Four Painless Ways to Detox this Summer

There’s no easier time to detoxify the body than in summer. The natural decrease in appetite most of us experience and the abundance of gorgeous fruits and vegetables makes the idea almost irresistible.

Detoxification practices are polemic. Plenty of doctors think intentional detox is unnecessary because the body has its own detoxification systems while there are lots of holistic practitioners who start their regimes with thorough, almost invasive detox treatments. If you want to know, I stand in the middle.

The power of intentional detoxification is undeniable. I’ve witnessed my clients’ health transform and have experienced transformation myself during and after a detox. You don’t have to do a master cleanse or a punishing diet to detox, though. In fact, more often than not, these extreme methods unbalance the body in obvious ways.

Gentle detox and, more importantly, adopting permanent detox habits can make a dramatic difference in your health.

Here’s some ideas to get you going today:

1. Start your day with warm lemon water
Lemon is alkalizing. What that means is material for a different blog post, but for now, that’s good news for most people, whose diets are highly acidic. Warm water with lemon first thing in the morning is the perfect wake up call for the digestive system and it supports elimination, so it’s perfect for those with a tendency to constipation. Lemon also purifies the blood and supports the immune system. A perfect detoxifyer!

Use the juice of 1/4 to 1/2 lemon per cup of warm water. Use REAL lemon and no sweetener.

2. Use only high quality fats.
For a week, try to eat only foods prepared with extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil or ghee.

It’s okay to eat animal foods that have fat; just get the highest-quality you can find and afford: grass-fed meats, organic dairy, pasture-raised eggs, etc.

There’s a catch here: processed foods and most foods you eat out are NOT made with high-quality fats, but instead contain cheap and rancid vegetable oils and hormone-laden animal fats. You will probably have to prepare your food yourself. I know this is not very convenient, but it is worth doing. You are going to feel so amazing that you might want to stick to the regime!

3. Go to bed earlier.
Ayurveda teaches that the body goes into cleansing mode from about 10 pm until about 2 am, but this metabolic cycle will be interrupted if you are awake during this time. The cleansing cycle triggers hunger, so not only will you deprive your body of the needed cleanse, but also you are more likely to snack late at night which, as you probably know already, doesn’t help.

Going to bed by 10 pm is indeed a huge secret to improved quality of sleep, body cleansing and beauty.

4. Increase raw foods.
The summer is the right time of the year to eat more raw foods because we naturally crave a lighter diet. Raw fruits and veggies are very cleansing because they have a lot of fiber, water and enzymes that are otherwise very difficult to get into your diet.

There are a couple of considerations to keep in mind when experimenting with raw foods. First, it is important that they are organic, especially the ones that you can’t peel (i.e. salad greens). Secondly, the amount of raw fruits and veggies that are beneficial varies from person to person. Start slowly if you have never eaten much raw fruits and veggies, and add more gradually. Some people get instantly energized when they eat raw foods. Others feel lethargic and gassy at the beginning and can assimilate them better with time.

If you have severe digestive issues like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or IBS, you might be better off postponing your raw food experiments for after you’ve recovered. You must always listen to your body to determine what helps and what doesn’t.

I made a video to show you a raw recipe that’s delicious, wonderfully detoxifying, ridiculously easy to make and usually not upsetting to anyone: Beets-Haters Beet Salad. Check it out!

Now, do you see the comments section down there? Why don’t you share with us: Do you think you can use to detox some? Which idea are you going to try? Do you have a favorite way to detox?

Tagged as: easy detox, easy detox tips, summer detox, summer diet