Detox:

Giving the body a chance to detox is an amazing way to recreate good habits, eliminate processed and addictive foods like sugar and caffeine, and use foods to support your liver, kidney, and colon detoxification. 

We suggest doing a detox of some type of seasonally. As the weather changes, it’s a perfect reminder to refresh and renew our systems. Just like our cars, it’s critically important to give our bodies a tune-up.

There are several different types of detox protocols, so support the body. Our favorite, simple, safe, and effective option is the DIY Cleanse.

This cleanse is a 7-day real food cleanse that you can do yourself! You just need a good blender and a good juicer. This cleanses floods the body with highly effective detoxifying nutrients to get you feeling your best. 

The mantra of this cleanse is ‘a cleanse for people who hate cleansing!’ It offers support for anyone wanting to take control of their health and heal their body. While the cleanse is for 7 days, it also includes a 14-day recipe guidebook to follow the cleanse.

Gentle Daily Detox Suggestions

Every 25 days, your skin replaces itself, your liver, about a month. Your body makes these new cells from the food you eat. What you eat becomes you. You have a choice. Eat wisely! 

Did you know that The United States Center for Disease Control estimates that the root causes of more than 80% of all illnesses are due to personal environments or lifestyles? That means that you have a LOT of control over how you feel and how your body functions. 

Detoxification is important because it strengthens the body’s immune system. It supports the body in functioning more optimally, which helps digestion and absorption of nutrients. 

1) TONGUE SCRAPING 

Tongue scraping = Clears toxins and bacteria from the tongue, eliminates bad breath, promotes oral and digestive health. Scrape tongue several times until any plaque is removed. Rinse mouth with water or hydrogen peroxide (do not swallow). 

2) DRY SKIN BRUSH 

Your skin is the largest organ in the human body and key in elimination and detoxing. Dry skin brushing helps the skin shed old and dead skin and creates a radiance and vibrance that is amazing! It can also help decrease cellulite. 

How to do it: Hop in the shower, start at your feet and moving in circular and long sweeping motions toward your heart and mid-back. Once you’ve brushed your entire body, then rinse off in the shower. 

3) OIL PULLING 

Oil pulling is an age-old Ayurveda process. It works on detoxifying the body and promoting its natural whiten teeth naturally and freshen your breath.  Upon waking (or stepping into the shower), take 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (organic and unrefined is best) Spit (in the garbage) and rinse mouth out with warm water. You can do this daily, or try adding this into your regular weekly morning routine. 

4) HOT YOGA AND BREATHING 

You know you are going to sweat in a hot yoga class, and sweat means DETOX! And, since it’s a yoga class, you greatly benefit from deep breathing as well. Breathing deep is one of the best ways to alkalize the body (along with your green juice.) The lungs are in charge of flushing acid out of the body by exhaling CO2. So breathe in and breathe OUT! Our favorite parts of hot yoga include stretching, strengthening, and sweating! 

Foods to eliminate to detox your body:

WHEAT (AND GLUTEN) 

  1. Consuming gluten often results in inflammation, weight gain, and throws off metabolism. 
  2. Gluten relates to leaky gut (poor digestion and absorption), depression, skin problems, and autoimmunity (especially thyroid.) 
  3. 3. 50-70% of people are sensitive to gluten, and may not even know it.

More on gluten here.

DAIRY 

  1. Most people have a difficult time digesting milk and milk products (about 75%).
  2. Conventional dairy has trace amounts of hormones and antibiotics. 
  3. Dairy may contribute to acne, sinus congestion, ear infections, and constipation.

More on dairy here.

SUGAR 

  1. Sugar would be classified as a drug if it was introduced into the food supply today.
  2. It is highly addictive and causes withdrawal when you stop eating it. And, we all know sugar causes weight gain. The body stores excess sugar as fat.
  3. Sugar contributes to candida (yeast imbalance) and depletes energy. 

SOY 

  1. In 1913 Soy was listed on the USDA handbook as an industrial production – not a food.
  2. Soy is a phytoestrogen (plant estrogen) and can throw off the thyroid and hormonal balance. 
  3. 91% of soy goes through genetic modification (GMO) in the US. 

CAFFEINE 

  1. Caffeine can increase the levels of cortisol, which means more stress in the body.
  2. It can cause blood sugar swings, and difficulty stabilizing blood sugar throughout the day.
  3. It’s known to be a very acidic food (which can be linked to many different inflammatory conditions). 

ALCOHOL 

  1. Alcohol affects the entire body- brain, nervous system, heart, everything!
  2. It contributes to fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, dizziness, and headache.
  3. The substance acts like sugar in the body, negatively impacting the liver and many other organs. 

join our mailing list