Think of a detox cleanse as a 2-3 days fasting to purify every organ in your body especially the liver, the kidneys, colon and the skin (which is the largest organ in your body!) A cleanse doesn’t necessarily require a harsh starvation diet, which tends to suck all your energy! On the contrary, just change your regular menu to one which contains more detoxifying foods such as fruits, leafy greens, legumes, and other “secret“ weapons.
It’s Monday- the perfect time for an overall cleanse after the weekend indulgences, which might have loaded you up with too much sugars, fats and toxins. Give your body a royal treatment to feel rejuvenation both inside and outside! Detoxification means purification- the body tries to eliminate most of the toxins that build up inside you. Substances such as pesticides, environmental pollutants, and other poisons pollute your body constantly. That is why the detox is essential to your overall health. But total body cleansing usually requires severe caloric deprivation. Just try to stay away from artificial foods, fatty processed foods, pesticides and hormones (also not margarine or butter.) Let’s go raw, pure and simple!
Raw Vegetables
A good way to detox naturally is to increase your daily portion of vegetables – they are packed with all the essential nutrients required to stabilize indigestion problems and help lubricate the intestinal walls when flushing out toxins. Add to your meals vegetables like carrots, celery, asparagus, cabbage, beets, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic and onions. The strong smell of garlic and onion may be quite irritating after a tasty meal, but their pungent flavor won’t diminish their health benefits -through the detoxing period they will help to reduce levels of heavy metals in your body.
Give a boost to your digestive tract with leafy greens: kale, spinach, or arugula. Get in the habit of eating and drinking your vegetables: besides salads eat vegetable based soups or drink vegetable smoothies. If you don’t go crazy for veggie smoothies try to combine them with fruits: for example use kale, spinach as greens and add strawberries and pineapple to add fragrance as well as ground flax seeds, chia seeds which add additional fiber.
Raw Fruits
Fruits like melon, pineapple, berries, banana and apple are high in water content, which help the body wash out toxins. Fruits are easy to digest, are packed with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and are incredibly powerful laxatives. If you’re looking for immediate relief when you fight bloating, constipation, bite on fruits like papaya, mango and prunes. Prunes are known for their laxative efficiency and are less harsh than most colon cleansing drinks. You’ve probably heard a lot about the magic effects of apple cider vinegar on losing weight. Apples stimulates the bowels and so does apple cider vinegar; you can use it in the morning as a laxative by putting a few drops of apple vinegar in a glass of water or just drizzle it on your salads to replace unhealthy dressings.
Citrus Fruits
Add the zest to your diet with fruits such as lemons, oranges and limes. They are the champions of a powerful detox diet because they are full of vitamin C. It’s one of the best detox vitamins because it’s water-soluble, which will flush away toxins immediately and will aid the liver in its cleansing process. Increase your daily vitamin C intake by squeezing a little lime/lemon into many recipes or beverages: water, tea, salad, or grilled fish.
Protein Sources
In general, detox plans go with a dietary regime focused on consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, but you should still include protein foods to your daily meals to keep your body full and nourished. Try to reduce the portions of foods such as red meat, eggs and dairy because they are hard to digest and during the cleansing period you should give a break to your body. When choosing fish, try to buy types low in mercury: flounder, salmon, or fresh water trout. Eat them baked, but not fried! Beans, such as kidney, pinto and garbanzo are other major sources of protein which fit perfectly into a detox plan. If you don’t have time or patience to cook your beans or peas, be careful when buying the canned versions – they contain a lot of added sodium. Remember, try to stay away from salt while you are on a detox; it makes your body retain water weight and slows the detoxification process. Snack on raw nuts and seeds without salt or other preservatives. If you crave grains, try brown rice and quinoa instead of flour-based products.
Detox Drinks
During the cleansing time is vital to stay properly hydrated. You must drink 10-15 glasses of water a day, depending on body weight. Herbal teas have always been used to aid in the detoxification process: try chamomile, green tea, orange peel, ginger or lemon grass. They all contain powerful antioxidants and detoxifying properties.
A natural detox diet will make you feel lighter, more radiant and will keep your insides healthy!
