Foods to Promote a "Detox" Lifestyle (Part 1)
And support the body’s ongoing cleansing
CUT TO THE CHASE
Detoxing is one of the body’s essential functions for promoting long-term health and vitality. It is continuously occurring to clear out potentially harmful toxins and pathogens.
If we do not eliminate toxins, they can lodge deep in our cells and build over time; promoting acne, lethargy, illness and even disease.
While juice cleanses and over-the-counter detox products may bring quick weight loss, they are not a long-term solution for weight management or ongoing detoxification.
Eating foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties is the best way to promote continuous cleansing and health, day in and day out.
With only two days until 2020, you might be thinking about ways to lose weight and eat healthier this new year. If so, you’re not alone… it is estimated that over 50% of Americans have made the same resolution. And it looks like 2020 is gearing up to be the year of the “detox”, with celery juice cleanses, herbal tablets and supplements lining the shelves; touting rapid weight loss to “kick-start a new, healthy you”.
Today’s “detox” products are a far cry from its roots in ancient and Ayurvedic medicine, when detoxing was a physical and spiritual practice of healing to remove toxins from the body and mind, achieve balance and promote optimal health. Fast forward a few thousand years, when there are a whole host of new toxins in our world (GMOs, greenhouse gases, commercial chemicals and additives) and the argument for detoxing now might just be stronger than ever.
But contrary to what the weight loss and fitness industries want us to believe, it is not something that we can adequately achieve through a 3, 5 or 10-day juice cleanse or program. Let’s break it down…
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DETOX?
Detoxing is the process of removing toxins (i.e. harmful substances) that accumulate in the body over time from exposure to:
Poor diet, including processed foods containing chemicals, preservatives and additives
Antibiotics and medications
Environmental pollutants (air, land and water
Conventional farming practices
Household cleaning products
Skincare and beauty products
Stress
Our bodies are constantly working to eliminate toxins through several major organs including the liver, intestines, kidneys, lungs, colon and skin. Our urine, stool, sweat and even bad breath in the morning are all examples of the body’s detox systems at work daily.
WHY IS DETOXING IMPORTANT?
The body’s ability to continuously detox is essential to living a long and healthy life. If toxins do not exit the body, they embed deep into our cells and tissues and accumulate over time. It can create a wide variety of ailments ranging from acne to weight gain, lethargy to inflammation, and even chronic disease like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
In her book The Beauty Detox Solution, Kimberly Snyder creates a really effective image for why detoxing is necessary. Think of internal waste like sludge in the spokes of a wheel… dirt and mud gets kicked up into the spokes and if it’s not cleaned out, it hardens and sticks to create sludge. As the sludge accumulates, it prevents the wheel from rolling along easily and powerfully. Over time, the wheel slows down.
It’s the same thing with our bodies. As the years go by and toxins create more and more sludge, it becomes increasingly harder for our bodies to perform essential functions, maintain weight or have energy, even if you’ve had no significant change in lifestyle. Essentially, this sludge is what makes us old and sick. And we can throw expensive supplements or prescription products at it all day long, but we will never fully be able to fight aging and sickness until we work to clean out the sludge.
So, these detox products are good thing then, right? Not quite…
Many of today’s detox products treat the word “cleanse” as a noun, i.e. we do “a cleanse” for a discrete period of time and then go back to normal habits. But when we go back to doing the same things that necessitated the cleanse in the first place, it’s only a matter of time before we end up in the same spot. Think of it like cleaning out your desk – it’s full of papers and other miscellaneous crap that’s stacked up over time. When it’s too full to use, you take everything out, throw away the garbage and neatly sort the remaining items. The desk is organized for a period of time, but slowly and surely you start throwing things back in. A few months later, it’s busting at the seams again.
It’s the same thing with short-term detoxes. In order to achieve long-term benefits, we need to think of detoxing as a verb and promote cleansing on an ongoing basis. So before you drop a couple hundred dollars on the latest juice cleanse, consider taking a different approach…
A DETOX LIFESTYLE
What you put on your plate can directly affect your body’s ability to eliminate toxins and absorb all of the nutrients we need to look and feel our best. And yes… lose and maintain weight. Instead of approaching detoxification as an intense short-term cleanse, consider adding foods to your diet that will promote detoxification on an ongoing basis.
In general, the American Liver Foundation recommends eating a diet rich in:
Whole foods (unprocessed; coming directly from nature)
Plant fiber (fruits, grains, legumes and vegetables)
Antioxidant-rich foods (if it’s from nature and has a color pigment, it has antioxidants. More to come on this)
Healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut, ghee)
With limited amounts of:
Refined and processed foods (anything not coming directly from nature)
Conventionally farmed animal protein
Artificial colors, additives, preservatives and sugars
Commercial white flour
Fried and greasy foods
If you follow these high-level nutritional guidelines, you’re off to a good start! But let’s dive deeper into some of the best foods to promote a detox lifestyle. There are so many great options that this post is just Part 1 – keep an eye out for Part 2 coming soon!
1. CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES & LEAFY GREENS
If there’s one thing to add more of to your diet, it’s cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens like kale, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. They are chock full of vitamins and minerals that help your body perform hundreds of essential functions from digestion to detoxification to boosting your immune system.
Cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens aid in the body’s natural detoxification process in a few key ways:
They are high in vitamins K, C, E and some B vitamins, as well as iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium.
Green cruciferous vegetables contain a variety of important phytonutrients, like beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, plus chlorophyll, a powerful detoxifying agent.
They are a great source of fiber. Fiber passes through the small intestine undigested; attaching to sludge and toxicity to push it out of the body through our stool. Essentially, fiber helps our digestive tract function optimally and keeps us regular, which is critical for ongoing cleansing.
How to consume more:
Aim to consume at least 3 to 4, one-cup servings of cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens every day. Blend vegetables into your morning smoothie (the taste will be completely disguised by the fruit), prepare a kale salad for lunch and have at least one green vegetable on the plate at dinner time.
I start each day with Kimberly Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie and use Dr. Oz’s simple and delicious
vegetable recipes for dinnertime inspiration! It makes eating vegetables tasty and easy.
2. LEMONS
One of the best things that you can do to both hydrate and naturally detoxify is to start each day with a glass of warm lemon water. Among many other health benefits, lemons are a great source of vitamin C and antioxidants. By helping to convert toxins into their water-soluble form for elimination, it protects your cells against damage, fights oxidative stress caused by free radicals and toxins, and protects liver function.
How to consume more:
Lemons are super easy to integrate in your daily routine. Squeeze lemon juice into your morning smoothie, over lunch salads and on seafood and vegetables. Immediately upon waking, squeeze the juice of ¼ of a lemon into a large glass and fill it with warm or hot water. You’ll be surprised at the natural burst of energy you’ll get (that is far superior to coffee) and how much more regular your bowel movements will be.
If you’re not a fan of the sour taste, try these lemon water recipes that incorporate other fruits and herbs to further enhance detox potential.
3. TEA (ALL VARIETIES)
One of my biggest resolutions for 2020 is to drink more tea. Tea of all kinds has been used as a medicinal aid for thousands of years due to a slew of health benefits; most notably, their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Green tea packs a particularly strong detoxifying punch due to high concentration of polyphenols. In a study conducted by the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, they found that green tea boosted the body’s production of detoxification enzymes and protection against free radicals; playing a key role in the prevention of aging and degenerative disease, especially cancer.
How to consume more:
Aim to drink at least 1-2 eight-ounce glasses of tea per day. For tea bags, I am a big fan of Bigelow’s Matcha Green Tea with Turmeric during the day and Yogi’s caffeine-free Ginger Tea or Detox Tea (with Dandelion root, another powerful detoxer) at night. I’ve also really been getting into loose leaf tea, like this variety pack featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things. Pure Zen sells a Tea Thermos with Infuser that is perfect for steeping loose leaf tea on the go and keeping it warm (or cold!) all day long!
Next on my list to try is CCF tea — cumin, corriander and fennel. All three herbs are wonderful for digestion, highly absorbable and help to eliminate gas and bloating. Steep all three spices in hot water for at least 10 minutes and mix with regular hot water.
4. GINGER ROOT
Odds are that at least once in your life, you’ve reached for a ginger ale when you’ve had a sour stomach. And that’s by no mistake – ginger root has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine because of its anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer and antioxidant properties.
Ginger is a carminative, meaning it helps prevent and eliminate gas and relaxes the intestines. The high concentration of phytochemicals, gingerol and shoga, sustain digestive enzymes and neutralize acids. Ginger also stimulates saliva, bile, and gastric enzymes to speed up the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.
How to consume more:
A few great ways to incorporate ginger into your diet is to drink ginger tea (like Yogi’s Ginger Tea), add ground ginger to your smoothies or sauces, or to make a ginger elixir at night. “Elixir” is defined as “a magical liquid that can cure illness or extend life.” While I can’t make any promises, I know that I feel great when I have one and there is a noticeable difference in my digestion.
5. GARLIC + OTHER ALLIUMS
I hope you’re happy to see this one on the list! We all know garlic as the pungent ingredient in pastas, sauces and the beloved garlic bread. But beyond its awesome flavor, it packs a huge nutritional punch with a whole host of health benefits.
Research has found that garlic and other alliums, including chives, daikon, leeks, onions, scallions and shallots, can inhibit the activation of carcinogens, enhance detoxification, and even protect DNA from damage by activating liver detox enzymes to break down and eliminate toxins. Garlic also contains 39 different antibacterial agents, great for protecting your body against illness.
How to consume more:
Opt for fresh garlic/alliums whenever possible and incorporate them daily into dressings, sauces, hummus, vegetables or salads. Check out Daily Meal’s Easy Ways to Eat More Garlic for some great recommendations.
If you’re really adventurous, try making fire cider. It’s a liquid fusion of horseradish, ginger, garlic, onions, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar and honey. I won’t even pretend like it tastes good, but it’s very powerful in boosting the immune and digestive systems.
6. APPLES
It’s true what they say — an apple a day can keep the doctor away! Don’t listen to the hype that fruit is too high in sugar; fruit is rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support ongoing health and vitality. In moderate portions (2-4 per day), it is a very healthy addition to your diet.
When it comes to digestive and detoxification benefits, apples in particular are rich source of pectin and malic acid. Pectin has been shown to aid in the excretion of toxins like mercury and lead from the bloodstream, while malic acid is a blood-cleansing nutrient. Granny smith apples are said to have the highest
concentrations, but all varieties of apples offer a great one-two punch to the toxins in your body. Similar to cruciferous vegetables, apples also contain high levels fiber that attaches to toxins and eliminates them through our stool.
How to consume more:
Apples are a delicious and affordable health food. However, it is important to buy organic as they are one of the foods most highly contaminated with pesticides during conventional farming processes. Visit your local farm stand or farmers market to buy organic apples all year long.
Aim to eat apples by themselves on an empty stomach (i.e. first thing in the morning, or at least 4 hours after your last meal) to maximize assimilation by the body and reap the greatest benefits.
7. AVOCADO
I saved the best for last (well, at least until Part 2)! As if you needed another excuse to eat more avocado...
While we rarely think of avocados as a cleansing food, they contain a nutrient called glutathione, which blocks carcinogens and helps the liver detoxify synthetic chemicals. They also help to lower cholesterol and dilate blood vessels, while providing a healthy source of fat to aid in the body’s essential functions. Aim to have 1/2 of an avocado daily to maximize the benefits.
How to consume more:
I put avocado on everything – eggs/omelets, toast, salads, virtually any kind of dinner dish and in smoothies instead of almond or peanut butter. If you don’t already have a go-to guacamole recipe, give this one a try by Gimme Some Oven. It’ll be your new favorite appetizer to bring to parties and gatherings.
