14 Tips To Prepare For A Detox

Preparing your body for a detox is just as important as doing a cleanse itself.  If you already eat clean and healthy, then preparing for a cleanse is fairly easy. A few days before the cleanse, eat simple, light foods such as steamed veggies, soups or salads with lots of leafy greens and raw vegetables. If you’re not such a clean eater, give your body time to prepare for a cleanse. Take small steps towards cutting down on processed foods by gradually increasing the amount of whole grains, pseudo-grains and fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet.

14 Tips To Prepare Your Body For a Detox

1. Start your day with a big glass of luke-warm water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime. This boosts your metabolism and jump-starts your digestion.  Lemon and lime juice alkalise your body, help cleanse the liver and are rich in vitamin C, which is important for detoxification.
2. Drink more water during the day and add cleansing teas like nettle tea, dandelion root tea, burdock tea or special detox teas from brands like YogiTea or Pukka.
3. Eat very simple, light foods such as steamed veggies or salads adding fresh herbs and raw vegetables. Include lots of dark leafy greens and fresh herbs in your diet, rich in chlorophyll, they aid detoxification.
4. Use a light cold-pressed oil, like olive, flax or hempseed oil and lemon or lime juice or apple cider vinegar to make your salad dressings.
5. Increase your intake of whole grains, like brown rice or whole spelt, and increase the amount of gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa, millet and buckwheat in your diet. Cut down on heavily refined foods like bread and pasta, even whole-grain pasta or bread. Avoid wheat wherever you can.
6. Drink light vegetable broths and soups.
7. Add fresh, organic fruit to your breakfast or enjoy fresh fruits as a pick-me up snack in the afternoon.
8. Drink your veggies! Enjoy a glass of freshly pressed green juice or a smoothie.
9. Cut down on your consumption of animal products, especially red meat and processed meats, like sausage or cured meats. Avoid fish with high mercury levels, such as tuna or mackerel. Eat lower mercury, smaller fish instead, like shrimp, anchovies, scallops and salmon.
10. Cut down on your intake of caffeine and alcohol. Drink a lightly caffeinated green tea or herbal tea instead. Green tea, although it contains a little caffeine, is rich in antioxidants, which support detoxification.
11. Choose organic, local and seasonal produce to avoid pesticides and to help boost your nutrient intake.
12. Avoid refined sugar. Check labels on products to check for hidden sources of sugars. Use healthier alternatives in moderation. For example, coconut sugar, coconut blossom syrup, rapadura sugar, raw honey, maple syrup or agave nectar.
13. Avoid table salt. Table salt is devoid of nutrients, which are lost during processing, and toxic to your body. Your body has a hard time metabolising it. Check labels on products to check for hidden sources of table salt. Most processed foods contain high amounts of chemically processed salt. Instead of table salt, use (grey) sea salt, pink himalaya salt, kelp or dulse granules. Natural salts are rich in minerals that can help remove heavy metals from your body. Kelp and dulse, both seaweeds rich in iodine and other essential minerals, can also help flush toxins from the body.
14. Avoid fried foods, like chips, or baked goods, like store-bought muffins or cookies. Nibble on some unsalted nuts, seeds, cacao beans or dried fruit instead. Eat a small piece of raw chocolate if you need a chocolate fix!