Kelly Bertrand tries the social media hit Benson Detox and gives it her honest review
It’s day nine of my 10-day Benson Detox and I’m ready to throw a bag of cashews at a wall. I used to loved cashews. Now I can’t even look at another bloody cashew. Too many cashews, too many nuts. Ironically, nuts make me feel nuts.
It feels like all I’ve eaten for nine days is cashews. I haven’t, of course, but when your snack options are limited because you’ve cut out dairy, and gluten, and sugar, and processed foods (aka fucking everything) and caffeine and alcohol, you’re not left with much.
I’ll tell you now, the Benson Detox is no joke. You might have seen it on Instagram, with influencers and fancy people posting their journeys to health, smug with their smoothies and radiating nourishment with leafy greens and proteins.
With a wedding coming up next month, a March that can only be described as mad and look, a beyond-stressful start to the year (wedding planning, also no joke) I decided that it would be a good idea to prioritise a bit of health while I could (and yes let’s be honest, lose a pesky kilo or two).
Encouraged by pals who had completed the detox before, I nervously signed me and my fiancé up, paid our money (this review is in no way sponsored or endorsed at all) and gave it a crack. Here’s what happened:
What is the Benson Detox?
Benson Detox is named after its founder, Benson. He’s a normal Kiwi dude who has struggled with his weight, inflammation and skin issues, so after a bit of research where he learned about the effects of blood sugar and what it can do to your body, he decided to cut out all foods that were inflammatory, and those that spiked his blood sugar. What he needed, he reckoned, was a circuit breaker, and developed the 10-day Benson Detox we have today, which has been endorsed by nutritionists and dietitians.
Inflammation is one of the roots of evil in your body – fact. It’s responsible for so many ailments and is a huge factor in developing chronic diseases. For me personally, it’s a huge one – I have a condition called Fibromyalgia, and inflammation, while not a cause, can make some of the symptoms worse.
So, what do you eat? The Benson Detox cuts out all processed foods – meaning no pre-bought sauces – all dairy, gluten, bread, caffeine (including decaf coffee), alcohol and sugar. Emphasis is instead on consuming lots of protein and veges, as well as select fruit. And nuts… so many nuts.
And what should happen to you? As you rid your body of stuff that annoys it, you should, according to Benson and his pals, have a clearer head, more energy, better skin, perhaps some weight loss and an all-round better ’you’.
What do you get for your money? A ‘bible’ containing lots of recipes and snack ideas, as well as access to the WhatsApp support group for the week with everyone else on your detox cycle.
My Benson Detox experience – what I loved, what I didn’t love and my tips for anyone considering it
Firstly, what I think people need to understand is that the Benson Detox is NOT designed as a weight-loss detox, despite the fact they encourage you to take before photos and measurements. Sure, by cutting out unhealthy foods you could very well head into a calorie deficit, which is how you lose weight, so it can be a by-product. But this is designed to be a blood sugar reset.
So, here are the biggest things I noticed while on the Benson Detox:
- You need to be PREPARED. If you do not meal prep, if you do not plan your food, if you do not have snacks available to you at all times, you will most likely fail. Because you can only eat limited foods, and the fact you’re unable to eat anything processed at all, if you get caught out without a bag of nuts in your bag during one of those ‘oh my God I’m so hungry but I’m not home for three more hours’ you won’t make it. Always have food at the ready, always have a big bottle of water, always know when you’ll be home. For these 10 days, your life isn’t your own, you are a prisoner of Benson and his detox and the faster you accept this, the better your life will be (bit dramatic, but I’m not wrong!)
- On that note, prepared for that first shop to almost bankrupt you. I’m not a gal who can eat the same thing every day, so my fiancé and I needed a lot of different food for our 10 days which was fine. Of course, you’re buying every morsel of food you’re eating, so you should expect the bill to give you a conniption but it’s because it’s literally everything – think about how much you might spend on coffees and lunches and takeaways, on top of your usual supermarket run. What really tipped us over the edge was the huge amount of money we spent on nuts and seeds and something call psyllium husk and stuff from that weird part of the supermarket baking aisle (stay tuned for an epic fail on that front soon). Benson et all encourage smoothies for breakfasts, so start getting intimate with chia seeds and hemp hearts now. Of course you can do the detox without them, but if you choose the smoothie and crackers route, it’s on the pricey side.
- While restrictive, there’s actually freedom in the detox. Ok yes you’re a prisoner but it turns out the prison is actually really nice. There’s heaps of actually, really good recipes in the bible – Thai beef salad, Caesar salad, almond-fried chicken, crying tiger steak and pork laab come to mind as particularly good ones – and being organised, prepared and excited for good food legitimately made the detox (mostly) enjoyable. It was satisfying to know we were eating (heaps) of good food, made by us, in service to a bigger goal. Choice paralysis was gone and having one option and one option only (whatever was prepared in the fridge or what we had ingredients for) was a win. As the detox went on, we were able to play around with flavours and ingredients and make our own detox-approved meals and snacks which was fun. But is it hard on the social life? Hell yeah, it is.
- Sauce (and snacks) are key: On the detox you’re not allowed any kind of store-bought condiments, apart from mustard and some select hot sauces. There are, however, heaps of recipes to make your own mayo, aioli, pesto and dressings. Make as many as you can, because these will be your flavour heroes and make life so much easier throughout the 10 days. Turns out making mayo is actually quite fun and I’ve kept doing it because it genuinely tastes better, so this was a big win. On that note, also take the time and suck up the cost of making the Benson crackers because they’re really your only carb-ish thing, and they are delicious.
What happened on my detox?
Well, we bloody did it and after 10 days of no drinking and eating solid, healthy food, shock horror I feel amazing. My ever-present brain fog was all but gone; I lost 4kgs, lost lots of centimetres, (WILD) and I did have more energy. So yes, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt it works, and I actually enjoyed most of it.
There were definite hard points (a work lunch at a fine-dining restaurant when everyone else was sipping Champagne and I had to pretend to really love my sparkling water) and stressful work moments where I’d automatically reach for a glass of wine but honestly, that was a habit that needed to be broken. I honestly can’t tell you the last time I had 10 days alcohol-free and I’m thrilled that I’ve just done it, and it has made me so much more mindful about my drinking going forward.
I struggled with snacks (I still can’t look at a cashew) mostly because I don’t like eating fruit (I know I’m a weirdo – I like the flavours but I can’t stomach the texture, so I have all my fruit in smoothies). Eventually I just air-fried chicken in almond meal and had that as a snack with my homemade mayo, and I was happy as.
Coffee was also one of the things I thought I would deeply miss and I was right, I did. You have two days of a not-great caffeine withdrawal, but seven days in I realised I missed the ritual more than the actual coffee and the cravings I was feeling was actually milk. But, I love my coffee ritual, and I couldn’t wait to have that first coffee post-detox (which hit me like a friggin FREIGHT TRAIN and I didn’t know what to do with my body so I ended up dancing in the living room to Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar for 15 minutes, to the shock of one very surprised courier driver).
I also realised that I don’t need to eat as much as I was pre-detox, and that sometimes I don’t need carbs on a plate because there were many dinners where I didn’t miss them at all (in saying that I couldn’t wait to delve into a huge bowl of pasta because pasta is life and that will never not be a thing).
That’s the whole point of the detox though – this isn’t an ongoing lifestyle choice, it’s 10 days for a reason. To me, cutting out carbs completely is a waste of a life. My fiancé and I love entertaining and hosting, and bringing out a good bottle of wine is a joy and a thrill we’ll always adore and love. But this detox does give you pause about some of those everyday encroachments of habits that you might not need.
What I didn’t love about the detox:
The bible itself: This is a small thing to some people, but the ‘bible’ that contains all the recipes and tips is riddled with mistakes and formatting issues. Some of the recipes aren’t well-ordered or written so you need to have a bit of background knowledge to pop things together which is fine for me, someone who loves to cook, but my fiancé was caught out a few times by a missing instruction or unclear instruction, and we ended up wasting a whole bowl full of expensive ingredients. I know that not everyone is a journalist or writer, but when you pay $160 for only this bible and access to the support group it should be close to perfect, and this can definitely be improved. Recipes should be put together by listing the ingredients in the order you use them, so you can follow along easier and not miss out things or processes. It’s a minor thing, but when you put yourself forward for things like detoxes you are potentially more vulnerable than usual, and having utmost clarity in what you’re doing helps with confidence and determination to stick to the plans.
The WhatsApp group wasn’t for me… but it was a lifeblood for others: This is by no means a criticism, because the support group was staffed by the absolute loveliest Benson Detox reps who answered every single question, whether it was a good one or someone asking the same thing four other people had already asked in a two-hour period. I found that I didn’t need it (I ended up muting it because the notifications were constant) but others absolutely frothed it. It’s a personal preference thing, and perhaps it’s like when you go on Contiki and your experience very much depends on the others on the trip too? There is, however, good recipe inspiration on there from others if you’re getting a bit bored with your own!
The final word: Would I recommend the Benson Detox?
Yes, I actually would. But it’s hard, it’s all-consuming and it’s not for the faint-hearted. But the results speak for themselves and I can honestly say it’s changed my attitude to food as a whole, and I’ve learnt a few things I’m going to incorporate into my usual diet going forward that actually excites me.
I’m never giving up coffee or wine or bread, but I am ready to re-evaluate my relationship to them, which is a huge, powerful thing for my ongoing health, and honestly I might even do another detox just before the wedding, now I have the tools and the knowledge.
Maybe this time though, with another nut of preference!