5 Ways to Detox the Body Without Pills or Fad Diets

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to go on some strange diet to detox your body. Simple changes can help immensely in cleansing your body’s systems. Really eating a whole foods diet most of the time is the best for our health. A 80/20 approach to a healthy lifestyle is doable and optimal.

Frequent detoxes or fasts are beneficial to our health. They can be done once a month for a couple of days, or a longer fast/detox of a couple weeks to a month once or twice a year. I always like to start with a fast/detox at the beginning of the New Year. They are great for re-centering ourselves and getting rid of the junk we have been consuming.

You don’t need diet pills or powders, or weird concoctions with cayenne pepper, maple syrup and lemon juice (although these are helpful and I think it’s tasty 😉 ). There are simple changes you can implement on a regular basis that will help to detox your body naturally and your body will benefit. I offer my simple tips for detoxing the body below.

5 Ways to Detox the Body Without Pills or Fad Diets

• Hot Lemon Water – Water is a natural cleanser. It helps to flush our system and keep us regular. Consume a glass upon waking up. Lemon water is great for detoxing. It has many benefits, from weight loss to digestion to immune system support. Boil water, add to 8 ounce cup with a lemon wedge (before consuming breakfast). It’s best when taken first thing in the morning.
• Avoid sugar – Excess sugar creates AGE’s (Advanced Glycation End Products) which contribute to the aging process. AGE’s promote cancer and create risks for other diseases. Sugar is highly addictive and detrimental to our health. It promotes inflammation and oxidative stress. Start checking ingredient labels. You’ll soon realize sugar is in most all processed, junk foods and convenience foods. Eat whole foods instead and try to limit sugar consumption. No more than 25 grams per day. 
• Go Meatless – Whether it’s once a week or a fast from meat periodically throughout the year, limiting meat consumption is important. Meat products are acid forming foods, creating an acidic environment, which leads to promotion of many diseases. Too much acid in our diets causes a loss of calcium as well. Try meatless Monday’s. In America we consume far too much animal protein, promoting an acidic environment. Red meat is high in saturated fat, antibiotics, and hormones, especially if it is not from organic, grass fed cows. (I don’t have a problem with meat consumption as a whole, rather with the amount consumed and the sources). It stresses the liver and kidneys.
• Ditch Gluten – Gluten can cause intestinal problems. Our food products use more and more gluten compared to in the past, which has contributed to gluten allergies and sensitivities. Choosing whole foods limits the amount of gluten in your diet, allowing for healthy digestion and intestines. Even if you aren’t gluten intolerant, limiting the amount of gluten in your diet can be beneficial. Too much gluten stresses the intestines, and often times it’s the processed foods that contain the gluten, thus by eliminating gluten you eliminate most processed foods.
• Consume Fresh Juices and Raw Vegetables – There was no wonder the Raw Food diet was popular a while back: it helps create an alkaline environment in our body. If you are eating lots of protein, dairy and meat products you especially want to consume lots of fresh juices and vegetables. Juices are a great way to cleanse  your system. Use kale, spinach, beets, beet greens, wheat grass, carrot, cucumbers and spirulina for added benefits. Great fruits to add in juices are oranges, apples, pears and berries. Juices and raw vegetables help to provide our bodies with vital nutrients, and fresh juices are more readily absorbable allowing the digestive system to repair and rest.
  

A whole foods approach is the best way to detox our body. It allows for vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and steers clear of processed junk with the additives and preservatives. Whole foods won’t add any extra stress to the body’s systems, unlike processed, fatty foods and fatty meats.

I try to incorporate these simple tips into my lifestyle on a regular basis, so as to keep my body functioning optimally. minimizing the risk of sickness and disease.

Until Next Time Be Whole and Be Fit

How do you like to detox your body? What are your favorite tips for detoxing?