7 Post Easter Detox Tips
Food, glorious food! Processed meats, yellow cheese, chocolate, chips, cakes, cookies, chocolate, bread, cereals, tinned foods, frozen meals, chocolate, fat free dairy, protein bars, energy drinks, alcohol, chocolate… this list could go forever! Walking into any grocery store these days you could be forgiven for thinking that food grew in plastic packets and came out brighter than your Saturday night underpants.Despite the overwhelming array of colourful treats, quick snacks and cheap prices the easy options, as usual, bring us to a major health road block. Cheap and packaged usually means highly processed and nutrient deprived. And even though most of us are well aware of this, it’s just too easy to ride the wave of convenience when it comes the weekend or a mini break (say... Easter!?).The roller coaster of mood swings, energy peaks and troughs and concentration levels usually aren’t worth the ride, but never fear, follow these steps and you’ll be laughing ;)
1. Cut the CRAP
Thank-You James Duigan for so eloquently defining it... Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Alcohol and Processed foods. All of these contribute to toxic systems and dehydration. Notice how you can eat a whole Haigh’s 1kg chocolate basket and still not be full (sick probably, but not full). This is because your body is desperately crying out for nutrients. It’s telling you you’re hungry for the good stuff – smart body. Sugar, alcohol and food nasties in all their ‘delicious’ glory leech important vitamins and minerals from our bodies, leaving us tired, unfulfilled and nutrient deficient. If you’re serious about cleaning your body the best thing to do is cut it all out. No little bits here and there, just a straight Good-bye, cherrio, farewell to eating crap and feeling crap. Kick the coffee for a week or so til your body feels clean again and then, if you MUST, you can go back to enjoying your occasional fix. The ‘CRAP’ needs to be keep at bay for a little longer- try for at least 14 days. No Cheating!
2. Eat HEAPS of Greens!
Replacing the lost vitamins and minerals is our next point of call to feeling healthy again. Loading up on green veggies is one of the easiest and best ways to do this. The darker the better! Two great ones are spinach and broccoli (yep, your mum was right). Spinach is packed with magnesium, which contributes to nearly every bodily function we have, notably our nervous system. The easiest thing to do is add spinach as your salad base. Then you can adorn your dinner plate with broccoli florets, high in B vitamins for stress relief and energy.
3. Start your Day with Lemon in Hot Water
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. And there’s very good reason it’s stuck around. In relation to detoxing, lemon is high in vitamin C which is a potent antioxidant that helps clear out nasties and is very alkalizing (after all the bad food build up, your body becomes very acidic, focus on bringing back a balance). This little home remedy also kicks starts our digestion- if this ain’t working you’re in big trouble on your detox! Add two to three litres of water outside of this - the body needs more water than food, especially when flushing out a whole heap of toxins.
4. Have a Bath
Yep, a nice relaxing Epsom salt bath. This is an ancient remedy for drawing toxins from the body. The high sulfur content of the salts aids the liver and detoxification and the magnesium supports and soothes the nervous system. An awesome ‘before bed ritual’, you’ll sleep like a kitten in a cosy corner. Add about 2-3 mugs of the salts to your bath water and settle in for a good 20 or so minutes. Make sure you’ve got a good amount of water with you for sipping on to stay hydrated.
5. Have a Root
I’m certainly not in the business of discouraging a good time... but if you’re open for suggestion- look for the dandelion root. Dandelion has a long list of healing properties but as a tea, the root is one of the best ways to cleanse the liver and get rid of all sorts of toxins. Two a day for good measure and dandelion root tea is a fun substitute for coffee.
6. Brush your Skin
Weird? Not really. The skin is one of our major detoxification organs and absorbs or expels toxins accordingly. Brushing our skin supports the lymph system to clean out the toxins it gathers. For girls it also helps to reduce cellulite (yippee!). You need to brush your skin when it is dry, so before your shower or bath is best, and once to twice a day. Get good at circular motions and make sure not to brush too hard - harder does NOT mean less cellulite; it just means scratched and sore skin.
7. Sweat baby, Sweat!
You knew it was coming - exercise! Here’s an overall winner. Exercise works the lymphatic system to drain impurities from our cells, makes us sweat to remove congestion from the pores plus helps our digestion system move to eliminate toxins.
Need some help with your detox?
Bottoms Up! Fitness is running a 4 week detox program starting 6 May.