Back in 2004 my health was bottoming out and I was feeling very tired and lethargic all the time. I’d lost count of how many times I’d been to see the doctor, but each time was told that there was nothing medically wrong with me.
Fortunately a friend of mine is a dietician and she intimated that I needed to detox my body, and take some time to learn how to detox the body and eliminate the build up of toxins in my body. It seemed a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about it, so I spent a few weeks doing some research to learn all about it, and try to understand why alternative health therapists say it’s so popular and advocate healthy detox diets and in particular the 7 day detox so strongly.
She also hinted to me to try a simple detox foot patches. I now use a foot spa about twice a week, but as a suitable alternative, those foot detox pads can do just as good a job - but with the patches you don’t get a relaxing foot massage at the same time
Here’s what I learnt to detox your body.
Make sure you drink plenty of water
Drinking plenty of fluid is absolutely vital while you are following a detox diet as it helps to eliminate water-soluble toxins from your body. It also helps to prevent constipation, reduce bloating, and hydrates your skin which improves your skin tone. Your goal should be to drink about 8 glasses (or 2 liters) of water each day, but increase that when the weather is hot.
As a rule of thumb, for every hour that your exercise each day, drink an extra 2 glasses of water. Choose still mineral water, or tap water that has been filtered, or boiled and then cooled. Ideally drink water that is at room temperature. Herbal teas are a great alternative in helping your reach your daily quote - loose leaf tea is the better option if it’s available. Green tea, horsetail, camomile and roibosch (or redbush) are particularly good as their hidden ingredients naturally support the detox process. Roibosch (Redbush) tea is especially healthy as it is very high in OPC antioxidants.
How Can I Possibly Drink So Much?
That may seem like a lot of water to drink but it’s a lot easier than it first looks. Start the day by drinking a glass of water with a little root ginger or some fresh lemon juice when you wake up - this is a great way to activate your metabolism and bowel then try to drink another glass each time you take a break from your work.
Aim to have a glass whenever you eat, try a glass of water and a herbal tea at elevensies, another glass when you get home from work and perhaps a final glass of water last thing at night. Remember, some of these glasses can actually be herbal teas or freshly squeezed juices.
The Fresher The Better
You should be looking to buy your food in as fresh a condition as possible and either juice them or eat them raw, in salads or as snacks or appetizers. Raw fruits and veg are still full of all their natural enzymes, vitamins and minerals. If the food stays in the fridge or on the shelf for long periods, or if it has been cooked or processed in any way, its nutritional value plummets.
Buy locally grown produce if you can, preferably from farm shops and local markets. Food from other countries is generally harvested before it is ripe (so it will be short of it’s full vitamin and mineral supply) and will have a longer time to lose nutrients on it’s trip to the supermarkets.
Do You Need To Go Organic
When you’re following a detox diet you don’t need to buy everything organic, because organic is usually much more expensive, but selecting just a few organic ingredients will be a step in the right direction.
If you can’t find or afford organic fruits and veggies, it’s not a problem. It’s more important that you eat plentiful amounts of fresh foods, whether they are organic or not, instead of eating too few of them. However, there are some good reasons for having as much as possible of organic produce on a healthy detox diet.
The use of artificial chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers are not allowed when growing organic foods, and therefore they are much healthier being free from toxins and man made chemicals. Organic farming is a hotly debated and controversial topic because there is mounting evidence that the accumulation of these pesticides are linked to some of the serious health conditions of today.
Organic foods are subject to a lot less processing. The big benefits of this are that they have no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and free from artificial preservatives. And you may notice that organic foods also taste better and have much deeper flavors.
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