The lowdown from:
Patty Facendini
Age: 47
Occupation: Owner, Patty James Cooking School
Home: Sebastopol, California

Patty eats healthfully year round, but she goes on an official detox diet four times a year for three weeks at a time. She's been following this program for two years, and she agreed to let iVillage readers in on all the details.

What's your detox diet program all about?
When I'm following Dr. Elson Haas's detox diet, I focus on organic whole foods like brown rice instead of white. I eat a lot of vegetables (even for breakfast), fruit, whole grains, cold-water fish and lean meat.

Even though I eat very well on an everyday basis, toxins can and do build up in one's body. A cleanse or detox once a quarter simply releases any toxicity that has built up. As an example, during the holidays, I don't go crazy, but I don't eat as well as usual. After those extra glasses of wine or pieces of pie, I start to feel sluggish and really look forward to a detox ‑- it gets me back on a healthful eating track.

How did you decide to start going on a detox diet?
The detox diet is a way of life. There was no specific incident that made me decide to start, just wanting to live my life being healthy. Each year that goes by I feel healthier. Elson is inspirational ‑- he lives as he talks ‑- and everyone would do well to follow his detox diet. It's not a rigid program that makes you feel deprived. It's a way of eating that will allow you to obtain or maintain good health.

Has anyone criticized your diet?
Not really. But it wasn't a huge switch for me. I've always eaten well. I was raised on an old-fashioned meat and potatoes diet, but all homemade with no processed foods. My diet now is a healthier version of what I've always eaten. When I do a fast once a year, my family doesn't like that so well. The dinner table is our family chat time, and they feel funny eating when I'm not. It's only for 10 days, though.

Has the diet changed the way your body feels?
I feel healthier physically, and mentally I'm clear. I have noticed that I'm more aware of what my body needs and what it reacts to.

What can't you eat? Do you ever feel deprived?