5 STEPS TO THE PERFECT DETOX

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Teresa Charles
6 years ago
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1 5 STEPS TO THE PERFECT DETOX

2 F eeling tired and unrested? Suffering with unexplained aches and pains? You might well benefit from a detox diet. Modern life can soon take its toll on our health as pollutants from our diet, lifestyle and environment build up in our bodies and leave us feeling less than healthy. But with so much advice out there, how do you know the right approach to detoxing? Here we introduce you to five easy steps that will have you feeling energised and healthy in just a few days. STEP 1 Have a clear detox focus. To get the most out of a detox, you need to decide what aspect of your health you want to zone in on. Most detox plans focus on a liver cleansing diet and with good reason. The liver is the workhorse of our body, responsible for processing every toxin we consume or are exposed to. By taking care of our liver, this powerful organ can repay us with more energy, clearer skin and a healthier immune system. Always bear in mind your own specific health needs, but a liver-focused detox is usually a great place to start and the approach is twofold: reduce the load we place on it and boost its own health. Processed, fatty foods place a huge burden on our liver, making it work beyond capacity to reduce the number of toxins working their way around our bodies. An overworked liver will soon show itself in fatigue and exhaustion, even after a good night s sleep. The great news is that a detox can soon turn things around. Beginning a liver cleansing diet is as easy as starting each day with a glass of warm water and lemon juice. High in Vitamin C, lemons enable the liver to produce more glutathione, an antioxidant which it uses to neutralise toxins. According to Dr Alexander Beddoe, the liver can also make more enzymes the substances that help the liver do its job out of fresh lemon juice than any other food element. Another drink that s essential for a liver cleanse is green tea. Dr Edward Group of the Global Healing Centre, recommends swapping your usual caffeine hit for this powerhouse of plant antioxidants to providing your body with a wealth of catechins, a compound known to assist liver function. A must-have food to include in your detox is leafy greens. Vegetables such as spinach and chard stimulate the creation of bile, a fluid that s made and released by the liver to break down fats and help with digestion. You ll also benefit from daily consumption of garlic and cruciferous vegetables such as kale or broccoli. Dr Mark Hyman Director of the Institute for Functional Medicine and author of the popular Blood Sugar Solution

3 series of books says that both these boost production of glutathione thanks to their sulphur-rich content. You ll also benefit from eating apples and gluten-free grains which make your digestive tract work more efficiently and reduce strain placed on the liver. Gluten is full of toxins, so make sure you go for gluten-free foods while you re detoxing. Why not start with buckwheat and quinoa, both great substitutes that are tasty and simple to prepare? STEP 2 Decide on your detox weight loss goal. After you ve identified which part of your body you want your detox to focus on and the foods you need to eat the next step is to decide if one of your goals is detox weight loss. In his book, The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet, Hyman explains how a detox makes the perfect start to successful weight loss because by cutting out flour and sugar you re reducing insulin spikes and inflammation both of which will inhibit weight loss. Concentrate on whole foods and veggies and you re well on your way to achieving your weight-loss goals. Although any detox that focuses on plant-based foods can accelerate weight loss, if your goal is to use a detox to kick-start a weight loss program then there are certain foods you might want to limit or steer clear of. And research by a team at Harvard University, published in PLOS (Public Library of Science) Medicine just last month reminded us that increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables doesn t automatically result in weight loss. The study looked at changes in the intake of specific fruit and vegetables in the diets of over 130,000 adults over 24 years and found that choosing starchy vegetables and juices didn t result in weight loss. It s important to remember that all calories count and so eating more fruit and vegetables to lose weight only works if you eat less calories overall.

4 As well as popular starchy vegetables such as corn and potatoes, getting a hit of nutrients from nuts or avocados comes with a higher calorific load than other plantbased foods. It s the same for carbohydrates: these foods provide fibre and energy but unless eaten in moderation can also limit weight loss. A diet that s high in carbs can also make you retain fluids in your body not great if you re wanting to shed the pounds. STEP 3 Create a detox diet plan Now you know what you want to get from a detox and the foods that will help you achieve it, you can create a detox diet plan that incorporates all the elements you ve identified as being crucial to meeting your own detox goals. Remember, any detox is going to focus on avoiding processed foods and keeping fluid levels up so that you can effectively remove toxins from your body. When you re detoxing, every mouthful of food needs to be relevant to your detox goals, so go for nutrient-dense, high quality foods. Eating little and often will also place less strain on your body as it starts to detoxify. Cook foods as little as possible to preserve their nutrient content steam if you can t eat them raw and bear in mind that juicing is a great way of giving your body an intense hit of the nutrients you re looking for. Whilst juice fasts can be controversial, few people dispute the idea that juicing is a great way of getting more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Aim for just one juice per day to provide your body with a shot of nutrients that will cleanse your digestive system, boost your immunity and leave you feeling energised. The key is to make it a high quality juice packed full of the foods you ve identified as being part of your detox goal your usual OJ just isn t going to cut it. If you need some inspiration, the Juice Master Jason Vale recommends his Boost Juice full of leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables to give your body the antioxidants it needs to cleanse your liver and clear out your digestive system.

5 STEP 4 Try a coffee enema detox The reputation of coffee enemas as the number one way to cleanse your body is growing. As health and wellbeing advocate Amanda Smith writes, coffee enemas improve digestion and liver health meaning that toxins are more efficiently eliminated from your body. The pay off? More energy, better skin, reduced chronic pain and an improved immune system. Not bad for just a few minutes each day. Just like some of the foods identified above, a coffee enema detox works by increasing production of glutathione which in turn stimulates bile production. The difference with coffee enemas is that they re thought to stimulate bile production much more than any food you ingest as the coffee is introduced directly to your liver and increased bile means that your body has a greater capacity to rid the blood of toxins and effectively digest the foods you re consuming. Yes, using an enema kit can seem strange at first but people keep coming back to this ancient practice because their improved health is testimony to the power of these discrete little kits. Coffee Enema Instructions Smith credits enemas with improving her quality of life and takes us through the steps involved in giving yourself a coffee enema. 1. Check your enema kit it should contain a bag, tube, nozzle and a clamp. Put it together according to the instructions on the kit and make sure that everything is fastened securely and the kit has been cleaned. 2. Carefully fill the bag with your enema solution of choice. Remove any remaining air in the tube by placing one end of the tube in the sink, slowly releasing the clamp allowing the solution to flow out and expelling any air present in tube. Hang the bag about waist height. 3. Lie down on your back or to one side of the body to begin taking your coffee enema. Cover the floor with an old towel to prevent staining your carpet or anything else you d like to keep clean. Insert the end of the enema nozzle into your anus; a non-petroleum based lubricant should help with any discomfort. Put

6 it in about 4 inches, just enough to reach the colon. Never force anything as you don t want to perforate or tear the colon walls. 4. Release the clamp and allow the coffee enema solution to flow into your colon. Lift the enema bag higher if the solution refuses to flow and make sure that the clamp is open. Once all the solution has flown through to your colon, hold the solution within your body for a period of no less than 12 minutes. If it s your first time, you might be unable to hold the solution in for that long and that s fine. However you should aim to hold the solution in for at least that long for all succeeding treatments as you get used to the discomfort. 5. Evacuate your colon along with enema solution. You can repeat the process at least one more time for better results, then wash your enema kit with water and soap. 6. It s also worth bearing in mind that with new products such as ready-to-use organic coffee enemas now on the market, coffee enemas are even simpler to administer than before. STEP 5 Include some gentle exercise It s well-known that gentle exercise can improve results of a detox by further encouraging elimination of toxins and waste products from our bodies, but doctor and author Mark Hyman says that the power of exercise also boosts your glutathione levels, thereby helping boost your immune system, improving detoxification and enhancing your body s own antioxidant defences. Hatha yoga, brisk walking and swimming are all great exercise to choose whilst detoxing, although if you re already exercising regularly you might want to try something more vigorous. Hyman recommends building up to 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day. Set goals and identify foods that will help you achieve them. Create a plan to stick to, exercise and don t forget to detox from the inside with regular enemas. With a little planning, detox diets can be straight-forward and loaded for success.

7 Find out more about the benefits of coffee enemas here and share your detox plans with us on Facebook where you ll meet like minded, supportive people who ll help you meet your goals.

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