At its most basic level, the detoxification process starts with your liver. Your liver, with help from the kidney, lungs and gut, works to remove harmful toxins by first converting those bacteria to reactive metabolites and second by flushing them out your system.
Toxins come in the form of unhealthy food products that are high in salt, sugar and fats as opposed to the natural fruit, vegetables and natural food products which help to purify your body.
For long term detoxification it is important to understand that foods can be categorised as acid forming and alkalising. You want to aim for maximising the alkalising foods.
- Acid forming foods to reduce or avoid include sugar, peanuts, bread, flour, Soft drinks, noodles (yes, even two minute noodles), pasta, hard cheeses like parmesan, cereals, processed fruit in syrup, processed red meats.
- Alkalising foods to plan more of in your Food Journal include: fruits and fresh fruit juices in particular bananas and apricots, vegetables and fresh vegetable juices in particular spinach, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, kefir, kombucha, tempeh, yogurt, nuts in particular hazelnuts, seeds, mineral water high in calcium, spirulina.
Self-care rituals can aid your detoxification process especially when engaging your five senses.
- Sound – Upon waking, take a moment to lay still and focus on what you can hear around you. Listen to the sounds of nature or relaxing music on the radio and fill your ears with positive, uplifting sounds and words.
- Sight – When you wake up, take a walk into the bathroom and splash cool filtered water onto your eyes three to six times. This will assist to awaken your eyes after a good night’s sleep.
- Taste – To cleanse and detoxify your mouth of bacteria, use a tongue scraper to scrape from the back of your tongue moving forward to the tip. This will remove layers of white, yellow and brown toxins. Then dissolve a half teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm, filtered water and gargle three to six times to remove any excess bacteria that may be left behind.
- Smell – Your nose is where bacteria form first, so it is important to ensure that you keep the nasal passageway purified. By using a neti pot, you can lubricate the nasal passage to protect the mucus membrane.
- Touch – A body massage daily can increase circulation by stimulating your lymphatic system assisting the detoxification process. Extend the massage in long strokes over your limbs using circles at the joints.
Working through your five senses your cleansing process will continue for several days as your mind and body transition back into routine. You can then add a 15 – 30-minute daily walk in nature to restore balance and peace while increasing your metabolism for the detox process.
Foods that cleanse
Use your Food Journal to plan how you can add more of these purifying foods into your week.
- Grapefruit
- Beets
- Carrots
- Green Tea
- Apples
- Broccoli
- Lemons
- Arugula (a leafy green)
- Walnuts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Avocado
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Turmeric