Over time, toxins accumulate in the body and can cause issues like premature aging, sluggishness and fatigue and a lack of mental clarity. When you detoxify your body, you are working to rehabilitate your cells.
Detoxification can help with many areas of wellness, such as promoting better general health, improving intestinal function, boosting your immune system and bettering your skin. There are certain foods that you can incorporate into your holiday meals to help detoxify your body so that you can look and feel your best.
Check out the following five suggestions:
Dark leafy greens
Adding a salad made of dark leafy greens to your meals, or eating one as a meal, improves the levels of chlorophyll in your digestive tract. This helps to move out herbicides, smog and other environmental toxins that accumulate and cause digestive distress and symptoms like bloating and gas.
Make a festive salad by adding cranberries and walnuts. Top this off with a homemade red wine vinaigrette for a balance of sweet and tart. Cranberries are antibacterial and they help the body to remove toxins, making this salad a great toxin eliminator.
Ginger and cinnamon
Fresh, gluten-free gingerbread is an amazing way to ring in the holiday season, and you can make this bread healthier by using fresh ginger and cinnamon. Ginger is effective in helping the body to remove the buildup of free radicals in the body. Cinnamon contains cinnamyl acetate, cinnamaldehyde and cinnamyl alcohol, all of which have antimicrobial actions. This spice is also an amazing antioxidant to help fight against free radicals in the body.
Lemons
Many holiday food and drink recipes call for lemon, and you will do your body a big favor when you use fresh, organic lemons. This fruit takes toxins and turns them into a water-soluble form via the release of enzymes, making it easier for the body to excrete them. The high levels of vitamin C in lemons helps to create glutathione in the body, and this substance is necessary for the liver to perform its detoxification duties.
Apples
A fresh, gluten-free apple pie (using organic coconut crystals instead of that nasty sugar) fills your home with one of the most popular scents of the season. Apples contain pectin, and this type of soluble fiber essentially soaks up toxins and moves them out of the body. Apples also help to rid your body of heavy metals, thanks to the presence of glucaric acid.
Almonds
Home-roasted almonds make a great snack during the holidays, and a great table item for your holiday parties. You can also add them to salads and stuffing to spruce up your holiday meals. Almonds are high in fiber and vitamin E. Fiber helps to grab toxins and remove them from your body via the digestive tract. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that works to keep free radicals from doing damage in your body.
Just be sure to buy raw, organic almonds, and roast them at home yourself, using some organic coconut oil and a bit of Himalayan salt.
Eating the right foods to detoxify your body throughout the holiday season will help to keep you well so that you can enjoy the festivities. Try to incorporate these foods into your meals throughout the day. You can eat them in any form that you prefer, so there is no need to go against your personal food preferences.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.rachelswellness.com/2013/09/22/why-is-it-important-to-cleanse-or-detox-your-body-to-shed-unwanted-weight-toxicity-by-rachel-feldman
http://life.gaiam.com/article/10-ways-detoxify-your-body
http://www.nihadc.com/health-programs/detoxification.html
