Detox diets and detox 'cleansing' kits are big sellers. They promise lots of things - to purify the body, remove 'wastes' and eliminate 'toxins' (which are never really defined) and rejuvenate the liver. They say they can improve a sluggish digestion, revitalise the skin and boost your energy. Detox has become so accepted in our time-poor, instant world that many people embark on one whenever they've overdone the excesses of life and feel the need to refresh and revitalise. After Christmas is a classic time.

The Fast Diet by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer

I recently happened to watch dietitian Matt O’Neill comment on the new Fast Diet (aka the 5:2 Diet) on morning TV. It caught my attention not only for Matt’s usual easy-to-grasp explanation but also for the book’s simplicity and lack of a set ‘diet formula’. So when I received a copy in the post, I thought it was time for a review. 

Scroll through the archive of tweets from our interesting online Twitter chat on how to eat less or no meat and more vegetables. And do it easily and often. Our EatKit online chat took place on  Wed 21 November 2012.

For all of you who were asking, these are the things I really enjoyed - the best fun and my fondest memories - from my trip to wonderful New York City. It all took place in July and August 2012 when I journeyed there for a blogger's conference. Well life is never all work. Gotta have some play!  Enjoy!

On food labels in Australia and New Zealand, nutrition figures are presented in a standard table format called the Nutrition Information Panel or NIP. This important panel shows the quantities per serve and per 100g of the food or 100mL if liquid. If you can understand the numbers on it, I find it's an invaluable aid to assessing any food.

Additives must be shown on the ingredient list by their functional name, for example, FOOD ACID, and this must be followed by either their chemical name, in this case (CITRIC ACID), or by their code number (330). This numbering system has been used in Europe for many years and you will see imported foods with the same code number preceded by the letter "E".

There are so many milks in the dairy case these days, it can be hard to work out which one suits you. And when you notice that they cost more than regular low-fat or home-brand milk, you start to think twice.

Here I review three of the more ‘unusual' added-value low-fat milks so you can see if one is worth paying the extra for your health problems.