These top ten detox foods can help provide some great ideas on how to detox your body - they provide some of the best all round nutrients for a total body detox, and can easily be incorporated into a free detox diet plan. You can include them in part of a raw food detox diet, or juice them for some great tasting detox drinks.
When buying fruit and vegetables, organic produce is always better for you that non organic if your budget can stretch that far. If not, non organic will be OK, as these foods can be used for a very healthy 7 day detox program and as part of your ongoing detoxification regime.
1. An Apple A Day Keeps the Doc Away.
Did you know that scientists in the Ukraine used apples to help clean and purify the area of Chernobyl when they had that catastrophic disaster back in 1986? That says something about the detox power of apples. Their power comes from high levels of vitamin C and quercetin, which is an antioxidant that helps reduce levels of bad cholesterol.
Another useful nutrient we get from apples is pectin, which is a soluble dietary fiber. Pectin is known to bind to heavy metals in the colon to help our body excrete them. It also has properties which help our body eliminate other toxins and food additives like tartrazine which has been linked with asthma and hyperactivity in children.
2. Avocados
Apart from anything else I think avos taste great - the fact that they are good for you is even better. Avocados contain a nutrient called gluthathione, which is a powerful antioxidant. It combines with fat soluble toxins, particularly alcohol, and makes them water soluble.
As with most functions within our bodies, as we age the levels of naturally occurring glutathione start to decrease. Apart from other things, this is one of the reasons hangovers get worse in our older years - as there's not as much glutathione to help eliminate the alcohol from the drink we consumed. Increased levels of glutathione have also been shown to improve overall health and help reduce conditions such as arthritis.
3. Artichokes for Liver Detox
Artichokes are a great tasting zero-fat, zero-cholesterol veg that provide a wealth of vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals including vitamin A, B6, Niacin, folic acid, chromium, potassium, iron and calcium. One powerful detox benefit of artichokes is its ability to increase bile production in the liver. More bile means the body is able to transport more toxins to the bowel for excretion - so a great food for a natural liver detox.
Two of the phytochemical compounds present in artichokes are cynarin and silymarin - these have powerful antioxidant powers and are believed to help regenerate tissue growth in the liver.
4. Beetroot - A Vampires Second Worst Enemy.
Two health giving compounds found in beetroot are methionine and betanin. Betanin helps the liver break down fatty acids, and reduces its workload, so it is able to devote more energy to eliminating dangerous toxins from your body. Methionine works on purifying the body's waste material to help prevent toxin re-uptake.
The use of beetroot for health benefits dates back several thousand years - it was used in ancient Rome as a blood purifying tonic for a total body detox. It also has some chelation properties by binding with heavy metals.
5. Cruciferous or Brassica Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, spinach and cauliflower. All these vegetables are very powerful detox foods. Brussels sprouts have been shown to inhibit the uptake of a toxin called aflatoxin, which is linked to liver cancer. Cruciferous vegetables have also neutralised nitrosamines, which are produced by cigarette smoke.
These vegetables contain a nutrient called glucosinolates, which help the liver to produce vital enzymes.
When I first heard about the South Beach Diet, and watched the people around me eating all kinds of great foods, I figured this was just another fad diet that would disappear after everyone realized it didn't work. But it does work. People are losing weight and eating too.
Completely flabbergasted at how much food my brother was eating on the program, I logged onto the South Beach Diet website to find out what it was all about. That's when I learned the simple truth about dieting: not only do you not need to starve yourself to lose weight - you actually lose more weight if you eat!
Unlike a lot of other diets that make you count calories, count carbs and either eliminate all fats and protein, or gorge on them all day long, South Beach doesn't require counting anything, and it lets you eat plenty of nutritious foods like all the other people around you.
Developed by a leading research cardiologist with Mount Sinai Medical Center, I found South Beach to be completely safe and heart healthy - a plus for someone like me in their 50s who's worried about their cholesterol and what it's doing to their heart.
Unable to completely give up food - even to lose a few pounds - I was thrilled to discover that the South Beach Diet would allow me to eat until I was satisfied, as long as I chose highly nutritious foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and cheeses and low-sugar snacks.
Scrambled eggs for breakfast, all types of soups and salads for lunch, and plenty of grilled or sauteed fish, chicken, pork and even lean beef are all allowed in Phases II and III. Believe it or not, dessert isn't even off limits with this diet.
So, how does South Beach work if you're allowed to continue eating until you're full? The answer is in Phase I, which by the way, is the hardest part of the program. During this first 2-week time period, the diet does severely restrict what you can eat, but not how much you can eat.
In the first two weeks of the South Beach Diet, followers are required to give up all sugars and carbohydrates in order to break their body's unhealthy addiction to processed foods, starches and sugars.
Since you're basically going "cold turkey" on sugar and carbs, you can expect to feel pretty lousy for the first several days. I personally experienced headaches, listlessness and severe crankiness. But, to be honest, it didn't last long, and since I had plenty of other food choices to keep me feeling full, I wasn't hungry at all.
Once my addiction to the junky foods was broken, and my body's glucose levels were able to naturally even out and stay at the same levels throughout the day, I suddenly felt a burst of energy like I hadn't had in years. No more ups and downs during the day depending on what snack food I was relying on to keep me going. Better yet, my cravings for sugar and carbohydrates were disappearing - a miracle!
Once my addiction was broken and my cravings subsided during Phase I, I was able to reintroduce some of those forbidden foods like breads, brown rice, fresh fruit, juices and even some desserts. Funny, though, with my carb addiction broken, I didn't crave those foods like I once had, and a few bites of a baked potato along with a nice piece of chicken and some grilled vegetables straight from my garden now satisfied me.
Before long I was noticing that my pants were getting bigger and my waistline was getting smaller, all while I continued to eat as much as I wanted of the foods that were good for me.
I can honestly say that South Beach has been less of a diet for me and more of an awakening on how good I can feel eating the foods that my body most deserves. Try it. You'll be surprised at how good you can feel - and look!
Both Claredenton & Julia Degrassi are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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