Spring clean your body with these tips for a healthy detox.
Ah, spring, the very word conjures up images of rebirth, rapidly lengthening days, emerging blossoms, greenery, and the smell of freshness. Now that winter is behind us and spring is in, this is a perfect time to start thinking about giving your body a good spring cleaning.
Toxins are everywhere, and they are a much greater concern now than ever before. We eat and drink them, we breathe them, and we wear them on our body. From toxins in our food to external toxins from our environment, it’s hard to believe we’re surviving.
Toxins undermine our health. If our body is overloaded with them, we can acquire a number of symptoms. These symptoms include headaches, fatigue, constipation, weight gain, poor digestion, feeling sensitive and emotional, irritability, addictions, and the list goes on.
On the flip side, when your body is purified, you have an improved immune system, mental alertness, pure emotions, plenty of energy and vitality, and much, much more.
Did you know how wise our bodies really are? They have a system in place to detoxify harmful toxins.
The body generally heals:
- From the inside out: a digestion issue will balance out before a skin issue
- From top down: a sinus issue will heal before arthritis in the knee
- From most recent to distant symptoms: an illness you had three years ago may heal before one you’ve had for fifteen years
- From the most important organs to the less important ones: the liver will heal before the spleen
Although cleansing can be done any time of the year, the best time is during the spring because of the natural cycle of cleansing and re-growth that we see in nature at this time, which is in harmony with human cycles.
Here are 9 quick and easy ways you can cleanse and detoxify your body this spring.
1. Eat a healthier diet:
Just by eliminating processed foods, sugars, saturated fats, alcohol, dairy, and animal protein, you are helping with the cleansing process. Instead eat organic, fresh fruit and vegetables (seasonal preferred), legumes, non-gluten grains, nuts and seeds, cold pressed oils, and natural sweeteners like stevia.
2. Eat more raw and living foods:
Only eat organic fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh pressed juices, moderate numbers of nuts (excluding peanuts), sprouts, and sprouted grains.
3. Blended foods—smoothies and soups:
Allow yourself blended foods more often or incorporate them into a detoxification diet or living foods diet. Make various fruit or greens based smoothies or vegetable based blended soups using nuts, seeds, fruit juices, whole fruits, or berries.
4. Drink plenty of water:
Water flushes toxins and waste from your body and transports nutrients. Try drinking a minimum of two liters of water a day, and if you’re active and exercising, then drink three to four liters a day. Try drinking eight ounces of water with one lemon freshly squeezed and half a teaspoon (maximum) of cayenne pepper upon waking to open the circulatory system and alkalize bodily fluids, thus increasing the rate of detoxification.
5. Water fast:
This is an option, however, water fasts must be highly researched or, better yet, find a healing center that offers a supervised water fast program. It’s generally considered safe to fast for two meals in a single day about once a month (unless you’re diabetic!) as a reboot to the metabolism and digestion.
6. Juice feast:
Fast one day per week every week while consuming freshly squeezed green drinks and vegetables, distilled water, and herbal teas. These fasting days will facilitate the elimination of long-term toxins from your body before they cause any serious damage.
7. Hot baths and Far Infrared Saunas:
Hot water increases blood flow and capillary action near the surface of the skin, causing faster release of toxins. The heat also increases sweating and opens up pores. Far infrared sauna is also a great way to remove toxins from the body that build in our fat cells and predispose people to sickness, including cancer.
8. Dry brushing:
Dry skin brush for three to five minutes daily before taking a shower or bath to help remove dead skin and stimulate the lymphatic system.
9. Exercise:
Exercise and elimination have more in common than the letter “E.” When you exercise, you are giving your body a thorough housecleaning.
Incorporating some or all of these will help you release toxins that have accumulated in the body for years. Take your time and be kind and patient with yourself. Enjoy the season, sing and dance, laugh and love. It’s spring!
Take a look at other detoxes!
