HEALTHY BOOST: Improve your life with a natural detox

While the holiday seasons seems like a long time ago, the excessive sugary and fatty foods and the alcoholic drinks you consumed have impaired your digestion and allowed toxins into your blood.

Your gut is a major source of toxins coming into the system, and you cannot successfully support the kidneys and liver in eliminating toxins from the body if you are not eliminating the direct source of toxins from the gut first.

The liver is designed to neutralize toxins as they enter or are created by your body. Unfortunately, the liver is not designed to handle the incredible volume of toxins in our modern-day world.

Did you know there are 77,000 known synthetic chemicals that have been manufactured since the 1940s? Toxins are entering your body through the air you breathe, the food you eat and the water you drink.

These toxins enter our body through our skin, lungs, eyes and mouth.

There is only so much your poor liver can handle and when it gets overloaded, the excess needs to be stored somewhere, so it slows down your metabolism and uses your blood sugar to create fat to store the toxins. Pot bellies, bloated guts and constipated bowels are everywhere these days.

The problem is toxicity.

Symptoms of toxicity:

- Chronic fatigue syndrome - lack of energy, general fatigue, weakness;

- Inability to sleep or rest;

- Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne and dryness;

- Digestive problems such as bloating, gas, reflux, burping, heartburn, pain, nausea, irritable bowl syndrome and gall stones;

- Immune weakness such as frequent colds and infections, including yeast;

- Constipation, bloating and diarrhea;

- Headaches and migraines;

- Allergies;

- Weight management problems and;

- Anxiety, depression, moodiness and negativity.

How do we eliminate toxins?

Our bodies have seven channels of eliminations: liver, colon, kidneys, blood, skin, lungs and lymphatic system.

Plan Exercise.

Going to the gym, walking, cross-country skiing, swimming, dancing or jogging, the possibility for exercise in endless. The most important thing is to start with something and do something you enjoy.

Nutrition.

- Start your day with a glass of water with fresh lemon juice and a glass of water with chlorophyll. It will alkalinize your body and will jump start your digestion.

- Continue to drink lemon water through out the day. Even something as simple as this can be your daily detox.

- Make sure to drink at least eight classes a day. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

- Add fruits, vegetable, legumes, whole grains and nuts to your diet.

- Chose gluten-free grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and amaranth. Include all kinds of vegetables and legumes in a variety of colours, texture and shapes. Eat them raw, steamed, in soups and in stews.

- Avoid packaged and processed foods, any refined sugars and all artificial sweeteners. Use small amounts of stevia, honey or coconut sugar.

- Avoid refined and hydrogenated oils. Use organic, extra virgin, cold pressed olive, sunflower, hemp, flax, sesame and coconut oils.

- Choose local and organic products.

Supplementation.

- Choose items with fibre: flax, chia and psyllium for colon cleanse. Herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion, stinging nettle and parsley offer liver and kidneys support.

- Whole food-based vitamins include greens, spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass juice (fresh or in powder).

- Add protein: hemp, rice or any other plant-based protein.

- Stress support - B-vitamins, Vitamin C, Maca, ashwaganda.

What to expect after detox:

- Physical energy and vitality.

- Improved digestion and elimination.

- Better sleep.

- Increased immunity and fewer colds, illnesses and infections.

- Mental and emotional clarity and stability.