Some of the best natural detox methods are simple and inexpensive! A natural detox diet, or as I like to call it a purified lifestyle, consists of an abundance of water, raw foods, teas, herbs, spices, meditation, focused breathing, and the list goes on and on.
You can detox your whole body and form a healthier lifestyle with these simple habits. Detoxing increases our energy levels, makes us feel lighter, clears our mind; keeping us focused and sharp, and boosts our immune system to keep us strong and healthy through stressful times. By incorporating a few or all of these methods you will start feel the effects of detox. Sometimes the first signs of a detox working is your symptoms get worse in your weakest areas anywhere from 1 day to 1 week, it all depends on what damage has already been done. Don’t worry though you will feel good as new once your body cleanses itself.
Essentially you want to flush out your system with as much liquid as possible. You can step it up a notch with an abundance of raw, local, organic foods. These provide the enzymes and nutrients our bodies need to function properly. Proper intake and a clear mind can make you feel like a whole new person.
Many of the detox methods I have seen online have been singular and last less than 1 week. When you search detox or body cleanse methods you’ll likely find the lemon detox, water fast, fruit fast in which you eat or drink that 1 singular item. Many people claim they feel much more energetic and clear minded. Many people agree that this is probably due to the elimination of processed foods and the increase in water intake. Lemons, fruits and water are alkalizing and provides the optimum environment for our body to heal and regenerate itself. But once the cleanse is over you go back to your original routine and you suffer from lethargy, foggy mind once again.
Here is a simple detox list meant to inspire and motivate you to incorporate healthier habits into your lifestyle which in turn purify your body from the inside out. I have only provided methods I have used and that have worked for me. That is not to say that it will work for everyone. Everyone is different and requires a different plan, I can only give you inspiration as to what has worked for me in hopes to motivate you to discover what works for you. These are the simplest methods I know of that have helped me time and time again feel my absolute best. Without incorporating these methods I would’t be able to do what I love in complete comfort and “dis”ease free.
1. Drink ALOT of water
Drink a gallon or more per day to really get things flown’ and goin’.
Every morning I wake up around 5:30-6am and start my day with a quart of purified water. Sometimes I will add a little bit of citrus fruit to provide even more hydration and flavor. I drink water until around 9am or until everything has been “flushed” from my system. Lately we have been buying reverse osmosis water from whole foods or Mom’s, filling three 5 gallon jugs for the week, costing about $5. Unfortunately the water in the city is highly chlorinated, especially in the springtime and I now refuse to drink tap water. We also have tried Brita filters but they get expensive, time consuming, and they are just okay. When it comes to water, over half of what we are made of, yeah I take it seriously!
2. Meditate. Walk in the sunshine surround yourself with nature.
It is known that nature can be meditative if you stop to feel the sun’s rays, listen to the birds chirp, see the trees being blown by the wind; in this moment it is easier to let go of the mind and become more connected with a feeling of joy. As we clear the mind, focus on our surroundings and appreciate the beauty we attract positive healing energy into our life. Fresh air, and sunlight does a body good!
Everybody meditates differently, it’s all about focusing and releasing the mind of it’s sporadic thoughts. You can do this while dancing, cooking, playing and instrument, running, hiking, yoga or whatever interests you. I love meditation through activities but when I have exhausted myself I balance this with a relaxing guided meditation.
This is one of my favorite chakra cleansing video, her importance on breath keeps you mindful for the full 20 minutes. This always leaves me feeling recharged and rejuvenated. I have done this a couple of times in the past week with different friends and it has all been such an incredible experience. I noticed during each of my meditation sessions that my throat chakra was experiencing some blockage. I focused intently on each breath, expanding my lungs and my muscles with as much oxygen as possible; bursting- breath out, releasing thoughts, negative energy and stress; muscles deflating, no air left and again. She also guides you with a visualization of warm golden light traveling up and around your body. I felt my heart race as I breathed deeper than I ever had before while visualizing mother earth’s warm golden light wrapping around my throat. I felt light, my whole body was tingling, heart pumping harder than ever. As soon as we moved to the sacral chakra my heart rate slowed and my breathing became shallower. It was an intense experience that I hope many can become connected with in their own special way.
3. Breath deeper more often
Deep conscious breathing helps our mind and body in a number of ways. Oxygen jumpstarts our lymphatic system, crucial for releasing toxins, aids in the absorption of nutrients, fuels and repairs our muscles after a workout and so much more! We all know breathing is important to live but it’s when you start concentrating on regular deep breaths that you will start to notice a huge difference.
In yoga and meditation for example we use breathing techniques to become more connected and conscious of our inner strength. In my #100daycontortionchallenge breath was the most important aspect for safely getting into deep stretching poses, it also helped with recovery time. The more I breathed after practice the less aches and pain I would feel. Breath is our life-force and the best part, it’s a natural detox, so simple, effective and free. It’s amazing at what oxygen or lack there of can do to you.
I just invested in a bunch of plants to fill the air with an abundance of clean oxygen. It makes a huge difference but can get expensive and labor intensive. So worth it to me 🙂
The Ultimate Detox – Breathing
4. Eat 60% raw fruits and veggies at every meal (preferably from local organic farmers)
A simple detox diet consists of as many raw and natural foods as possible. I have found that if I keep every meal 60% local organic fruits and veggies I will feel my absolute best, the other 40% consists of unsprouted nuts, grains, and eggs. Most people will have to fit meat, processed foods, dairy, sugar and alcohol into this 40% as well. That can get tough! If I go 50-50 or even worse 40-60 my body will start to show symptoms right away. This is when I go into emergency mode of 80% alkaline to 20% acidic foods.
Mostly everyone will want to try and stick to a meal plan that consists of 60% alkalizing foods and 40% acidic foods. Getting to know your body is a must so you’ll know how much processed or acidic food your body can handle, and once you start feeling off just eat a raw piece of fruit or vegetable!
5. Drink tea.
Teas are filled with healing properties and more flavorful than plain water. We all know the more water we drink the better it is, infusing water with nutrient rich herbs and healing barks is a step above and beyond
but still very simple. You could experiment creating your own blends or you could always keep things simple and buy organic pre-made tea packets like these.
One of my favorite herbs to drink in the summer is nettles infusions. It is filled with nutrients and normally chilled before drinking. Another one of my favorite teas for detoxing is this simple yarrow, gingko and echinacea tea blend.
Where to get your tea ingredients.
Fortunately everywhere I have lived has had a wonderful medicinal herb shop close by. The first one I ever went to was Pheonix Herbs back in Kansas City. Now I go to smile herb shop in College Park. This is where I normally get all of my goodies for much cheaper, since I always buy in bulk and they love to give discounts! If there is no herb shop in your local area I would order from mountain rose herbs, they have fine quality herbs, berries, barks, etc.
6. Drink Electrolyte Water to keep hydrated.
Young Thai coconuts are my favorite way to hydrate after a workout or stretch session because they are loaded with electrolytes. Electrolytes can be found in almost all fruits and vegetables, juiced or not.
You can also make yor own homemade detox drinks, like this Homemade Electrolyte Energy Drink or check out my favorite detoxifying juices.
7. Sweat it out.
Sweating is a great way to eliminate waste from the body. The most common way is to workout, specifically cardio will really get your heart pumping and your body excreting waste. Another great way to sweat it out is at the sauna. I love meditating in the sauna, I feel so refreshed and clean but when I’m done I always have to follow with at least a liter of water and plenty of electrolytes!
8. Add more Spices and Herbs to your meals.
Fresh garlic, turmeric, ginger, cumin are all amazing herbs that aid your body in many different ways and provide tons of antioxidants. If you aren’t steeping your spices and herbs to make a tea or broth, I would always recommend eating your spices and herbs fresh when possible to avoid oxidization. Cumin for instance, when ground, oxidizes rather quickly but when freshly ground and eaten they contain a large amount of anti-oxidents. W need as many anti-oxidants as we can get which are contained in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables including fresh spices and herbs. They also have a lot of immunity boosting and healing properties.
9. Eat citrus fruits like lemons.
Lemon is an amazing detoxifier with highly alkalizing properties despite it’s acidity. The acid from lemons is similar to our stomach acid, thus aiding in the digestion process, keeping everything flowing
smoothly. Contradicting I know but so are many things in life 😉
When I get heartburn I know that I have eaten out of balance. This happens when you eat too much acidic foods that aren’t digesting properly. The greatest remedy came as a surprise because it is super easy and it took 2 minutes to work. Cut up a lemon and squeeze it in your mouth. Eat the whole lemon to get fast results. I also like to take sips of nettle infusion in between “lemon shots” Instantly the burning sensation went away. It felt like the lemon was burning away the pain at first but then after I felt back to 100% I knew it was worth it. As I was researching alkalinity vs acidic I found that lemon is one of the most alkaline foods out there, even though you would think it would be acidic, it’s not. If you suffer from heartburn or acid reflux let me know how this works for you!!
10. Add super green foods to your diet like Chorella, Spirulina
, and Blue-green Algae.
These super foods are heavy duty detoxifiers but still super simple to incorporate into your diet. I love sprinkling it on salads, rice, fermented pak dong and many other dinners. You can find all these separately or you can find them all combined in the super foods isle of whole foods or any other heath food store. Make sure you read the labels and the first 3 ingredients should include one or more of these incredible super green foods. This has become on of my favorite pre-mixed and it has tons of probiotics.
Doctor Mercola has a wonderful article on all the benefits of spirulina, there are way too many to list here! They also mention that chorella can help detoxify heavy metals, how cool!?
Spirulina – The Amazing Super Food You’ve Never Heard Of
As you can see there are many different cheap and easy ways to detox all year round. Some of these methods will work for you and some may not, experiment and see what fits best into your lifestyle. Now you can kickstart your system this spring and be ready for all the fun summer activities “dis”ease free.Throughout this series I will provide all sorts of different detoxing recipes including fermented foods like pak dong and cultured cashew cheese. All of the recipes currently posted on my website are vegan, mostly raw and perfect for a detox. Stay tuned for even more simple detox recipes!
Happy Detoxing! <3
Love, Amanda
