A detox diet is one that eliminates the toxins and waste products from your body so that it continues running ship shape and doing its job efficiently. Ordinarily, a healthy body has the ability to detoxify itself. All the organs of the body – the intestines, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, lungs, blood and skin - have worked out a coordinated system to chuck out all the muck that we run into every single day. However, the keyword here is “healthy body”? How many of us can lay claim to recognizing the worth of our body and giving it due deference? Sadly enough, the numbers are dismally low. That’s why our overtaxed body needs external intervention. Choose from one of these 7 ways to detox and cleanse your body and get your body functions back on track.
Water fasting is one of the most rigorous ways to detox and cleanse your body and very easy to take a dislike to since it involves drinking lots of…you guessed it right…WATER, not to mention the frequent trips one has to make to the ladies’ room to err…flush out the toxins.
The water detox diet should never be stretched beyond five days. Beginners, however, should start with only one day at a time, gradually building it when they are confident of handling it. One last thing – make sure you plan the water fasting on days of complete rest.
A juice fast is similar in principle to the water fast, except that instead of water (or in addition to it) you have to survive on juices. And I am not talking about the sugar loaded ones you get in the market. It’s best to buy fruits and vegetables – cabbage, spinach, carrot, pineapple, apple - and make your own fresh juice at home.
Another way to detox and cleanse your body especially if you suffer from the problem of water retention, is the diuretic diet. It aids the body in getting rid of excess fluids. Foods that are an essential part of the diuretic diet are artichoke, asparagus, dandelion, celery seed, melon, juniper berries, watercress, and parsley.
“Mono” means “one” and, as you may have figured out, you are allowed to eat only one type of fruit in this form of diet. This helps regulate your body’s pH balance and sugar levels and allow the cells of the body to clean themselves.
This way to detox and cleanse your body is pretty self-explanatory. All you are allowed to eat as part of this diet is raw food. This gives you the vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients that will help the body survive and conduct its normal function without putting too much pressure on it. In addition raw foods are rich in digestive enzymes that boost your metabolism and immunity.
If you’ve been following celebrity news, you would have bumped into the Master Cleanse diet at some point of time. It’s been hailed by several Hollywood stars as a great weight loss solution. I am not sure how viable it is to drop pounds, but the Master Cleanse system is a great, if a rather strict, detox diet which requires you to drink nothing more than a concoction made from water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Not very delicious, but quite effective!
I save the best for the last. This detox diet allows you to include cooked food in the meal plan, but only up to 15% of the entire diet and only as the last meal of the day. Yet another demand of this diet is that traditional breakfast be skipped and replaced with barley grass and vegetable juice. The usual restrictions apply – no sugar, processed and refined foods, roasted nuts, meat, and soy products but you can have fresh fruit, muesli, oats, bean sprouts, raw seeds and nuts, flaxseed oil, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
When you choose one of these 7 ways to detox and cleanse your body, you need to remember something. Although the benefits of such diets are far reaching, they do not come about overnight. The initial reaction of your body might be that of resistance and shock, but if you stick with it long enough you are going to meet a newer, healthier, more vibrant you!
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