The beginning of spring is the perfect time for renewing yourself
in nutrition language this means to detoxify your body!
Is this a big unknown for you? Scared? You should be (-; not from the phrase ‘to detoxify’ but more from all the accumulated toxins in your body... so keep reading and you will be fine!
WE live in a very toxic world.
Pollution in the air and water, the daily stress, our surroundings are as unhealthy as ever.
To make matters worse, the typical American diet contributes to very poor health.
Because only if we nourish our body with the proper organic food and supplements we stand a chance to fight all the other ingested toxins.
But if the body is malnourished and does not meet the basic nutritional needs, then diseases and obesity are inevitable.
This problem is called Autointoxication.
Autointoxication is self-poisoning caused by microorganisms, metabolic wastes and other poisons produced within the body.
Where does all this bad stuff end up?
In all our excreting organs and cells most definitely and the biggest part of it in an unhealthy large Colon. (Colon = large intestine: the end portion of the human digestive tract)
You might think now: if it is in the colon, why aren’t we just eliminate it out by going to the bathroom?
That is exactly where the problem hides: average American diets do not contain nearly enough fiber to eliminate toxins from the body on a daily basis.
The average American diet consists of high-fat, low fiber, refined – processed junk food, sugar, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and white flour products...
All these unhealthy foods cannot pass through the colon without fiber. White flour products as an example are stripped of all the fiber, nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It cannot be passed through the colon and accumulates on the colon walls building up waste and toxins to the extent of Colon toxicity.
You must also understand that if the colon doesn’t work right, is full of toxins and waste, the Immune System gets impaired. A lot of diseases and illnesses have been found to have a toxic Colon as an underlying/primary cause.
FACTS:
recommended daily fiber intake: 20-30grams/day
other authorities recommend 40 grams, those with diabetes should consume about 50grams/day
a pear has 5 grams of fiber
a healthy Colon contains nearly 60 varieties of micro flora and bacteria to help w/ digestion, maintain pH and prevent overgrowth of harmful bacteria
in a healthy colon the good bacteria outnumber the bad
the average American may be carrying as much as 10-25 lbs of impacted fecal matter in their colon measured on an average sized NOT overweight person
How to detoxify?
While it might be a good idea to target all organs in your body,
(there are is a variety of different herbs that help detoxify certain organs, if you know of an organ in your body that needs special detox care talk to someone at you local health food store, they can educate you about the special herbs or supplements for the specific organ. For example milk thistle for a liver detox)
I want to emphasize on the nutritional aspect and the detoxification of the Colon as it plays a major role in the overall health of a human being.
Detoxify your body means to not ingest any more toxins. So, for at least 10 days, your diet should not contain any processed food, meat, eggs, dairy, wheat, white flour, sugar, preservatives, food coloring, coffee and alcohol.
What it should contain is:
WATER 2 quarts per day (more if you are overweight, work out or in hot weather)
Fresh fruits and vegetables: any berries, pears, apples, watermelon, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts (just to give you a few)
NO corn, NO potatoes
Whole grains like brown rice, oat bran, quinoa.
Fish (without coloring)
As for supplements I recommend a multivitamin,
a fiber supplement containing both soluble and insoluble fiber
(a good fiber supplement should always contain psyllium husk – one of the best sources of fiber)
and an antioxidant
(antioxidants are found in fruits, specially berries. There purpose is to eliminate free radicals from your body)
Last but not least, there are also commercially prepared pills on the market, which contain all the right supplements to help with detoxification. One I can recommend is found here.
Just always keep in mind: only swallowing a pill does not detoxify your body, your diet needs to be adjusted, eliminate the intake of toxins as much as possible!
Just a few symptoms that could be a sign that a spring detox might be in order;
Overweight, tired, apathy,
headaches, constipation, skin rashes,
insomnia, bloating, dark eye circles, mood swings
Ideal a detox with the whole package of nutrition changes and appropriate supplementation would last about 3 weeks. If you feel overwhelmed just by the thought of changing everything for 3 weeks, start with 10 days...
After the 10 days try to add another 10 and go from there. Some of you might not even feel like it is so bad.
Key to success: plan ahead. Get the family involved. Yes, also kids can eat like this! Put together a meal plan, write down all the good foods you can eat and you enjoy and then add some new ones to try. Observe changes to your body, challenge yourself and have fun with it!
If you need help, please let me know. I would love to be of assistance.
HAPPY SPRING!
love, n.
