It’s a Great Time to Think Detox

If you are eating your way through the holidays, of course, you are not alone. Every year we vow to be a little less indulgent but let’s face it — life is short, and who doesn’t love great food or a special bottle of wine during our celebrations? The good news is you don’t have to wait to start the process of detoxifying your body and getting back some control in your diet as we enter the early months of the new year.

If you are ready for your overhaul, I’d like to help you consider not going for the fads that include skipping meals and fasting. Winter is not the best time to be a minimalist with your diet and too much restriction could leave you feeling drained, irritable, and hungry. This is a time to shed toxins while rebuilding and protecting your immune system. I will also share some supplements that can help the process go a lot more smoothly and get you feeling great sooner!

Detoxing Tips to get Started

Here are some tips to help you ease your way into cleansing and detoxing your body as we ring out the old year and 2019 gets underway:

1. Alkalize
Post-holiday time, our bodies are usually very acidic thanks to all the extra sugar we have consumed. This leaves our immune system depressed and less able to deal with colds and flu.

2. Drink Up
Going overboard on sugar leads to dehydration, so make sure you are drinking at least two liters of water per day to help flush the toxins from your body and rehydrate your cells.

3. Start and Keep Moving

Try getting even a short walk in daily even in cold weather or try an online workout program you can do in your home. Not only will you burn through those holiday calories faster, but you will also increase your muscle mass and your metabolic rate.

4. Clear out the goodies

Have any hidden goodies left over from holiday entertaining? Dig them out of your fridge and cabinets and get rid of them — even if that means donating them to the local soup kitchen or shelter. Especially those with too much sugar and fat or anything breaded, fried, battered or pastry encrusted. Replace with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, eggs, seeds, nuts, and fish. Also, plan to cut back on high carb foods like pasta and rice — even for just a couple of months.

Body Cleanse

What is a body cleanse? Done properly a full body cleanse is a great way to give your body a rest and help shed unwanted toxins. Don’t get me wrong, your body is naturally designed to get rid of toxins on its own through your liver, feces, sweat, and urine. However, sometimes your natural detox process becomes sluggish due to overload from poor diet or environmental factors.

There are some amazing benefits you will experience when you complete a whole-body cleanse no matter what kind of body cleanse you do. Some incredible benefits can be seen in your overall digestive health, reduced food cravings, clearer thinking and better mood, clearer skin, and feeling more energized.

To undertake a complete shedding of toxins in our bodies, there are important things to note, including how and why we have issues with those toxins. Let’s break it down to three main ways to cleanse.

Liver Cleanse

Detoxification starts in your liver — and it is not a simple process as some might have you believe. Your liver essentially needs to go through two phases of detoxification for a successful cleanse. First, it converts toxic substances into highly reactive metabolites and then it excretes these toxins. Your kidneys, lungs, and even gut also play a role in the detoxification process. Most important to note is that it is the persistent, low-grade toxins we ingest when we eat conventionally grown fruits and vegetables that have residues of pesticides and other chemicals on them — that create the most problems in the long term. This is why toxicity can keep you from losing weight.

Toxicity and Weight Loss

When we are “toxic” our liver gets sluggish and many of the tougher to get out toxins remain in our system longer than our bodies can handle. That’s when we start to feel bloated, fatigued, depressed and the need to lose weight. Our metabolism just isn’t working optimally at that point. This is where a comprehensive detoxification plan can help. In fact, research shows the right one can impact weight loss directly as well as reduce many of the factors that contribute to chronic inflammation in our bodies.

Get a jump start on your weight loss efforts with this Juicing for Weight Loss recipe.

Liver Cleanse Diet

The dietary recommendations of liver cleansing diets are generally in line with a healthy eating plan. In general, you would avoid:

• sugar
• excess salt
• caffeine
• alcohol
• fatty foods
• processed foods

And increase:

• water
• fresh fruits
• vegetables

Find out if your liver is functioning optimally and the best diet to improve your liver function.

Start pampering your liver with this simple easy and accessible liver detox juice today.

Check out more juicing recipes like my Liver Juice Cleanse recipe.

Liver Support Supplements

I recommend not only a comprehensive detox program but also some great supplements that can be taken year-round to keep the liver functioning its best. LV-GB Complex™ has nutrients and herbs designed to support bile flow for the normal processing and elimination of toxins. Hepatatone Plus™ supports healthy liver function through a blend of botanical and mushroom extracts, along with N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, which has powerful antioxidant and liver-protective actions. And Milk Thistle has long been known as an effective herb for detoxifying the liver by promoting the flow of bile and protecting the liver from the normal and inevitable exposure to toxins. [1]

Colon Cleanse

Another important part of our body that needs to be addressed in order to properly detox it overall is the colon. The intestinal tract, from the mouth to the colon, not only has the job of digestion but also of getting rid of toxins. A clean colon allows waste to pass easily out of the body and more. Here are some of the benefits:

1. Digestion More Effective
As the colon is cleansed, it pushes waste through your system, clearing the way for optimal nutrient absorption from the foods we eat.

2. Regularity & Constipation
Constipation — from time to time or chronic leaves waste in our system too long which increases the likelihood of health issues. Cleansing the colon can reset your regularity.

3. Increases Energy
Releasing the toxins from your body is rejuvenating and encourages better blood circulation, more restful sleep, and a boost in energy.

4. Increases Absorption of Vitamins and Nutrients
A colon that’s been cleansed helps us get the best of the water, vitamins, and other nutrients our body needs to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

6. Jumpstarts Weight Loss
If you aren’t getting enough fiber, food will move too slowly in your intestinal tract producing excess mucous that literally sticks to the intestinal walls, weighing you down with pounds of decaying fecal matter. A colon cleansing can result in significant weight loss and jumpstart your metabolism, as well as refocus your attention on your fiber needs.

7. Decreases Colon Cancer Risk
If all the toxins you eat, drink, breathe and absorb through your skin are not forced from your organs as quickly as possible, they can wreak havoc on your body’s systems. By getting rid of stagnant body waste, you can reduce the risk of polyps, cysts and cancerous growths in your colon and gastrointestinal tract.

Colon Cleanse Diet

Want to make sure you are getting enough colon cleansing foods?

Start with these:

• Psyllium husks
• Vegetables, especially cruciferous and dark, leafy greens
• Cayenne Pepper
• Probiotics
• Flax & Chia Seeds
• Water

Colon Support Supplements

Constipation is common for so many of my clients, especially if they have high-stress jobs and lives. I recommend Colon Rx™ which pairs two proven ingredients to improve bowel motility and tonicity for those with occasional constipation. I also have an arsenal of different kinds of probiotics to recommend that offer many benefits.

In addition to cleansing your colon with fiber and probiotic supplements, consider adding other natural intestinal cleanses such as enemas and colonics.

Kidney Cleanse

Finally, your kidneys are super important to take good care of through detoxification efforts. They are responsible for getting rid of certain toxins, for balancing out fluids in your body and for producing hormones that help regulate blood pressure and control calcium metabolism. [2]

Kidney Support Diet

Keeping kidney issues at bay means limiting some foods and fluids so certain minerals don’t build up in your body. At the same time, you’ll have to make sure you get the right balance of protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals.

Here are some important tips to help keep the kidneys functioning their best:

• Hydration is Key
  The kidneys act as the body’s filtration system so they need water to secrete urine which is the primary waste product that gets rid of toxins.

• Choose Kidney Health Foods
  Plan a diet that is rich in fruits and veggies like grapes, cranberries, lemon, blueberries, oranges, parsley, ginger and asparagus; and low in salt and sodium, sugars and sweets, fats, and red meats.

Supplements for Kidney Support

A great comprehensive supplement I recommend is Kidney Korrect™ which has ingredients shown to improve kidney function and markers of kidney damage, as well as decrease tissue damage due to various pathological processes.

 

If you’d like to try a homemade detox tonic, here’s one that is easy to make and effective.

My go-to alkalizing elixir is my Alkalizing Detox Vegetable Broth recipe.

The more tools in your detox program the better!

Detox lifestyle change

A detox would not be complete without including a detox lifestyle change. If you are serious about getting the most out of your detox and want to keep your body’s toxic burden low for the long haul, consider making some of these changes.

Plastic
Never store or use plastic containers for food or water. Use glass or ceramic containers instead to avoid harmful toxins from leaching into your food.

Water
Drink filtered or bottled water instead of public tap water which is often contaminated. In addition, consider adding a filter to your shower as you can absorb toxins through your skin as well. Kickoff the detox process each morning by drinking a glass of lemon water before breakfast.

Microwaves
Avoid using microwaves to heat or cook your food as this method of heating can disrupt the chemical linkage in foods and lower their nutritional value.

Skin brushing
Skin brushing is a great way to move and drain toxins from your lymphatic system which would otherwise remain stagnant. Simply use a dry skin brush or loofah and massage your entire body. Start at the toes, and gently scrub, using a circular motion with long strides toward your heart.

Tongue Scrape
This may sound odd, but it really works! A tongue scraper helps when used first thing in the morning to get rid of the toxins accumulated on your tongue from the night before. It only takes a few minutes and will give you better breath too!

Just Jump
Rebounding on a mini-trampoline is great for stimulating the lymphatic system and improving circulation. Start with 5 minutes a day and build up to 20 minutes for an invigorating daily routine.

Clean Diet
A healthy diet is always at the foundation of healthy bodies. Eating foods that are natural cleansers will lessen the toxic burden and keep your detox mechanisms working for the long haul. Here’s a list of my favorite 12 foods that cleanse and detoxify.

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I hope all this information has been helpful in guiding you towards a look at detoxifying your body as we all glide into a new year. May 2019 be a great year of health for you. CONTACT ME and let me know how I can support you with your resolutions to be the best YOU possible.

 

Resources:
1. Antioxidants as Therapeutic Agents for Liver Disease.
2. Take care of your kidneys, the body’s detox superheroes.