Does The 1 Week Detox Boost Your Longevity
Leading up to the birth of our second child my health was bottoming out and I was feeling very tired and lethargic all the time. I’d had several visits with my doctor, but the answer was always the same – nothing medically wrong.
I was visiting a chiropractor one day for an old war wound, and she recommended I should look into doing a detox, and generally learning about how to detox the body with a view to changing my eating habits. It sounded like a good idea, so I spent a few weeks doing some research to learn all about it, and why so many alternative and complementary health practitioners advocate regular detox dieting and in particular the 7 day detox so strongly.
Another thing she suggested to me was to try a detox foot pads. I now treat myself to a foot massage at least once a week, if you don’t want to invest in a foot spa, the detox patches can be just as good – although your don’t get the relaxing foot massage at the same time
So here’s my top tips about how to detox your body.
Lots of water and herbal teas
Making sure you take in plenty of fluids is very important while you are following a detox diet because the water will help your body excrete toxins from your system. It also helps to prevent constipation, improves concentration, and helps reduce the signs of aging by plumping up your skin. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day (about 2 liters), and a good bit more in hot weather or on your exercise days.
A general pointer is to aim to drink an extra half liter of water for every hour you exercise. The best water to drink is home filtered tap water, or boiled water which has cooled, or bottled water. Try to store your water at room temperature rather than in the fridge. Feel free to substitute herbal teas if you can’t face all that water – loose leaf tea is the better option if it’s available. Green tea, horsetail, camomile and roibosch (or redbush) in particular are great choices as their hidden ingredients help boost the detox process. Roibosch and green tea is also beneficial as it is a rich source of natural antioxidants.
That Seems Like A Lot of Water
That may seem like a lot of water to drink but it’s a lot easier than it first looks. Start the day by drinking a glass of water with some fresh lime or lemon juice when you wake up – it’s the perfect way to start up your digestive system and bowel then try to drink another glass each time you take a break from your work.
Have a glass before each meal, if you make tea of coffee during the day drink water as well, another glass when you get home from work and one more glass when you’re getting ready for bed. Remember, some of these glasses can actually be herbal teas or freshly squeezed juices.
The Fresher The Food The More Power It Adds To Your Health
You should be looking to buy your food in as fresh a condition as possible and either juice them or eat them raw, for example as snacks, crudites, salads, and juices. When raw, food still has all its enzymes and nutrients intact. If the food stays in the fridge or on the shelf for long periods, or when it is cooked or preserved, it kills the natural enzymes.
Buy locally grown produce if you can, preferably from farm shops and local markets. Food from other countries is generally harvested before it is ripe (before it has developed its full vitamin quota) and will have lost much of its nutritional value during its journey to your supermarket.
Do You Need To Go Organic
When detoxing, there’s no need to go completely organic, unless you can afford it, but if you can manage one or two organic foods that would be great.
Don’t panic if you can’t find organic foods in your area. It’s more important that you eat plentiful amounts of fresh foods regardless of them being organic or not, rather than not get enough of them. Having said that, there are some very beneficial health reasons of concentrating on organic food on a healthy detox diet.
Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial pesticides and fertilizers, which means they are very low or even free from toxins like man made chemicals and toxins. The practice of organic farming is very contentious due to the fact that there is mounting evidence that the build up of pesticide residues overtime may cause health problems in the future.
There is a lot less processing of organic produce on its journey to your kitchen. The big benefits of this are that they have no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and free from artificial preservatives. And you may notice that organic foods also taste better and have much deeper flavors.
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