SPRING CLEANING: Deep Clean Your Body for the Season
~By Sheila Garcia
Spring is almost here, and I don’t know about you, but I’m super-excited. I always take this time to clean out the clutter: my pantry, cupboards, and fridge from old, out-dated food; my closets to feel refreshed, and always take advantage with a body cleanse. Spring is the perfect time to clear away toxins that clutter up our body. It is an opportunity to clean up our bodies from the inside-out.
No matter how hard we try, we cannot stay clear of every single toxin. They are literally EVERYWHERE: Pesticides, household products, processed foods, tap water, airborne pollutants. Poor diet and lack of exercise can compound their effects on us, disturbing the delicate balances in our bodies and causing stomach problems, allergic reactions, lowered immunity, headaches, joint pain, mental fog, anxiety, and irritability, along with other chronic issues.
The best way I’ve found to fight back is a cleanse. I recommend a Spring soft-cleanse because it puts us in tune with the seasons in our environment, and helps ease your body into detox if it is something you are not used to doing. For thousands of years, Chinese and Ayurveda medicine, along with other traditional healing practices, have recognized the relationships between seasonal changes and our bodies. Spring is a time of rebirth and an amazing opportunity to harness a transformation energy of renewal.
Though cleanses are essential to good health, there are different cleanses for different needs. In this particular case, a ‘soft’ cleanse is good enough to help detoxify your liver and gall bladder, which help you detoxify.
Start with your way of eating. For any season, how our body fights to defend itself on the inside depends upon what we ingest. Making sure we eat clean food without GMOs, dyes, or chemicals is not only important before starting your cleanse, but relative to a long-term healthy life. Here are some other things to help your Spring soft-cleanse:
Reduce your intake of animal protein, particularly red meat and dairy. Eliminate factory-farmed animal products, since they are laden with chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics. Instead, focus on organic plant proteins and green vegetables. These can be eaten raw, steamed, or sautéed in a healthy fat like coconut, olive, or avocado oils. Also avoid foods that promote inflammation, including sugar, trans fats, alcohol, processed foods, wheat, and caffeine.
Alkalize. One side effect of cold weather is that acidity builds up in blood and in a variety of tissues, causing aches and pains and reduced immunity. Alkalizing foods, such as cucumber, kale, sea vegetables, parsley, sprouts, spinach, avocado, and broccoli, are all excellent to counter acidity and help the body shed toxins. You can also squeeze lemon into your water all day for a great way to alkalize.
Stay hydrated. That means fresh water, herbal teas, coconut water and vegetable broths. Also include fiber, which will help to eliminate toxins from the digestive system. Rice bran, chia seeds, and flax are good sources. In addition, probiotic foods support healthy flora in the digestive tract. Sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, coconut kiefer, and other fermented foods and drinks offer good sources of healthy probiotics. Supplementing with a high-quality probiotic supplement is also very helpful during a cleanse, as well as afterward.
Exercise. Next to a good diet, exercise is the most important thing we can do to ensure good health. During a cleanse, exercise performs two important functions: First, it boosts metabolism and circulation to help the body eliminate toxins; second, it reduces body fat, which is notorious for storing toxins.
Toxins find ways to hide throughout the body, and we need to pursue a comprehensive approach to cleanse them from organs and other tissues. Remember, a Spring soft-cleanse is a wonderful opportunity to refresh and renew yourself. It can be as short as three days or can be continued up to 21 days or longer, but I find most people do best with a 10- to 14-day cleanse. Create some healthy detoxification meal recipes and incorporate them into your detox plan. Stock up on appropriate supplements. Schedule specific times to exercise with Legacy Fitness.
At first it may seem difficult, but as you begin to shed toxins, the vitality and energy you receive in return will increase your momentum, and chances are you’ll be hooked on good health for life, living out a wellness legacy!
So refresh, renew, and enjoy the transformation process! Happy Spring!
Some sources for this article:
Natural Sciences Degree Program
huffingtonpost.com
sparkpeople.com