When the weather warms up, spring cleaning begins. Not only is it a good idea to clean out your house, but your body needs a little spring detoxing, too.
Why We Need The Occasional Detox
The environment around us is filled with pollutants, from air pollution to allergens. Not to mention the foods we eat often contain additives and pesticides that end up stored in the body. Our skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, lymph glands and digestive tract could all use a little cleaning out from time to time.
What Does Detox Do?
A detox will not only remove overall toxins from the body, it can help if you have low energy or your immune system is compromised. It can improve skin quality and mental clarity as well as counter seasonal allergies. It’s a good preventative measure against chronic illness, and it can simply be a stepping stone to feeling good.
But you don’t have to take detox to the extreme.
Detoxing usually means drinking fluids instead of eating food, which helps to wash toxins out of the body. There are some simple steps you can take to help your body reboot without feeling deprived.
How To Detox
Overall, your body does a pretty good job on its own of eliminating toxins. The kidneys, colon and liver all work hard to break down toxins and remove them before they can wreak havoc on your body. But consider these tips, to help keep your body’s cleansing system functioning in tip-top shape.
Drink more water
Although there is no one answer as to how much water you should drink each day, a general rule of thumb is to divide your weight in half and use that as your daily ounce requirement for water. If you weigh 160 pounds, then you need to drink at least 80 ounces. If you’re active, then drink more.
Water plays a critical role in helping your kidneys filter and flush toxins. It aids with waste removal and transporting important nutrients to cells. To boost your detox, try drinking lemon water each morning on an empty stomach. Fresh lemon juice helps to alkalize your body or remove the acidity that can lead to inflammation.
Adding some lemon to your water will help promote digestion, as well as allowing toxins to be flushed out of your body.
Eat Your Greens
Leafy greens are full of chlorophyll, which is known to help the body eliminate environmental toxins and protect the liver and kidneys.
Try: Spinach, kale, collard greens, bok choy, arugula. Even herbs, such as parsley, basil and cilantro are helpful in any detox.
Other types of veggies are important, too. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), adults should consume 2-3 cups of vegetables daily.
Not only are veggies rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber, they help to improve your liver function. Try:Artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, garlic and watercress.
To decrease your toxin load, organic veggies are better for you.
Eat That Fruit
Again, the CDC recommends that we eat 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit daily.
Fruits provide valuable vitamins and antioxidants as well as fiber, which can help to remove metals and additives from the body. Because of its high water content, fruit tends to wash through the body quickly, which can help the cleansing process.
Try: Apples, grapefruit (and all citrus), berries, papaya, pineapple and melons.
Take a Multivitamin
Although the CDC recommends the amounts of veggies and fruits we should be eating on a daily basis, studies show, we don’t do a great job with follow through. A recent CDC study of consumption noted that 87% of adults did not meet the vegetable intake recommendations and 76% of adults reported that they did not meet the fruit intake recommendations.
The solution? Keep taking your multivitamin to make sure your body is getting all of the nutrients it needs to function optimally.
Read: Why You Need Personalized Vitamins In Your Life
Drink Green Tea
Green tea is an antioxidant rich and full of catechins, which help to improve liver function. Not only will it help you relax, it can help you detox, too. Tea in general is full of antioxidants and more beneficial to your body than coffee.
The caffeine from tea is milder and tends to give you a boost without the jitters.
Get all natural energy in a good-for-you liquid vitamin: Energy Pod
Eat Nuts And Seeds
The fiber in flax and hemp seeds binds to toxins, helping to flush them through the digestive tract. The selenium in Brazil nuts can help to flush mercury from the body. Almonds and sesame seeds also offer detoxification properties.
Eat nuts solo, or add nuts and seeds to salads, granola or smoothies.
Get Moving
Because it’s spring, it’s time to get outside and move your body. Moving your body improves blood flow and circulation and makes us sweat, all of which help to flush toxins from the body. Toxins can be stored in fatty tissue.
Exercise also helps to reduce fatty tissue and therefore release toxins into the bloodstream to be more readily eliminated.
Ready to shop?
Check out all of our liquid vitamins
You won’t want to be without the Tespo Connect Dispenser