Daily Detoxing

Detoxes have been a huge trend for at least the past decade, some healthy and some dangerous. The most common denominator in detoxes nowadays, is a product being promoted as the only way to aid the body in detox (“detox teas” “detox superfood powders”, etc.). It is important to remember that our bodies are incredible in their design and already practice detoxing every day, meaning those supplements are little more than a marketing ploy. Sure, a superfood might contain a compound that has been shown to help in a certain aspect of detoxification, but you do not need it in order to successfully help your body in its natural detox process.
The human body naturally detoxifies through the liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system and skin. There are two phases of detoxification. Simply put, phase I is responsible for breaking things down and then sending them to phase 2, which prepares these toxins to be safely eliminated.

In order to assist our natural detoxification and elimination processes, we need to decrease our toxic load (from food, water, air, heavy metals and processed foods) in addition to optimizing the nutrients that are essential to support the detox systems. Enter: A tale As Old As Time – Food is your number one source of nourishment for healing, detoxing, and maintaining health…

A variety of nutrients serve as key tools for safe and effective detoxification and should be emphasized regularly (AKA: try to eat a variety of the foods and nutrients listed below) or during a specific time of detox (during gut health resets, post-vacation to get back on track, etc.):

What to ELIMINATE: 

• Sugar – even natural sweeteners
• Commercially-raised, farmed, canned meats and fish (no animal products for a specific detox period of 2 weeks is optimal)
• Dairy
• Gluten
• Canned veggies, starchy veggies
• Gluten-containing grains
• All flours
• Soy
• Peanuts and all salted/roasted nuts
• All processed fats, proteins, and carbs
• Alcohol and tobacco

What to INCLUDE:

• Antioxidants: blueberries, onions, oranges, cilantro, avocado, artichokes, beets, just to name a few.
• Green Tea – has a list of detox benefits including assisting genes and enzymes that control natural detoxification.
• Turmeric which contains curcumin, a powerful anti-inflammatory compound.
• Sulfur containing Vegetables: Onion, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, turnips, bok choy, etc
• Healthy Fats – avocado, avocado oil, olives, olive oil
• Fiber – from unprocessed whole grains
• WATER – Divide your bodyweight (in pounds) in half, then drink that number in oz. daily. This is the minimum recommendation. When you sweat a lot or exercise, add in more of that beloved H2O!

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