or those on an intermittent fasting lifestyle, we recommend our Advanced Fasting Cleanse. This is our most challenging cleanse as it is under 800 calories. Designed to maximise fat burning and boost vitality.

For those beginning a weight loss journey, or wishing to simply reset their digestion or kick unhealthy habits, we recommend one of our signature cleanses.

If you have unique goals you'd like to meet, feel free to get in touch and we can help you design a custom cleanse.

How often should I do the little bird cleanse?

Ideally, we'd do a cleanse one or two days per week — it’s the perfect way to reset the body. Some find juice cleansing can also train your mind and body to make healthier decisions moving forward. But if this isn't possible, we'd recommend each season.

However, if you're coming out of a heavily indulgent holiday or season, you may feel that a total reset is required. In this case, a three or five-day cleanse is the best way to reset your body and healthy eating habits.

If you are wanting to address specific health concerns, engaging with a holistic practitioner would be a worthwhile investment.

How do I prepare for my little bird cleanse?

To maximise the benefits of your cleanse, we recommend taking a break from coffee, alcohol and heavily processed foods both during your cleanse and 48 hours before commencing.

Staying hydrated is vital — before, during and after your cleanse. If you struggle to drink water throughout the day, add fresh lemon juice. Healthy hydration also includes water-rich plants. We recommend cucumber, lettuce, celery, bok choy, zucchini, watercress and low sugar fruits like berries, green apples and kiwifruit.

Do I have to drink my juices in order?

Our recommended order is suggestive for those who prefer guidance. Listen to your body and do what feels and works best for you. We recommend consuming them at two-hourly intervals throughout the day.

Will I need to take time off work and/or stop exercising while I cleanse?

You don’t need to take a day off work to survive our cleanse. We aim to give your digestive system a rest and allow it to detoxify and replenish while still feeding the cells with easily digestible nutrient rich juices and food that will give you enough energy to function during the day. If you are planning on cleansing for longer than 72 hours, you may wish to undertake more gentle exercise than usual. As always, listen to your body we are all different and respond differently to changes in our diet.

Are there any alternative or adjacent therapies I can do to complement my cleanse?

Sure! If you can provide your body with additional healing therapies such as yoga, meditation, hot stone sessions, saunas, massage and so on can also help reset your body and mind — these are all healing and powerful. Naturopathic consultations are also a wonderful opportunity to discuss your health and wellness goals providing additional support to your cleanse regime. We have a list of Little Bird preferred practitioners across most disciplines. Contact us for further information if required.

What happens if I get hungry while on my little bird cleanse?

Our cleanses are not an exercise in deprivation. If you are feeling ravenous at any point, we recommend reaching for water-rich vegetables like cucumber, lettuce, celery, bok choy, zucchini, watercress and low sugar fruits like berries, green apples and kiwifruit.

I’d love to Instagram/Facebook my cleanse. Is little bird on Facebook/Instagram?

Funny you should ask! You can tag us @littlebirdorganics, @littlebirdkitchennz and facebook.com/littlebirdorganics Feel free to tag us and connect with others who are also cleansing, it can really help if you have any questions to connect with others and find out about their experiences. We can all help & motivate each other to have healthy vibrant bodies together.

I have more questions?

We really want people to have as great an experience with our cleanses as we do, so please email us at website@littlebirdorganics.co.nz with anything!

Introducing Nellie Pigot

Want to know more about cleansing or are looking to create a personalised cleansing programme?

We recommend you get in touch with the brilliant Nellie, a registered nutritionist & naturopath who has practiced in NZ and the UK.

Nellie says: I am a UK trained naturopath/nutritionist practicing for 8 years at a Holistic Medical Centre in Auckland, an integrated practice working closely with GP’s providing optimum nutrition advice to patients. Ensuring you have abundant nutrients which are optimally ‘available’ to our bodies makes a huge difference to our vitality, increasing energy, brain power and how we look and feel.

To book an online consultation with Nellie:

Email: nelliepigot@gmail.com www.nelliepigot.co.nz

Nellie’s Naturopathic & Nutrition Tips for your Pre & Post Cleansing Days

Make sure you have plenty of vegetables on hand on days you are not having the cleansing juices. Organic or spray free if possible. Particularly effective for the liver are beetroot, celery, spinach, capsicums, asparagus, and globe artichoke. Excellent enzyme support comes from the brassica family - cabbage, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Herbs are very cleansing and high in nutrients including iron, calcium and magnesium.

A good fibre intake is of the utmost importance for proper elimination of toxins - soaking chia seeds and flax seeds to add to smoothies, green apples grated over Bircher muesli, kiwifruit, a little quinoa or buckwheat with some sprouted legumes, a big green mixed salad will all help with this task.

Protein is important as it contains essential amino acids for the detoxification pathways in the liver. Too much protein, however can tax the liver, as it has to produce more bile and digestive enzymes to perform this task.

Olive oil, hempseed oil, flax seed oil and coconut oil all support the liver thoroughly pre and post cleanse by encouraging the liver and gall bladder to contract and carry more toxins out of the body. Add liberally to salads and smoothies.

Eat plenty of fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha to supply a great source of healthy bacteria to keep your gut function optimal and your body more alkaline.

Eat raw garlic daily - garlic is rich in allicin, a compound important for liver detoxification pathways, antioxidant rich and wonderful antimicrobials to deter parasites and fungal infections.

Globe artichoke, dandelion leaves, bitter greens, such as rocket, chicory, endive, mizuna, watercress - all work to encourage digestive juices and stimulates the liver to produce more bile for better elimination of toxins.

Body brushing - using a long handled soft bristle brush or a loofa, brush in a circular motion from the bottom of your feet up your body towards your heart and then from your hands, down your arms and your upper body towards your heart. This encourages lymphatic drainage and increases detoxification through the skin and muscles. Follow with a warm shower and if you can stand it, alternating warm and cold to further stimulate the body and improve circulation.

Sea swimming - very naturopathic approach to cleansing. The natural minerals in the saltwater encourage detoxification and the exercise encourages elimination. You come out of the water tingling, energised and with the softest skin.

Saunas - preferably ‘Infrared’ saunas which heat the body more slowly than a conventional sauna and encourage deeper detoxification in the tissues. More gyms and health centres are installing these. Conventional saunas are still great and encourage sweating.

Breathing - try to spend a few minutes every day getting into the habit of breathing deeply. Deep breathing is important in the cleansing process as it clears toxins from the lungs, reduces acidity in the blood and calms the mind.

Exercise of any sort is great as it increases circulation of blood and lymphatic tissue, makes you sweat, stimulates good bowel elimination, encourages deeper breathing, burns calories and releases natural endorphins to make you feel good.

Sleep - generally you can feel more tired at the start of a cleanse, so try to get plenty of sleep if you can. Sleeping enables the body to carry out important repair work so aim to get a minimum of 7 hours per night.

Some great herbs for supporting the liver:

Milk Thistle - liver protective, stimulates regeneration of healthy liver cells, anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant.

Dandelion - bitter greens such as dandelion stimulate digestion and the liver and promote the flow of bile, important for eliminating toxins and helping with the absorption of fats in the body. Excellent for a sluggish liver, digestion and constipation and great for skin complaints.

Globe artichoke - like Milk Thistle, an excellent liver restorative and protector.

Rosemary - stimulates production of bile and inhibits toxic damage to the liver.

Turmeric - powerful antioxidant and liver protector.

Slippery Elm powder - this powder from the bark of the Slippery Elm tree is soothing to the intestinal tract and helps prevent reabsorption of toxins when unloaded into the digestive tract.

These tips don’t need to be just limited to when you are doing a cleanse, every day we are exposed to toxins in our environment from many different sources, to keep our bodies optimally healthy we should think about adding some of these habits to our daily regimes.