Spring is here and it seems many of you are interested in Spring cleaning your body as well as your home. I have received many questions over the last few weeks about detox diets and fasting. Let me begin by stating, I never think fasting is a good idea, even a juice fast. Not feeding the body is just too extreme for me, plus it can lead to headaches, fatigue, irritability, aches and pains, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, muscle breakdown, loss of "good" bacteria and blood-sugar problems, not to mention frequent bowel movements. If you lead a busy life, have a full time job, and/or have two young and energetic girls to raise, living off of just water and juice isn't going to cut it. You're going to need energy, and energy comes from food. I also want to add here that exercise is a great way to help "detox" the body, but you shouldn't and probably wouldn't want to go for a run, jump rope or practice some vigorous yoga if you are not fueling your body with food.
To see what you can do to Spring clean your body, just read more.
- Eat a robust and healthy diet low in fat (especially saturated fat), high in fruits and veggies and high in fiber. During a detox time, I would steer clear of meat (no pun intended) and eat a plant based diet. Not sure what to eat? Check out Top 10 Detox Foods. To that list I would add artichokes and dandelion greens.
- You also need to lighten up the toxin load by eliminating alcohol, cigarettes, and refined sugars. Avoid harsh chemical cleaners as well.
- Exercise! Your body eliminates toxins by sweating. Getting your heart rate up will get your blood flowing.
- Drinking the lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper concoction from the Master Cleanse might be a good idea. Lemon juice is high in Vitamin C, which helps the liver create an amino acid chain that helps drive toxins away. Cayenne helps stimulate the body's self cleaning process and breaks up mucus that is clogging the body. Skip the maple syrup and add some hot water to your concoction and drink it like a tea. Just be sure to eat well too.
- Breathe deeply and regularly. Chronic stress can have a toxic effect on the body, focused breathing, and meditating can reduce the power of stress.
I suggest taking a week to focus on healthy living and eating practices and detox without starving yourself.
Fit's Tip: Many people use detox cleanses and fasts as a means of losing weight. The weight lost during a fast is all water weight, which will be gained back once you begin eating.
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Oh my gosh...lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayanne pepper? That sounds like junk. I don't see how people do this stuff; I gotta eat like every two hours or I'll starve!
1A friend of mine did the lemon/cayenne/maple thing and let me taste it. It was actually pretty good - sort of like lemony iced tea.
2I have to eat like every two hours too!!
3My friend swears by that lemon juice cayenne maple syrup cleanse. I tried it and it was Gross! I can't imagine having to drink that an only that. I like eating WAY too much to fast. Some people can do it and right on for them, but I am not one of them!
4The lemonade from the Master Cleanse is really good! I usually have a batch in my fridge.
5I did a detox several weeks ago that I think helped me feel cleaner and jump started my metabolism a bit. It consisted of a specific list of fruits and vegetables, as well as lean protein. You could also have beans to get in some more fiber.
Another added benefit: because I wasn't eating a lot of fat (just a little olive oil), I became hyper aware of fat in foods and the greasey stuff just wasn't that appealing anymore.
6I like the idea of doing a detox while still eating food. I can't function without the energy I get from food anyway.
7I've heard the lemon and cayenne pepper drink is good for allergies too.
I am totally going to try this. I've tried the pills that are supposed to help with detox and they don't work with me. All natural seems the best way to go. Cheaper too.
I also tried the 48 hours diet years ago. I couldn't get by without eating. I think this is only good if you have 48 hours to sleep.
8I hate these things.
Your body does the detox thing naturally in most cases.
Just eat better.
Those liquid diets are not good for your body. You need food.
9I'm slow...I didn't get the pun.. o_O
10Thanks for this Fit! I don't believe in starving yourself to detox either
11Doing too much at once is setting yourself up for failure! A good small first step to take is to eliminate as much processed sugar as possible. Your body gets addicted to the sugar if you have candy every day - but once you're off it, you won't crave it.
12I'd never do the Master Cleanse thing...I'm too active and I think I'd probably pass out. I do sometimes go off meat for a while to help clean out my system, but that's about as extreme as I get. I also will drink a bunch of water with lemon wedges in it to make me feel better.
13For some reason I can never do the Master Cleanse for longer than a day (I crave chewing). After doing the cleanse however the thought of meats and some foods make you want to be sick. The lemonade is actually not bad as long as you dont put too much cayenne pepper in it.
14That drink sounds, uhhhh. How do you know how much to use of each??
15I'm thinking I could just make some lemon tea and just do a little bit of that lemon cleanse. And really, the general "eat well, eating lots of fruits/veggies/fiber, and exercise" is always going to be good advice. I just need to get myself more motivated to exercise...
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