The detox diet: 21 days to health

As I read out the list of forbidden food for my new diet to my friend Lauren, her eyes widen, and then she giggles. No red meat. No dairy. No wheat, yeast, sugar, condiments, alcohol, nuts, coffee, diet soda, deep-fried anything and definitely no fruit. They're all too acid-forming and the effect stresses the digestive system and makes waste elimination sluggish. Plus, I add loftily, the resulting toxins are stored as fat and cellulite. She laughs again but surreptitiously checks her thighs.

I hope I sound more confident than I am. I'm 40 and wonder if it's time to stop riding the coattails of good genes. Apart from postbaby Weight Watchers five years ago and hesitant forays into the low-carb world, I've never really needed to diet. I work as a writer, coach soccer in the village of Carp near Ottawa, raise two kids under seven and volunteer at their school. But lately -- probably due to diet and stress -- I feel weary by mid-afternoon, when the brain-fog rolls in. And judging by my resistant roll of mommy blubber, I'm not quite the 30-something I fancy I look like. Maybe a thorough new-year cleansing will usher in fabulous, slimmer year for me.

Lose weight, look younger, feel great
Enter the rising star of cleansing diets, Dr. Joshi's Holistic Detox: 21 Days to a Healthier, Slimmer You -- for Life (Hodder Mobius, 2005, $24.95). Among other things, author Dr. Nish Joshi promises that by balancing your body and flushing fat-soluble toxins from your liver, you'll drop 10 pounds, feel and look younger, be more energetic and, best of all, eliminate cravings.

But it's a strict, 21-day diet of soy products,grilled chicken, turkey, brown rice, steamed vegetables, green tea, lentils, beans, olive oil and fish, except swordfish, tuna or seafood, which have heavy metals, such as mercury and lead.

Just me, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss and Cate Blanchett
I need expert opinions: glamour queens Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett all follow Joshi's plan religiously, resulting in clear-skinned, slim and energetic perfection. They gushingly call him a miracle worker. I've never met a celebrity-endorsed miracle worker before, but I am ready.