Spring Cleaning - Whole Food Body Detox

Spring Cleaning
Whole Food Body Detox

Spring is a time of renewal - for the earth, our homes, and our health. The sun is now present for more than 12 hours a day, signalling the reawakening of the crops and animals. With Spring, the sun can now nourish and warm us and we can begin to release our storage as the days become brighter and warmer.

On a cellular level, our body has been hanging on to toxins all winter long, and now it is time to release them. It may come about in increased activity, lighter eating, a brief cold or flu, or even a detoxification program. Just like ‘Spring Cleaning’, it is time to reorganize ourselves, consolidate our wastes, and take them out to the curb!

How to Detoxify

Our body is always naturally detoxifying, but does so most in the morning and in the Spring. Not eating before bed ensures that the body can effectively detoxify all night, leaving us feeling refreshed in the morning. If you don’t feel refreshed in the morning, you may want to consider doing a planned detoxification to help your body along!
Some tips to help our ‘daily detox’:
Go to bed slightly hungry (unless you suffer from hypoglycemia, treat that first!)
Make your breakfast your healthiest meal, lunch your biggest, and dinner your lightest
Consume plenty of water all day, but especially first thing in the morning
Drink some lemon juice in your morning water - this will “squeeze” out your wastes
Consume plenty of dark coloured vegetables, as the chlorophyll is a great detoxifier

Seasonal Detoxification

Now is the time to experiment with detoxification as it is naturally occurs in the Spring. Let the sun nourish you. Our needs for nourishment from food decline as we are nourished by the sun’s greater presence and our new activities. Here are some tips to help you get started with your own gentle detoxification:
Be aware of what you are eating - anything that is not food doesn’t belong. This includes trace amounts of additives and pesticides, as they greatly interfere with our detox systems
Eat lightly, it is a time to release and clear out all that we stored through winter
Eat seasonally, the young greens and sprouts of the season are highly cleansing
Eat foods that are high in fiber, which promote our elimination systems. This comprises of all plant-based foods, but especially beans, seeds, grains, fruits and vegetables, which are highly cleansing
Consume plenty of water, which helps flush out toxins at a cellular level. 8 cups of water is usually enough for the average adult
Move! Exercise, walk, clean the house, as long there is motion, there is detoxifying!
Eat whole foods! Refined foods deplete our body of nutrients and cause wastes

Special Programs

If you suffer from a specific health condition, detoxification can greatly help the state of the condition, as healing occurs when our cells are unobstructed and clear of wastes. A nutritionist or naturopathic doctor is able to set up a specific healing regime using a detoxification that is individual to you!

Submitted by Michael Fisher, RNCP