General health
As the Christmas season has come to an end, most are (relatively) happy to see the back of it and thinking of regaining our health in the New Year!
Our livers have been given a good run, so the first thing to do is to take some time off drinking alcohol. Processing alcohol creates numerous toxins in your system (such as Acetaldehyde) that your liver has to process. Your liver is a resilient organ and can regenerate but needs time to do so! A few other things to consider:
Whole Foods
Try to eat whole foods (naturally grown and unprocessed foods). There are several thousand chemicals that can be used in processing foods. Your liver filters out and detoxifies these chemicals. Organic whole foods (fruit, vegetables and meat) will take pressure off your liver as it will not have to filter or detoxify the food chemicals.
Exercise
Exercise increases blood flow around the body. This enables blood to more rapidly carry toxins and waste to the liver and kidneys, to then be filtered out of the body.
Through aerobic exercise, breathing increases, allowing lungs to expel more toxins from the body.
The skin is our largest organ. Waste is eliminated through the skin by sweating.
Detox Foods
There are a diverse range of foods that are good for your liver/digestive tract and for detoxing. Some are a bit more unorthodox than others such as seaweed and dandelions (which contain powerful antioxidants to cleanse the digestive tract and liver) to household items such as lemons and garlic.
A full list of detox foods are as follows:
Citrus fruits
Citrus fruits such as lemons and limes contain Vitamin C and help cleanse the liver and digestive tract. The also alkalise the body to offset the acidity of foods.
Fresh fruit
Full of vitamins, antioxidants and fibre, fruit is great for detoxing after a boozy Christmas season. Although if you are not active/exercising try to restrict your fruit intake to one piece per day, as it is high in natural sugar.
Ginger and Garlic
Ginger and Garlic are beneficial to the liver because they help it get rid of free radicals (molecules that can damage body cells) that are built up in the body.
Greens
The chlorophyll in these plant-based foods rid the body of harmful environmental toxins, as well as help the liver in detoxification. A blood cleanser and natural antibiotic, chlorophyl also reduces blood fats, thinning the blood and lowering blood pressure.
Beets
Fiber in beets help increase the production of antioxidant enzymes in the liver, which help the liver and gallbladder eliminate bile and other toxic substances from the body.
Cabbage
Cabbage is rich in antioxidant nutrients, which neutralize free-radicals. Antioxidants have been strongly linked to the protection from numerous diseases, from heart disease to regulation of the immune system.
Dandelions
Dandelions are great for detox and particularly effective for treating a build up of toxins in the liver by helping to remove waste products. It also may help reduce side effects of medication and as it can help improve bile flow & reduce inflammation.
Seaweed
Seaweed rids the body of toxins that cause a variety of health problem such as obesity, arthritis and high blood pressure. It is rich in minerals like iodine and potassium, and is also believed to boost the body's natural immune system, and improve thyroid and liver function which also helps with detoxification.
Practical advice
Personally I can't see myself cooking up seaweed and dandelion soup! But there are plenty of practical and easy ways to detox and improve your diet. Try to make these changes permanent as a temporary change to your diet will only return temporary result.
Eat whole (unprocessed) foods
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables although more vegetables than fruit
Eat at least two vegetables with your meals - one green and one coloured
Restrict your fruit intake to one piece a day if you are not active
Eat plenty of different coloured fruit and vegetables
Drink plenty of water (at least 1.5 litres per day), more if exercising regularly
Put a slice of lemon in your water
Stay off the booze for a few weeks
For references and further reading see:
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