Spring is just around the corner. Soon the ground will “wake up” from its winter rest and days will get longer. It is a time of renewal, regeneration, and rejuvenation. Now we begin thinking about starting our gardens and getting outdoors.
Spring is an ideal time to focus on detoxifying our body to help it “wake up” from the winter months. There are many ways to approach detoxification, from fasts to restrictive diets. For those not ready to commit to such a process, the good news is a gentle reset using everyday foods is possible to support our body renew without feeling deprived.
Benefits of detoxification include help in jumpstarting weight loss, balancing sugar and metabolism, improved sleep, feeling a boost in energy, better gut health, suppression of food cravings, and more. The body naturally detoxifies itself; the kidneys filter toxins from the blood and are eliminated through the urine, lungs remove gases when we exhale, the skin acts like a barrier preventing toxins from entering the body, the liver changes the chemical composition of toxins and are removed through the urine, and the large intestine gets rid of whatever remains after digestion.
We can help support the body’s natural detoxification process in several ways:
- The most obvious is to eat clean, whole, nutrient-rich foods that have minimal or no exposure to toxins or plastics.
- The liver loves all things green (chlorophyll) which aids the detoxification process. The liver likes bitter greens in particular which includes dandelion greens, arugula, and kale which stimulate the liver, and radicchio which stimulates bile production that flushes out toxins.
- Asparagus contains glutathione that also stimulates the liver.
- Drinking plenty of water is crucial to help the body flush out toxins. One way to encourage drinking more water is to add fresh mint or lemon or cucumber slices to add flavor to the water.
- Including foods in the diet with a high water content such as watermelon, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes, blueberries, and cucumbers will also help us keep well hydrated so toxins are easily eliminated.
- Berries such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries contain anthocyanin which can increase blood flow to the kidneys.
- Exercise stimulates the lymphatic system which sends fluids to the kidneys to remove waste, toxins, and abnormal cells. Yoga, brisk walking, and even dancing will stimulate the lymphatic flow.
- Green tea contains the antioxidant ECGC which helps balance liver detoxification pathways.
- Our body does all if its repair work while we sleep. Getting 7-8 hours of good quality sleep is essential for the body to repair. It is also thought that cerebrospinal fluid in the brain moves more while we are sleeping. This movement acts like a “scrubber” to remove waste proteins in the brain and sends them to the lymphatic system for the next step to eliminate the waste.
Including these foods in our diet will support our body’s detoxification process throughout the year.
