Photo courtesy of Detox.Zone
The New Year represents an opportunity to start fresh and rid your body and mind of anything toxic that was in your life during the past year. By now you’ve probably made your New Year’s Resolutions and promised yourself to kick-start 2015 in a healthier manner, so what better way to do so than with a post-holiday detox?
The word detox often has a negative connotation but it doesn’t have to. According to Dr. Frank Lipman,
“detoxificationis about improving and optimizing the function of your body’s own detoxification systems. This is done by decreasing the amount of toxins we put into our bodies, while at the same time supporting our body’s detoxification and elimination systems with the nutrients it needs to function properly.”
Detoxification can become a part of your daily routine, by adopting healthy habits like waking up and going to bed early and drinking lots of fluids, or it can be done for a shorter period of time, like a few days. At Maxim Hygiene we think that a detox is a great thing for the body, so long as you do it safely, and do not deny your body of essential vitamins and nutrients. If a detox is followed correctly, it can help you become in tune with your inner self and rid your body of any toxins and pessimistic thoughts that you might be keeping bottled up. However, we do not advise extreme cleanses like juice detox diets or excessive exercise, which can disrupt the body’s internal system and create harm in the long run.
If you are interested in a post-holiday detox, here are our 5 tips for getting started:
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep and go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This will lower your stress level and boost your metabolism.
- Drink lots of water, about 1.5 to 2 liters per day, which will help flush out your organs as well as improve digestion.
- Favor alkaline foods. Alkaline foods include water-based vegetables like cucumbers, nuts, fresh fruits, and any food not considered as “acidic”. Acidic foods include gluten, refined grains, alcohol, sugars, and anything that promotes inflammation in the body. If you eat alkaline foods on a regular basis, and acidic foods in moderation, you will balance your pH and generate the production of healthy cells in the body.
- Add lemon to whatever you can. Lemon helps regulate the digestive system and helps eliminate toxins faster. Consider adding lemon to a large bottle of water or adding it to a salad.
- Try detox yoga poses. See the diagram below for some ideas and for detailed instructions on how to perform the poses, click here.
If you are serious about following a post-holiday detox, Gwyneth Paltrow has some great tips as well a straight-forward 1-week detox plan that you can follow, recipes included. If you are interested checking out even more detox-friendly recipes, take a look at these 49 ideas.
Let us know if you get the opportunity to try out any of these suggestions and happy detoxing!