Who doesn’t want to start the new year feeling fresh and motivated? However, your liver is possibly still feeling the effects of the debauched festivities of only weeks (or even days) ago!

By the time January comes around, the good times are a distant memory and all you’re left with is a week-long hangover.

Luckily, here at Open Colleges we know all about brain food and functioning at peak performance. With a clearer mindset, more energy and feeling your best, you’ll be fully prepared to pursue your dreams in 2015. Here’s an edit of the 10 top ways to detox this January to get you feeling healthy and fired up for the year ahead.

1. Quit sugar

Anti-sugar campaigner Sarah Wilson turned her health around – and created a movement – through documenting her journey to quitting sugar on her blog. Three years on, the 8 Week “I Quit Sugar” Program provides expert support, plenty of delicious and easy to cook meal plans and promises to increase your energy, clear up your skin and even shed unwanted pounds. It’s also scientifically backed as a compelling way to avoid heart disease, slow down the ageing process and reduce the risk of cancer.

2. Lucky You cleanse

Cold-pressed green juices are nutrient-dense vitamin explosions, perfect for counter-balancing the free-radical effects of alcohol, meat pies and late disco nights. Juice cleanses give your digestion a rest, refuel your system with enzymes and remove toxins from your cells. Companies such as Lucky You cleanse are well-priced, conveniently-delivered and usually celebrity-endorsed. Best of all, they make things like kale, spinach, beetroot, parsley, ginger and spirulina taste amazing.

3. The liver cleansing diet

We’ve all heard of it – The Liver Cleansing Diet by naturopath Sandra Cabot has been a staple of Australian health since the 1980s. We Aussies love a drink, so it’s imperative our livers function well. Indeed, it really is the hardest-working organ in the body. Dr Cabot recommends non-starchy vegetables, such as radishes, celery, leafy vegetables, cucumbers and snow peas to give this digestive ally a break.

4. Oestrogen detox

Oestrogen progesterone imbalance is responsible for many health issues, according to naturopath Sally Mathrick. “Too much oestrogen in relation to progesterone is called oestrogen dominance or excess, and is becoming an increasingly common problem”, she says. Oestrogen regulates female monthly cycles and affects many other functions of both the male and female body. Check out Mathrick’s Sparkle Wellness site for lots of useful information on cleansing your system from additives.

5. Aussie body diet

Aussie Body Diet founder Saimaa Miller was shocked by her mother’s early death from cancer and after undergoing her own troublesome journey, developed a celebrity-endorsed program that focuses on holistic and clean food. The three week plan breaks down into detox, solids and maintenance; favouring staples such as sprouts and wholegrains. There are plenty of tips on the blog – or you can follow the full plan in the Aussie Body Diet and Detox Plan book.

7. Three-day detox for skin

Detoxing is said to help treat conditions like acne, psoriasis, and fine broken capillaries – as well as improve the general look of the skin. The three-day detox for skin by Detox Australia promises to clear out fatty residues in the liver, regulate the bowel and stimulate digestive juices. Best of all, it’s full of cell-loving Vitamin C and green leafy vegetables.

8. Blackmores Kickstart detox

If minimal change is your thing, Blackmores Kickstart detox is traditional western herbal medicine in one simple supplement. Power ingredients include globe artichoke to support waste elimination, bitter orange to get rid of sluggishness and the herbal plant, burdock to stimulate the kidneys. Just take three times a day and watch the wellness unfold.

9. 30 days to detox your mind

OK, your body is singing, but what about the mind? Life Coach Debbie Spellman’s 30 days to detox your mind program is a collection of techniques that will help you feel more confident and at peace in your life. This is an e-course with a daily lesson delivered to your inbox every morning – all you have to do is to grab your morning tea, cozy up with your computer, and spend five minutes with the day’s inspiration.

10. Skinny Me tea

Skinny Me tea is a ‘teatox’ that is combined with plenty of exercise and nutritional information for a holistic approach. There is lots of customer support, free expert advice and even an iPhone App to make your cleansing journey easier. The Colon Tea and Loose Leaf Tea are drank several times a day to remove toxins and replenish anti-oxidants for energy and metabolic strength.

Detox and dive in!

Whether you’re happy to go full throttle into a brand new diet plan or ease yourself in with supplements and teas, giving your system a break is sure to re-energise you and clear your mind for the exciting opportunities ahead.

 Image by Luz Bratcher, Janelle, helen sotiriadis, Moyan Brenn and Paul Bailey