DIY Body Detox Tips

If your body is feeling a little sluggish, overloaded and tired, a detox could be just the cure! You don’t need to go totally extreme and book yourself into an expensive retreat, or go down the road of colonic irrigation to cleanse your body of toxins and nasties – you can do it all from the comfort of your own home, and over one weekend! Here are some tips for an easy at home DIY detox…

Detoxing is simply removing waste from your body. Everyday we load our bodies with chemicals, toxins and pollutants; so it makes sense that we should give it a break every once in a while. The benefits of this include higher energy levels, clearer skin and tighter muscle tone (and of course, overall better health!)…

1: If you’ve never tried a detox before you should start off detoxing for a period of only two days at a time max.

2: When cleansing your body, avoid red meat, dairy products, salt, cakes and biscuits, salt, sugar, flour and wheat, junk food, tea and coffee, alcohol and anything containing artificial additives. If that’s a little too extreme for you, even two days without caffeine, alcohol, sugar and processed foods will do wonders for your body.

3: Load up on fresh fruit, veggies and grains such as brown rice (it’s super cleansing). Veggies known for their fantastic liver cleansing properties include rocket, lettuce, melon, celery and asparagus. Homemade smoothies are another great way to get your intake of fresh fruit and veggies, use ingredients like beetroot, grapefruit, apple, celery and lemon.
Smoothie Recipes: http://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com/smoothie_recipes.htm

4: Plan your detox around a quiet weekend where you won’t be tempted to break the plan. Detoxing will be hard on your body initially, you may feel temporary side effects such as headaches, pains, low energy and dizziness. These are all signs that the detox is working, but to be on the safe side make sure you take things easy.

5: Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. This will keep you hydrated and flush toxins. To figure out if you’re drinking enough water just check the colour of your urine (it sounds gross, but it’s the easiet way to find out!). Pale yellow is the colour you’re after – if it’s any darker, you’re not drinking enough water.

6: Load up on herbal teas. Great options include dill, peppermint, caraway, aniseed, lemon verbena, fennel and green tea, to help soothe, calm and cleanse.

7: Start each day with a glass of hot water mixed with the juice of half a lemon. This will help cleanse your system, aid digestion and flush out toxins. If it’s a little too bitter for you, sweeten it up with a drop of honey.

8: Proper breathing is another great way to aid the detox process.