Isn’t it odd how, every January, one’s clothes always seem to have mysteriously shrunk a size over the holidays? Or could it be a simple case of that second helping of Christmas pud/Stollen cake/Marsala trifle being a pudding too far? Regarding over-indulgence at Christmas, there are three marvellous remedies and the good news is that they all come for free. They are, in no particular order, the hike, skin brushing and the detox mini-fast.

The hike
Having moved from a lifetime in central London to the rural depths of drumlin country, I am often asked what I miss most. The answer is walking. In London, I walked everywhere. In Co Monaghan, the walk to town is not only too far but uphill all the way back. If I head over the hills, there’s the odd obstacle in the shape of the bull and his unfriendly harem.

This is a shame because the mere action of putting one foot in front of the other is the best way to exercise muscles – including the heart and lungs – with weight loss being the least of the benefits. Studies show that walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes a day dramatically reduces the risk of a whole raft of killer ailments from heart disease to breast cancer. Walking increases the oxygen reaching cells all over the body so it alleviates stress, can counter depression, is a great aid to sound sleep and keeps your whole body toned.

However, there’s a caveat. When you’ve lost the habit, the importance of gradually working up to 30 minutes a day was brought home to me recently. I was on a trip to Lake Lugano, where hiking on the multiple trails over its two sugarloaf hills are the ‘must do’. I did one measly hike and almost collapsed with the effort. My knees buckled and my calves ached – a case of too much too soon.

Skin brushing
I first heard of this when beauty guru Leslie Kenton published her book, Ageless Ageing, in 1985. The idea is to stimulate the release of wastes and toxins through the skin’s surface. Kenton was converted when a doctor suggested that she tried the following experiment:

Take a washcloth or flannel, wet it and then wring it out well. Brush your dry skin with a natural vegetable-bristle brush. When you have finished, rub the flannel over the surface you have brushed – all over just once. Hang the flannel up and don’t use it again until the following day when you repeat the same routine. After three or four days, smell the flannel.

Try it yourself and you’ll be as convinced as Kenton was. She recommends brushing every day for three weeks and then taking a break for a week.

The detox mini-fast
I cannot emphasis enough that fasting, in any shape or form, should only be embarked on if you are in 100 per cent perfect health and it should never, ever be used as a means to lose weight. Medical opinion is fiercely divided as to its benefits, but I believe a once-a-year mini-fast is a great way to rid the body of poisonous substances that accumulate through the kind of over-indulgence we are all prey to during the holidays.

Here’s the recipe I’ve followed for years: I pick three days when I don’t have to work and don’t expect visitors. I switch off the phones and the computer, get together good reading material/DVDs/music and restrict my diet to herbal tea, 1lb of fresh fruit, two glasses of vegetable juice and two cups of vegetable bouillon per day.

If you haven’t tried it before, start with a day. Next year, try two. By the time you work up to three days, you’ll be hooked.

Tip of the month
When you have walked your socks off, brushed yourself silly and emerged refreshed from your mini-fast, it’s time to head for the hair salon. In the battle against ageing, one of our best allies is hair dye. Done well by a professional it can cost an arm and a leg but it is worth every cent. So, beg, borrow, steal and sell the antiques if needs be – but get rid of the grey!