HEALTHY LIFESTYLE ARTICLE

FEATURED ARTICLE:

SPRING DETOX

Spring is upon us, and the weather will soon be warming up; time to put away the big, cozy sweaters and fleece-lined boots. As we shed our winter layers, spring is also a great time to shed toxins that have built up in our bodies over the cold months. There are many simple ways to detox that will help you feel lighter and look more radiant. Detoxing involves removing impurities from the blood and can help reset your digestive system, clear up skin, alleviate aches and pains, and help with allergies, fatigue, and “brain fog”. Detoxing once a year can be effective for almost everyone, though anyone with a health condition should ask their doctor first before beginning a detox program.

There are so many ways to detoxify, from simple 1-3 day fasts or juice fasts to week-long retreats. However, any intensive fasting should only be done under the supervision of a trained professional. There are also many safe packaged cleanses you can buy in the health food store that incorporate herbs, fiber and laxatives. The herbs help to stimulate the liver and other organs to release toxins, the fiber gathers all of the toxins up, and the laxatives push them all out. You continue to eat regular meals with these cleanses but the more simply you eat, the easier time your body will have eliminating the toxins. It is also recommended to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water a day when taking a fiber supplement.

Here are some simple steps you can take today
to get you started on your detox:

1. Lighten your toxic load! Eliminate alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar and white flour from your diet. The less new toxins your body has to process, the more it can concentrate on eliminating the ones that are already there. Use only natural, plant-based bodycare products. Any petroleum based or synthetic products that you put on your skin will eventually end up inside your body.
   
   
2. Lighten the toxic load on your household! Eliminate chemical cleaners and synthetic household products and replace them with all-natural ones. You can find many plant-based cleansers at natural foods markets.
   
   
3. Reduce your stress by taking a day or even a few hours for yourself; get a spa treatment, take a walk on the beach, do some yoga or meditation, or just take a nap. Chronic stress is extremely taxing on the body, exhausting the adrenal glands and immune system. Many diseases processes stem from chronic stress.
   
   
4. Eat plenty of fiber in the form of whole grains and organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Some foods that are good for detoxification include beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed.
   
   
5. Cleanse and protect the liver with herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion, turmeric, artichoke, and burdock.
   
   
6. Drink water! Drink at least 6-8 glasses per day of purified or spring water.
   
   
7. Sweat! Use a sauna or do cardiovascular exercise to detox through your biggest organ-your skin.
   
   
8. Exercise! Do Pilates, yoga, or other exercise. Exercising not only eliminates toxins and alleviates stress, but tones your body so you’ll be ready for the summer too. Yoga stimulates all the internal organs, glands, lymphatic and circulatory systems to work optimally and release toxins.
   
   
9. Breathe deeply or meditate. Breath work used in styles such as Kundalini yoga increase your vitality and enhances your immune system.