Detox Before You Diet
You probably spring clean every year and throw out your old belongings and deep clean your home, something of a tradition for many people in the spring time of the new year. The same is true for detoxing when you begin to incorporate a new healthier lifestyle for yourself. Before you start any of the healthy hormone diets mentioned on our site, it is always a good idea to begin with a detox diet. A sort of spring cleaning for your body, an anti- inflammatory, liver cleansing detox.
A detox diet does not have to be as stringent as the famous cayenne pepper detox diet. To live a healthier life, you have to detox with the correct foods and by doing this, you and your body will experience a multitude of health benefits. The traditional North American diet of white sugar, cakes and pastries, pasta, red meat and the endless list of processed foods all create problems for our digestive system. The toxins in our environment and our foods has poisoned our bodies and wreaked havoc with our hormonal balance and even made us fat. These toxins affect our hormones, thyroid, cortisol, insulin, leptin, estrogen and testosterone levels. A detox diet is one way of reducing inflammation in the body, bloating, correcting bacterial levels in our digestive system, balancing enzyme and acid levels and assists with restoring hormone balance.
There are many versions of detox diets available. A simple detox would involve just eating nutrient rich leafy greens and pure fruit juices for three to seven days. However, if you are like most people, this kind of diet is too difficult. If you don’t think you can manage this, try an anti inflammatory diet for a couple of weeks.
How to start a detox diet?
Firstly, you must clear out your kitchen of all the junk food, the processed food, the sugary desserts. Not only must you get rid of all the bad foods, but on a detox diet, you want to eliminate all the temptations. Eliminating these foods and then slowly adding them back into your diet will show you what type of foods cause you problems. The best course, is to get rid of the junk food and never go back. Many foods cause bloating and gas and other digestion problems, frequent colds and flu, allergies, frequent headaches, joint stiffness, dull skin and rashes such as eczema or psoriasis and weight gain. Staying on an anti inflammatory liver detox diet for two weeks will allow you to find out what foods are causing your body problems. When you are finished the detox diet, you will find out what foods work for you and what foods work against your body.
What to eat on an anti-inflammatory diet for your hormones and health:
Fish and meat – Avoid red meat and processed sandwich meats. Fish is good and so is all poultry. Try to buy organic to avoid the antibiotics and hormones that are in meat and chicken.
Eggs are okay – but again, try to buy free range eggs.
Don’t eat cow’s milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, cow’s milk cheese. Feta cheese made from sheep or goat milk is fine. You may also eat a little bit of butter. For milk drinks, drink only soy milk, almond, or rice milk.
Eat only grains which are gluten free.
Avoid sugar, but you can use honey, Stevia and maple syrup for sweetening.
Use only extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or flaxseed oil.
All vegetables are fine except for corn.
All fruits can be consumed. Avoid processed and citrus fruits
Beans are good on this hormone diet detox. Try black beans, navy beans, lentils and chickpeas.
Snack on nuts – any type, except for peanuts. However, don’t overdo it.
Nutritional supplements you should take while detoxing include a multivitamin, a probiotic supplement to help with establishing healthy bacteria in your gut and an Omega 3 fish oil supplement to reduce inflammation.
There are some products you can buy in a health store to help your body detox. Look for a herbal liver detox or a bowel cleansing formula to help detox your body. While you are on this detox diet, make sure you get enough sleep, de-stress, have a lymphatic draining massage, and do a little light exercise every day.
When you have finished the two weeks, slowly add back into your diet the healthy foods one by one. You will find out which foods cause you problems and which foods your body is sensitive to. And, as always, remember to see your doctor first before starting any hormone diet or detox diet plan.
Related Posts
admin @ March 23, 2010