I see January as a good time to reset and flood my body with nutrients and reconnect with how I feel.
This time of year you see brands selling quick fix extreme detoxification solutions that can cause more harm to the body and may make you feel worse. Cleansing is a wonderful way to help support health, but caution is needed to avoid faddy approaches.
The best thing you can do to is to support your bodies natural detoxification processes through a gentle and sensible nutritional plan that focuses on reducing exposure to toxins and helping the body to successfully remove toxins.
'We are what we eat, drink, breathe, touch and what we can't eliminate'.
Detoxication is a complex and a nutrient dense process, the liver plays the largest role constantly processing waste that can be excreted in the stool, urine and sweat. Flood the body with nutrients and plenty of water to help flush and release any toxins in the system, it is also important the bowels move fully daily.
Focus your nutrition on whole foods, fresh food, minimally processed, remove sugar and alcohol, reduce or remove caffeine and drink plenty of water for optimal hydration. Keep it simple, and remember its not about deprivation, eat three meals a day, snack a little if you are hungry on veggies or citrus fruit, or a few nuts and seeds. See your food as a way to fill your body with the nutrients needed to feel great.
The simplest and easiest way to do this is to focus on eating more vegetables.
Tips for a sensible reset
Eat your meals in a 12 hour window - allow your body to rest and digest for at least 12-14 hours overnight
As soon as you wake-up super hydrate
Drink a good pint of water at room temperature or warm, to wake your body and mind and super hydrate.
Aim for 1.5L to 2L a day of water
Water is crucial for removing toxins as well as helping nutrients to get your organs.
Aim to eat 7-10 portions of vegetables and fruit a day (limiting fruit to two)
If this sounds like a lot, start by introducing one extra portion of veg a day. I aim for 1/2 of my plate to be dedicated to vegetables.
Vegetables are packed with nutrients and fibre that are essential for detoxification. Fibre supports blood sugar levels, keeps us feeling full and feeds the good bacteria as well as helping to remove toxins. Try and eat as many different colours as possible.
Try and buy organic where you can, see the clean 15 & dirty dozen here.
Get your carbs from low GI sources
Swap your usual carbs to starchy vegetables, beans and pulses or brown/ wild rice.
Eat quality protein with every meal
Choose from beans and pulses, organic soy, wild fish, or organic grass-fed meat.
Protein is essential for effective detoxification.
Include a small amount of healthy fats with every meal
Olive oil, nuts, seeds, olives, avocado.
Include liver loving foods daily
Lemons, limes, cruciferous veg & broccoli sprouts.
Eating broccoli will improve your detoxification by turning on detox genes.
Lemons help to support the liver and digestion. Improving digestion will help to remove toxins out of the body more efficiently.
Include chia seeds or flaxseeds daily
These foods are a great way to boost fibre, add them to your breakfast with a serving of berries.
Fibre is fundamental to a successful detox. Fibre is found in vegetables, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds.
Include prebiotics and probiotics to support the gut
Up to 50% of detoxification may occur in the gut. Prebiotics help to feed the beneficial bacteria and probiotics help to populate the gut with beneficial bacteria, reducing the unhealthy bacteria. A balanced gut ecosystem helps supports a regular bowel movement, reduce toxic load, modulate the immune system and remove the used hormone oestrogen, helping to balance female hormones.
Prebiotic foods include - vegetables, garlic, onions, leaks, beans and pulses, green bananas.
Probiotic foods include - fermented foods, pickles, yoghurt (if new to fermented foods introduce slowly).
Eat more mushrooms
Mushrooms support our immune system, reduce inflammation, are packed with fibre, contain antioxidants and are a great source of minerals.
Mushrooms are truly magical food with medicinal properties. Eat as many different varieties.
Track your progress daily & listen to your gut
The best way to do this is to rate how you feel daily on a scale of 1 to 5, evaluating your mood, sleep, energy levels, skin, cravings, joint aches and digestion.
Learn to listen to your gut, we remain unaware of most gut sensations until we experience some gastro-pain, or we've eaten too much. The system is vulnerable to toxins and stress that may induce many changes.
Remember to look back at all the good decisions you’ve made and pat yourself on the back, it’s important to recognise your successes and give yourself a little reward, consider a reward calendar where you mark a big X every day you stick to your plan. When we do this we boost those signals in the brain that help us to continue.
Visualise yourself living and eating the way that you want to, see yourself preparing your meals, eating your meals and how you feel when you do so, doing this will help you to better achieve your goals.
Slow down with food
Eat mindfully, eat slowly, eat all meals undistracted and at a table.
Enjoy Epsom salt baths
Detox, get nutrients and relax at the same time.
Buy good quality salts with no additives and soak in the bath for 20mins.
Cravings
If you struggle with sugar cravings after the Christmas period try squeezing fresh lemon or lime into filtered water or sparkling water, the acidity helps to curb the sugar craving and also support blood sugar levels.
Meal ideas
Choose soups, stews, broths, Ramen, curries and dahl.
They are lighter on digestion and can be packed with a variety of vegetables, spices and or herbs.
I love Ramen, so simple, easy to make, and you can adapt so easily to make a lot of interesting flavours.
Keep it simple
Choose one or two things you are going to do from the list above. Don’t overwhelm yourself, take small steps.
Things to click on
Book - Dr. Deanna Minich, Whole Detox
A truly empowering book, Dr Deanna Minich approaches detoxification looking at you as a whole person, body, mind and spirit. You can find it here.
Brands
FUNGTN - mushroom based adaptogenic non-alocoholic beer.
Wunder Workshop - create sustainable and functional products to maintain optimal physical and mental health.
Programmes
Beyond Calcium - The Recipe for Bone Health
I have teamed up with Jacqui Perks, Founder of the Beautiful Bone Club to create a holistic approach to building stronger bones. A 4 week online programme for a small group to learn how best to combine load-bearing Pilates exercises with improved nutrition and lifestyle choices to build stronger bones, click here for more info.
Seek advice from a qualified professional healthcare practitioner if you are experiencing any health concerns or digestive discomfort before changing your nutrition or considering a restrictive detoxification plan.
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