Winter Cleansing and Detox Support: Start with Food
Instead of cleansing and then changing your diet, think about starting by eating foods that prime your body for your cleanse.
There’s a lot of buzz about juicing, cleansing and detoxing, so it’s really important that we do the right type of detox for our bodies — and for the season — in order to retain or restore health balance. One common mistake is doing the wrong type of detox for the season, particularly a detox that is cooling and depleting in the dead of winter’s cold.
In traditional medical systems, such as Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, paying attention to “food energetics” is an important part of restoring health. Various foods are recognized as having cooling or warming properties. In cold weather, it’s considered important to consume more warm-natured foods to preserve the body’s optimal metabolic state. Plan to purchase only organic foods for this re-boot — you don’t want to add environmental chemicals while you are trying to remove them. Eating a healthy balance of antioxidantrich fruits, vegetables and clean proteins, can give your body a lot of the nutrients it needs. When cooking protein, consider using vegetable, chicken or beef broth instead of oils. You get a more flavorful meal with less fat.
Less fat is healthier for your body, and better for your liver. The main organ that helps in the detoxification process is the liver. Everything you breathe or swallow that is broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream passes through the liver, which is the largest internal organ in your body. In fact, the liver is about the size of a football, weighs about 3 pounds, and sits on the right side of the belly just above the gallbladder. The body depends on the liver to regulate, synthesize, store and secrete many important proteins and nutrients and also to purify, transform and clear toxic or unneeded substances.
Prebiotics and probiotics also play important roles in your body’s health. Prebiotics literally feed probiotics, and both together help support a healthier gut, which supports a healthier body. Consider incorporating both into your diet:
Prebiotics are plant fiber found in fruits and vegetables that are complex carbohydrates. You will find prebiotics in tomatoes, artichokes, bananas, asparagus, onions, garlic and oats. The prebiotic fiber isn’t digestible, making it food for probiotics.
Probiotics contain live organisms, often bacteria strains, that add to the health of your gut. Probiotics are found in fermented foods, such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, live-cultured yogurt, tempeh and sauerkraut.
Drinking plenty of water is always recommended. Doing so keeps you hydrated and supports your body’s natural elimination process.
Cleanses support the removal of wastes from our bodies. There are as many reasons to cleanse, as there are ways – including using herbal formulations, such as Essiac Tonic and Lymphatonic™ by Herbs Etc.
Herbs Etc. is a company on a mission to develop effective herbal medicines that contain only natural and beneficial ingredients. Herbs Etc. sources herbs that are grown on family-owned, certified organic farms and processes them in their certified organic manufacturing facility. These herbs are grown throughout the United States in the climate and ecosystems in which they thrive.
