Top 9 Tips to Help You Achieve a Food Detox

The term ‘detox’ is used to describe ridding the body from various toxins that are absorbed from the environment, soil, food and water amongst other things. Research has shown that toxins can be found in a wide array of consumer goods such as cosmetics, pesticides, paint and food. Undergoing a form of detox may help restore the body to performing at its optimal level. In other words, help you to feel more energised, immune to viruses, digest better, sleep better and above all, look and feel better. The outcome may also include weight loss, which might be just what you are looking for at this time of the year! Let’s focus on a New Year, New You in 2017!

Food detox is the focus of this blog, where we look at providing you advice on how to support the body nutritionally in the best possible way. A form of detox is best done whilst being followed by a registered nutritionist or nutritional therapist, especially if you have any particular health concerns or are taking particular medicines. Ideally, it is best to follow a food detox over about 10 days to see the effects.

Below are our top 9 tips to help you achieve this:

     1. Avoid processed foods which can be very high in salt, sugar, gluten, wheat and other unwanted ingredients. Remember to also avoid the foods which have in the past irritated you in some way. It is advisable to make a diary and note down which foods those may be. The aim is to reduce as much strain as possible on our internal organs.

     2. Choose fibre fuelled foods which will help support your satiety, curb your cravings, and support regular bowel movements. Fibre helps to bind to toxins and support the elimination of these. It can be found in pulses such as lentils; starchy vegetables such as sweet potato; fruit such as papaya; whole grains such as quinoa and lastly green leafy vegetables such as spinach.

     3. Use purified, distilled or mineral water and aim to top up your water intake to at least 2 litres of water.

     4. Add a serving of greens to every meal, such as kale, spinach, parsley, dandelion greens and collard greens. These leaves contain a high content of Chlorophyll giving them their beautiful green colour. Chlorophyll has been found to be excellent at binding to heavy metals and supporting its elimination. Heavy metals are commonly present in so many things that surround us from polluted fish, tap water, mercury amalgams are just to name a few.

     5. Choose alternatives to wheat and gluten. When we consume a diet quite high in gluten or wheat, we may experience symptoms like gas, bloating, indigestion, or constipation. The lining of the gut may be irritated causing a rise in inflammation in the body. Be adventurous and try those alternatives to wheat: quinoa, oats, corn, rice and barley.

     6. Eliminate caffeine, soy, alcohol and dairy for the current period. These are classified as allergens and taking them out, gives the body more rest. Caffeine impacts on the adrenal glands which contribute to the production of cortisol and causes a form of stress on the body. While dairy is hard to digest and quite inflammatory in nature.

     7. Stay very far away from Sugar. It’s like the plague, and especially the refined type of sugar found in sweets, chocolates, shop bought sauces and even sugary coffees from popular coffee shops. Sugars and artificial sweeteners are actually very hard to digest and they interfere with the body’s balance gut bacteria.

     8. Choose fresh or frozen vegetables, herbs and fruits, organically grown where possible. Eating organic can be costly, but yes it does ensure the avoidance of pesticides and chemical residues being consumed. Alternatively, soak your vegetables or fruits for about 20 minutes in a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar. Rinse thoroughly.

     9. Aim to consume 1-2 portions of cruciferous vegetables such as turnips, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower as these contain ‘glucosinolates’ – a natural plant compounds that has been successful to use in detoxification
For centuries, herbs have traditionally been known to exert beneficial properties to the body with their content of naturally active plant compounds. We do not hold approved botanical claims for the following herbs but have carefully selected our top three liquid herbal extracts that have shown to support the body’s natural detoxing abilities.

• Milk thistle known to be a natural ‘detoxifier’, helps to prevent the depletion of ‘glutathione’ in the liver. Glutathione is a fundamental compound that it high in antioxidants and helps support the liver to neutralise harmful to toxins and stimulate the replacement of any damaged liver cells with healthy cells.

• Dandelion  leaves and roots are both valuable amongst herbalists. The roots in particular have been popular in supporting the detoxification of the liver and gallbladder whilst the leaves are a very good at helping us eliminate excess fluid.

• Nettle leaves are packed with a plant compound known as ‘flavonoids’ providing them with their anti-inflammatory effects. Nettle leaves also act as good diuretics just like Dandelion.
Organise yourself, and start your food detox and you’ll feel so much better for it. With any herbs that act as ‘liver detoxifiers’, care must be taken when being on medication that is broken down by the liver. Please ask your pharmacist and herbalist for any questions you may have. Keep tuned with our blogs for more advice from our Kijani Nutritionists and Beauty Experts.

References
Bartram, T. (1998) Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medecines. London. Constable & Robinson Ltd.
Clare, B. Conroy, R. Spelman, K. (2009) The diuretic effect in human subjects of an extract of Taraxacum officinale folium over a single day. J Altern Complement Med. Available at: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3155102 [Accessed on 7.12.2016]