Everyday Detox Tips

You probably heard it from many: cleansing is good for you. Just like scrubbing the house periodically, a good cleanse helps, right? Yes, but… you should try and avoid toxins and stay away from foods that may affect your general state of health in a negative way.

Sustainable health is an everyday thing. While opting for a regular detoxification regimen is better than not having one, optimal health should happen every day.

One important thing to remember is that your health is intertwined with the health of the environment you live in. In other words, your choices keep your world healthy and your world will keep you healthy in return.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Food and drinks:

• Start your day with a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon added to it.
• Have water handy for whenever you are thirsty, but consume antioxidant-rich drinks as well, such as green tea, during the day. Avoid caffeine after 5pm if you have any trouble sleeping.
• If you are a coffee drinker, try switching to green tea or even a caffeine-free tea every now and then for a few days.
• Drink smoothies for breakfast. Try various combinations of fruit and veggies, and even herbs like parsley, a well-known detox helper. Mango lends itself to many a great smoothie combinations, and it adds not only a good supply of vitamin C but also carotens.
• Add probiotics to your daily meals.
• Avoid fried foods, processed foods and/or foods made using refined, enriched flour and sugar. Cook at home using local, seasonal and ideally organic produce, and include homemade soups in your everyday diet. Make big batches of vegetable broth and freeze some for later meals.
• Opt for simple, homemade deserts, and give a try to raw or lightly cooked deserts if you haven’t yet. Organic, fairly-traded cocoa has a high content of antioxidants.
•  If you consume meat and fish, choose humanely-raised animals for meat, and consult one of the seafood guides such as the one published by the Canadian-based Seachoice.org.
• Consult with your local herbalist for tips on how to make a detox tea. often times your preferred health food store may just have the tea already made; a mild, all-around safe detox tea is dandelion tea. Though dandelion tea has been deemed safe during pregnancy, make sure you discuss your options with the herbalist before consuming any medicinal tea.

Around your home:

Cleaning products, new furniture, electronics, candles, cooking, they can all alter the quality of your indoor air, hence you well-being. Improve the air quality in your home by doing the following:

• open your windows often,
• simplify your décor and add air-purifying plants such as spider plant and/or snake plant
• use environmentally-sensible cleaning products
• burn beeswax candles only if possible
• air out every time you cook or bake.