Within a few weeks of our second child being born I felt very low on energy feeling lethargic and numb pretty much all the time. I’d lost count of how many times I’d been to see the doctor, and every time I was told the same thing – you’re fine it must be stress.
I finally went to see an alternative health therapist one day who recommended I was in need of a natural detox, and generally learning about how to detox your body and see how toxins accumulate in my body and impact my wellbeing and energy levels. From what people were telling me it was clear that detoxing had a lot to offer, so took it upon myself to learn as much about the process as possible, and get to grips with what is really involved and why the natural health industry recommend detox diets and suggest getting started with the 7 day detox so strongly.
Another thing she suggested to me was to try a detox foot patches. I now use a foot spa about twice a week, but if you don’t have one of those, the detox patches can work just as well – although your don’t get the relaxing foot massage at the same time
Here’s what I learnt to detox your body.
Herbal teas and water and plenty of both
One of the most important things you need to is drink lots of water while you are following a detox diet because it will help purge excessive toxins from your body. It also helps to prevent constipation, helps your internal organs function more efficiently, and hydrates your skin which improves your skin tone. You should aim for about 2 to 3 liters a day, and a good bit more in hot weather or on your exercise days.
As a guideline, increase your water intake by about half a liter for each hour of exercise. Tap water which has been filtered to remove the chlorine and impurities is the best option. Ideally drink water that is at room temperature. If the thought of drinking that much water is overbearing, try herbal teas as well – loose leaf is better than tea bags as it hasn’t been processed as much. Green tea, horsetail, camomile and roibosch (or redbush) in particular are great choices as their additional properties naturally support the detox process. Roibosch (Redbush) tea is also beneficial as it is very high in OPC antioxidants.
How Can I Possibly Drink So Much?
Drinking this much water will soon be second nature to you. You can have your first glass with a little freshly squeezed lemon juice or root ginger as soon as you get up – this is a great way to activate your digestive system and bowel then have more water whenever you take a coffee break.
Aim to have a glass whenever you eat, if you make tea of coffee during the day drink water as well, another during the evening and a last drink before you go to bed. As I mentioned above, you can replace some glasses of water with herbal teas.
The Fresher The Better
Try buying farm fresh food and juice or blend them for maximum benefit or just 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 food is kept too long, or when it is heated and cooked, its nutritional value plummets.
If at all possible buy from local farms or producers, ideally from farm shops and local markets- imported produce is usually harvested under ripe (before it’s built up its full nutritional value) and will have a longer time to lose nutrients on it’s trip to the supermarkets.
Is Organic Better?
You do not need to switch to a totally organic diet on a detox diet, 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 buy many organic foods, don’t worry. All you need to worry about is eating enough fresh foods- even if they are non-organic – instead of eating too few of them. Having said that, there are some very beneficial health reasons of eating organic food on a healthy detox diet.
Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, so they contain the lowest possible amounts of artificial, potentially toxic chemicals (such as nitrates). Although it’s a controversial area, there is growing evidence that the cumulative impact of toxins from man made chemicals and bug sprays can cause long term health problems.
There is a lot less processing of organic produce on its journey to your kitchen. That means they contain no hydrogenated fats, artificial additives, preservatives or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The taste and flavor of organic food is usually much better as well.
