The advantages of detoxing, and a nutritional ‘Spring Clean’

The advantages of detoxing, and a nutritional ‘Spring Clean’

Spring is the ideal time to refresh and revitalise yourself, including finding the best detox option for you.

Why now?

The long, dark days of winter are in your rear-view mirror, and the temperature is rising. You are probably starting to shed clothing layers and get more active. Once the Spring Equinox is done (20th March) and the days get longer, we generally experience improved mood and energy levels.

Getting more fresh air will certainly perk you up, and it’s traditionally a time to declutter your home as part of good mental health support and to do a thorough clean to eliminate dust, bacteria and other allergens from floors and other surfaces.

So, it makes sense to also use this season to revisit your nutrition and consider a spring detox plan.

Does detoxing work? Will it help you to ‘spring’ into the lighter months with greater vigour and improved skin, for example? Could it also be a great way to give your immune function a reboot after its hard work in recent times?

This article looks at the pros and cons of detoxing, and the best ways to ‘start fresh’ this spring - from the inside out.

Reasons your nutritional intake needs a refresh

Apart from the fact the colder months have put a strain on your immune system and other physiological functions, there are other reasons you may be due a detox, or a general review of your daily diet.

One is that we all tend to comfort eat in winter and you may have started to rely more on highly processed foodstuffs. Have you turned more to hot drinks, rather than cold, fresh water?

We have also been breathing in higher levels of recycled and centrally heated air inside our homes and workplaces.

It all adds to the number of toxins we have consumed or inhaled, and which are now boosting the free radicals that undermine many biological functions.

You may have even increased the levels of heavy metals in your body (such as lead, mercury and cadmium) and soaked up organic and industrial chemicals from things you have used or touched.

There is a lot of publicity these days about such matters as drinking water quality, and the hormones present in meats and dairy products, as well as the possibility we consume tiny amounts of plastic in our fish and seafood.

That doesn’t sound pleasant, right? It also makes it impossible to manage your daily life and diet to avoid all toxins, which offers a vivid answer to whether detoxes, and spring nutritional reviews, are a good idea!

What is a nutritional detox?

Your health revolves around what goes into your body. This should involve purposefully consuming carefully balanced nutrition that supports all your biological functions.

Detoxification involves taking steps to strip unwanted things out of your body, to refresh and ‘clean’ many of its biological functions.

This includes consuming substances that revitalise your major organs, such as your liver and digestive system. Helping them to shed their build-up of unwanted matter can make them more efficient, and better able to optimise the positive nutrition you go on to consume.

Clearly then, done well, detoxing can be an important foundation to protect your health.

The best detox methods

What do you need to consider, when finding the best nutritional detox options for spring?

Timing

Timing is almost as important as what you use to detox your digestive system and other internal functions. For example, to make them safe and worthwhile detox activities should be spaced well apart.

You can take this process too far by prolonging the steps involved in detoxification too. The recommended timeframe to use nutritional detox methods varies, but using natural aids to shed toxic substances should always be a short-term process.

For example, using juicing blends for a detox should be used for a matter of days, not weeks.

Also, detoxification is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or if you have significant health issues such as diabetes or conditions that require regular medications. If any of this applies to you, consulting a medical professional before detoxing is important.

Fasting

This is generally viewed as something to be used sparingly, or intermittently as a detox method, as by totally depriving your body of nutrients you can seriously reduce your energy levels and create worrying deficits in vitamins and minerals.

Using a detox diet plan

Fortunately, there are nutritional options and ways to prepare food that can activate the detox process, without creating any of the side effects of fasting.

Juicing is often used to support this, by taking natural remedies for clean eating, and condensing them into easy to manage liquid form. More on this later.

Designing a detox and nutritional reboot for you

The nutritional elements of an effective detox depend on your aims.

For example, one of the most common reasons to detoxify your body is to prepare for a weight management programme or help you to shed a few pounds.

It is important to be clear that detoxification is not some sort of ‘magic bullet’ that can help you ‘fix’ weight problems, or instantly improve your health. It has to be something you do in tandem with a general focus on getting the right levels of nutrients, and managing your intake of fats, salt and sugars year-round, for example.

A good example of a detox system that can be beneficial is one that focuses on your digestive function. You select fruit and vegetables – and probiotic foods – that give your gut a much-needed boost. As well as the sort of fibre that helps you to empty your bowels efficiently, accompanied by lots of water to ‘flush’ out your gut and kidneys.

Focus especially on ‘leafy greens’ such as spinach and kale, as they naturally contain enzymes that tackle the toxins you store in your body.

Water and proper hydration should also run alongside other things you drink to help detox, such as diluted lime or lemon juice, fresh smoothies, and beverages based on mint or ginger for example.

This is when juicing can be a great detox method, as you can mix all the best ingredients for your detox together in a convenient and really easy to digest form, including portions you can take to work with you.

Detox by avoiding certain substances

Perhaps your spring detox plan could focus on giving your body a ‘break’ from some of the treats you enjoy, that may be interfering with your nutritional support. Such as spending a few days or weeks avoiding all alcohol, caffeine, sugar and refined foods.

Did you know that abstaining from alcohol even for a few days can have a significant impact on your energy levels, sleep pattern and skin health? It can also bring better mental health, and improved weight management, not to mention ending the negative effects of hangovers!

It’s why things like?Dry January?are so heavily promoted.

More insights on nutritional upgrades

This website includes resources on nutrients and foodstuffs that can help to support your immune function and tissue repair systems, as well as your sleep patterns and energy levels.

The recommendation is that you use these insights to organise a really focused meal/drinks plan for spring. Including kick-starting your better nutrition with a detox. Then, make this the start of eating clean and choosing nutrition purposefully, rather than engaging in a temporary detox fad, fast or fashion-trend!

So, for example, your seven-day spring detox could focus on:

1. Eliminating foods that interfere with good nutritional balance. Not just the things mentioned above, but potentially meat, dairy and wheat too, for a system refresh.

2. Doing a juicing detox, smoothie regime or a really focused fruit, veg and fibre diet for one to three days, with lots of water to drink.

3. Gradually adding in more food items, that you know contain the vitamins, minerals and healthy fats needed for a really well-balanced diet, such as omega-3 rich fish and nuts.

Detoxing and supplements

Though changing what you eat – and planning detox days – can help create better balance and improved health, there are other things you can do to make detoxing effective and worthwhile.

Increasing activity levels and getting a full night's sleep are clearly two of the positive steps to improve your health this spring. Enjoying sauna or steam room sessions can help you to ‘sweat out’ some toxins and open up your skin pores too.

There are also supplements you can include in your detox campaign or nutritional reboot.

Look for supplements that help you to build your intake of antioxidants, to help you tackle oxidative stress. As well as concentrated plant derivatives that give you a valuable increase in essential enzymes to support your mental and physiological health.

There are green supplements that are believed to be effective in binding toxic metals to them as well, to help your body shed toxins.

A good example of a supplement to try this spring is one containing?bilberry extract, something we explored in a?separate article.

There are options that can increase your fibre intake too and of course, probiotic supplements to promote better digestive function, offering you a cleansing process and a kick-start for producing more beneficial natural gut bacteria.

The key to restarting your nutritional balance this spring is arming yourself with the information you need to keep your diet on track year-round, including occasional detox activities.

So, keep checking back with this constantly updated naturopathic website for more research, articles and ideas for improving your nutrition.