“To resist the frigidity of old age, one must combine the body, the mind, and the heart. And to keep these in parallel vigor one must exercise, study, and love.” ~Charles-Victor De Bonstettin~

Detox – Spring cleaning for the body!

There are literally hundreds of detox remedies out there from one day quick fixes to 30 day sessions that offer an opportunity to remove toxins from your system. Which one of these many options is best for you? The final answer to that question really lies with you and your doctor, nutritionist or other medical professional. Just as nature uses the rains and other weather patterns to cleanse and renew the environment, so also do we need to clear wastes, pollutants and toxins from our system and so detoxification is a very important habit to adopt.

Your body does this already all by itself through different ways, however, you may need to do an additional periodic cleanse (under the supervision of a certified health practitioner) to maintain optimum health.

If the body does this already organically, why bother with a formal detox?

1. It helps the organs like the kidney and liver to work more efficiently
2. It helps eliminate toxic buildup in your body and restore the natural balance
3. It improves your sleep quality, skin appearance and overall general health
4. Yes! It does also help with weight loss

After trying a number of different cleanses on the market, I believe a natural method works best.  What I mean by natural method is just that, a detox cleanse with no therapeutic aids. This method takes full advantage of your body’s ability to cleanse itself by limiting your food intake to organic and nutritious foods for a short period of time. The body is in a better position to process the more complex foods that we eat today.

Eliminate all carbohydrates from the diet for a week. That is bread, rice, potatoes etc. You can have these after the cleanse exercise is complete.  Another item to eliminate from your diet for the week is meat, especially processed meats. Also eliminate milk and milk products through the time period.

Start your morning with a big glass of room temperature water with lemon squeezed into it. Do this before you do anything else in the morning.

To make sure you take adequate amounts of water through the course of the day, take a 2 Litre bottle with filtered water (as always add some freshly squeezed lemon). Make sure you have consumed all the water by the end of the day. 

For the entire week, have a diet of green organic leafy vegetables and fish that is either baked, barbecued or steamed, do not fry or drown in sauces.

In the case of fruits, try to keep it to items like, apples, grapefruit, lemon, oranges and berries that are rich in anti-oxidants.

This simple method is so easy and mild you can cleanse as often as you wish.  I like to try this at least one week every other month to keep my system in high gear.

Enter all of what you do in a journal and track your intake, you will find that you have better control over what you are eating than you do not track it. If you do not keep track, you lose track, period!

Whether you use the remedy I outline above or you have your own remedy, cleanse your system regularly to help boost your health. You will find that not only are you healthier, you are also more energetic. Think of your body as a machine that needs periodic tune-ups to keep it in good working order. Prevention, they say, is always better, cheaper and less painful than cure! Be proactive about making healthy lifestyle choices, start small, take action today! DO NO’T WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE A BREAK DOWN!

Here’s a video with a recipe for a healthy and simple body cleanse by Kim Lyons (from the TV show, ‘The Biggest Loser’): http://wp.me/p1o3v6-rp

Bloggers Note: This blog post is part 2 of 3 in my spring cleaning series: “De-clutter! Detox! De-stress! Spring Cleaning for Your Home, Body and Life!” Visit WWN’s blog for subsequent post #3 (Detox – Spring cleaning for the body!) and click here to read post #1 in the series: (De-stress – Spring cleaning for your home!)

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The preceding is a guest post from Diana Barikor, M.Ed- Program Manager at Whole Woman Network. Diana is an Educator and Community Developer with over 15 years experience. She’s passionate about facilitating conversations on growth and empowerment for women both personally and professionally. She engages life with a deep sense of curiosity and an understanding that development issues are dynamic and always evolving. Follow Whole Woman Network on Twitter @wholewomaninc.

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