Pre-Holiday Detox

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Full of family, friends, and yes, LOT’S of food and drink!  I don’t know about you, but after Thanksgiving I am often left feeling a little heavy.  My body feels like it wants a cleans or a detox, but who has the time between Thanksgiving and the Winter holidays?  Luckily, detoxification is something that our bodies do naturally.  We have built in mechanisms to remove toxins from our body through our lungs, skin, kidneys and GI tract.  We can do a few simple things to optimize our detox pathways without dedicating a great deal of time and energy to an intensive detox (which is better suited for the Spring anyway).  Here is the simple “between Thanksgiving and Christmas/Chanukah” cleans that I will be doing.

1.  Avoiding sugar, dairy, refined carbohydrates, alcohol and highly processed foods.

2. Eating lots of dark leafy green vegetables and beets.

3. Eating healthy, lean protein sources, such as beans, fermented soy (tempe), and lean cuts of organic meat.

4.  Exercising and using the sauna at least three times a week.

5.  Supplemental fiber in the evening (oat bran is a good source)