Body Detox Tips
Detoxing the body boosts energy, helps with weight loss, strengthens your immune system, freshens your breath, promotes clearer thinking, gives you a lighter, happier feeling and beautifies the skin and hair. It’s the ultimate thing to do for yourself. Here are some great tips and foods to get you going.
If you want to really improve your sense of well-being, it’s time to consider getting yourself on a detox diet. It’s not the same as going on a regular diet, because you’ll be actually adding nutrients rather than removing them. This involves adding in specific, nutrient-dense foods and avoiding nutrient-poor and calorie-rich foods for a period of 3-7 days, or more, if you really want to keep going!
What are the best detox foods?
The best detox foods are plants! They must be high in fibre and have a highly hydrating water content too, to support the kidneys, liver and other organs. Let’s have a look at some of the best.
Garlic
Garlic has been used as a medicine for thousands of years. Using garlic for detoxing the body is also an ancient practice. Garlic contains high levels of vitamin C, which supports your immune system and your liver while you detox. It’s chock full of antioxidants.
Since garlic is anti-fungal and anti-parasitic, it helps clear out any beasties that might be sharing your body with you. Any wiggly worms will come out more quickly during a detox because your body will be busy eliminating more waste matter during this time.
To get the best out of your garlic cloves, eat them raw where possible. Crush them to preserve the allicin, before finely chopping it into a salad dressing or you can add it to a tablespoon of honey and swallow it down.
If you’re sensitive to garlic, simply look for encapsulated or freeze-dried aged garlic. Ask for it at your local health food shop.
Apples
Apples have been known as a health tonic, medicine and bowel-regulator for many years. They stimulate the secretion of digestive juices, and protect you against kidney stones.
They are also great for anaemia, insomnia, bladder inflammation, skin problems and intestinal parasites due to their great detoxing effects. Apples neutralise acidic bodily wastes, and the pectin fibre helps clear out dangerous heavy metals that we take in from our contaminated environments.
Broccoli
Broccoli has a strong, positive effect on the body’s detoxification systems. It contains glucoraphanin, gluconastrutiin and glucobrassicin, which neutralise and help the body eliminate unwanted contaminants, leaving us feeling lighter and healthier.
Broccoli consumption has increased almost 1000 fold in the last quarter of a century, which may be because it contains a lot of protein and is so high in calcium, iron and magnesium. It also has a higher vitamin C content than oranges.
Beets
Beets are helpful to the body during the second detoxification phase, where toxins that are broken down by the body then bind to other molecules so they can be excreted from the body. You can juice beets or boil them and add them to salads for some extra colour.
They are excellent for building healthy blood and purifying the liver, so add them to your diet wherever you can. They are also great for making your skin glow.
Pineapple
Pineapple is great for detoxing. It supplies your body with enzymes, which help it break down unwanted matter stuck in the body. It’s high C, A and B vitamin and biotin levels helps maintain the blood vessels, skin, organs and bones in a healthy condition.
Aubergine
Aubergines are low in calorie, high in fibre and contain a substance called saponin, which reduces the absorption of fats. They are also a diuretic, improving kidney function during your detox.
Green Tea
Green tea is filled with antioxidants, vitamins and is a powerful ally against cancer, arthritis and diabetes. It hydrates the body, allowing it to be purified through natural processes.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are an essential addition to any detox diet. They are very high in protein per calorie, and contain the best type of fibre for your detox. They are so highly nutritious, that you could almost eat leafy green and nothing else during your detox and you would be better nourished than ever before. If you’re wondering which greens to include in your detox diet, try watercress, mustard greens, rocket, dandelion, nettle, cabbage or lettuce leaves.
Water
Water really is one of your best friends during a detox. If you feel cold while you are cleansing, which is common as your blood is directed to the vital organs during a detox, you may want to make yourself a nice, warming herbal tea. Water nourishes the moisture-rich organs like the skin, and lubricates joints. It’s also very important for regulating the metabolism and slows ageing, so makes sure you stay hydrated during your detox program!
