I’ve been following The Food Hospital every week with a great deal of interest. So I was especially keen to find out what they had to say about the trend for detoxing. Now, Channel Four got their fingers badly burnt when they ran the You Are What You Eat series, fronted by (Dr) Gillian McKeith. It turned out she wasn’t a doctor at all, and the qualifications she did have were not exactly orthodox. So this time they obviously decided to do things differently. Except that they’ve done things more or less the same, but with real doctors and a real dietitian. So we might expect them to be more thoroughly grounded in science.

Off went Dr Pixie McKenna to the University of Reading to talk to a Dr George Grimble and ask him straight – do we need to detox? Dr Grimble thought not, and illustrated his point, bafflingly, with the entrails of a pig. We got to see the pancreas – “full of powerful detergents” – and not much else was said on the matter. Detox was summarily dismissed with “The body can look after itself”. Phew, that’s a relief. But hang on – as I understand it, scientific studies have shown just how chock full of toxins we actually are. The healthy body may be able to “look after” naturally occurring toxins, particles which end up in food and are excreted with waste matter, but as far as I am aware the body has not yet evolved an organ to detoxify the thousands of man-made chemicals to which we are exposed on a daily basis.

It is well established that levels of PCBs, dioxins, pesticides and other toxic chemicals are found in human tissue. They have even been found in the tissue of polar bears, because they are so widely dispersed in the environment. Human fat stores are worryingly full of hormone disrupting chemicals and other environmental pollutants which have also been found to make their way into breast milk, cross the placenta and also cross the blood brain barrier.

All this is well documented, so it would appear that it is not just complementary therapists who make unscientific declarations. Dr Grimble is right however to dismiss the detox products on the market which claim to help the body detoxify, but are no more than laxatives. I’ve scoured the literature and found absolutely nothing to support the claims made by the makers of these magic bullets.

Based on years of experience as a nutritional therapist, this book is about the consultation, the client and the results. I describe the twenty most common symptoms clients want to address*, and my approach to dealing with those symptoms through diet.

The key, of course, is to discover the cause underlying each health problem, and that is precisely what this book will help you do. It will then guide you to the dietary changes required to make those symptoms go away.

* lack of energy ~ weight gain ~ bloating ~ poor memory and concentration ~ mild depression ~ headaches ~ mood swings ~ food cravings ~ acne ~ constipation ~ diarrhoea ~ poor circulation ~ insomnia ~ premenstrual syndrome ~ period pain ~ dry skin and eyes ~ aching joints ~ skin rashes ~ water retention ~ frequent colds.

Tinned herring roe. I don’t normally like to overdo tinned foods for obvious reasons, but here’s something which befits the occasional exception to the rule. Available in supermarkets, tinned herring roe in brine makes a great lunch, whether you’re at home or in the workplace. Just add black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice and voilà – you’ve got the protein component of lunch sorted. OK, brine contains salt but if like me you don’t add salt to your cooking or your plate, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.Herring roe is probably something of an acquired taste, like caviar (much nicer than caviar in my view, and a great deal cheaper). In addition to that lovely, fish-egg taste and texture, with herring roe you also get that perfect combo of protein and generous amounts of omega-3 fats. Of course you can get fresh herring roe, which is even better, but it is not always easy to find. Recommended served on a large handful of rocket.