By Dr. Laurie Grisez, ND
There are numerous ways to detox and cleanse your body ranging from strict fasts to a more gentle approach including organic healthy foods, detoxifying herbal plants, and hydrotherapy.
On a day to day basis our liver and kidneys do an excellent job filtering toxins and maintaining balance. However, if you find yourself feeling sluggish, having brain fog, or lacking your usual energy, a gentle cleanse can be a way to restore your vitality.
In this article I will present a simple moderate cleanse that can be done at home with basic foods and ingredients. How many days to do the cleanse is up to you, at least three days is recommended, or maybe you feel so good after the three days that you choose to go for thirty days!
Hippocrates said it best back in 400 BC “Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food”. The purpose of this cleanse is to include in your diet healthy nutrient dense foods, while avoiding refined and processed foods. Start your day with a cup of warm water with lemon. Emphasizing a wide variety of colors in vegetables either raw, juiced, lightly steamed, baked, or in soups is essential. Any juicing is recommended to be done with a blender so that the fiber is available. A sample list to choose from for a juice are carrot, celery, greens, beet, ginger root, turmeric root, parsley, and lemon. Additionally it is beneficial to avoid dairy, sugar, gluten, alcohol, and caffeine. If you are not vegetarian, protein sources could include free range poultry, wild game, wild cold water ocean fish including salmon, cod, and halibut. Include these proteins sparingly, while focusing on eating mostly plant based foods.
To begin, stock your home with a variety of organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, non-gluten grains including quinoa, amaranth, wild rice, and buckwheat, beans and lentils. Leafy greens including kale, chard, spinach, beet greens are recommended at least once daily during the cleanse. Include a daily dose of fiber mixed in water such as ground flaxseed or psyllium.
Increase your consumption of filtered water throughout the day to assist the kidneys in eliminating toxins.
Herbal teas and tinctures to support detox include Milk Thistle, Dandelion, Burdock, and Ginger.
Supplements that can be added include Alpha Lipoic Acid, NAC, Curcumin, and Probiotics.
Hydrotherapy can greatly assist elimination of toxins during this gentle cleanse. Include one or more of these methods daily. A contrast shower is a simple way to promote detoxification. Rinse in a hot shower for three minutes, followed by a cold rinse for one minute, repeat this for three cycles ending in the cold rinse. A sauna followed by a cold plunge or shower is also helpful. An Epsom salt bath while sipping yarrow tea, followed by cold rinse is beneficial.
Dry skin brushing before these hydrotherapy sessions will enhance lymphatic drainage, and assist with exfoliation and removal of waste.
Enjoy this simple cleanse and feel rejuvenated and revitalized.
