Christmas is over but the after effects can still be hanging around. If you aren’t bounding out of bed each morning or feel like you have put on a few kilos over the silly season, then it could be time to do a detox. Whilst it’s good practice to detoxify at least once or twice per year regardless of your health, signs that you really need to detoxify include:
- Fatigue
- Poor energy in the morning
- Not waking up hungry
- Rely on caffeine to keep you going ie having more than 1 coffee per day!
- Waking between 2am and 4am
- Constipation/diarrhoea
- Acne, eczema and other skin disorders
- PMT and many female health conditions
- Migraines and headaches
To a naturopath, detoxification is vital! It’s like the essential yearly “service” to your body. You regularly service your car, but how often do you service your body? Your liver is considered to be the most overworked organ of the body. One of the primary roles of your liver is the detoxification of substances like alcohol, hormones, fatty foods, food additives such as preservatives, herbicides, pesticides and over the counter medications like panadol and antacids. Did you know that initially the liver makes toxins more toxic! Whilst it may seem strange, this first step is vital as it is the only way the second phase of reactions can occur. This is when specific nutrients from your diet can now be joined to these “toxic” toxins allowing them to be excreted out of the body. In reality, most people do the first phase pretty well but fall down in the second phase largely due to poor dietary habits. What this means is that there are lots of “toxic” toxins floating around that can result in health complaints like fatigue, migraines, PMT, poor bowel and sleeping habits. St Mary’s thistle, inisitol, choline, methionine and calcium-d-gluterate are some of the important nutrients for supporting phase 2 liver function. A scientific naturopathic liver detox has 3 purposes to improve liver function.
- Eliminate foods/chemicals/beverages that place a burden on liver function
- Encourage and support phase 2 liver detoxification through liver super foods and supplements
- Protect and rejuvenate liver function through herbal medicine and specific liver nutrients
Top 6 liver supportive practices
- Include lots of vegetables especially Broccoli, garlic and onions, brussel sprouts
- Fresh lemon juice in warm water, first thing in the morning
- Increase fish, decrease/avoid red meat, avoid processed meats like salami, devon
- Eat 5 brazil nuts every day
- 2-3 pieces of fruit daily especially pomegranate, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- Whole grain carbohydrates (nothing white!)
Top 5 things to avoid to give your liver a rest during a detox
- Alcohol
- Sugar: Lollies, chocolate, biscuits, cakes
- Processed foods like white bread, white pasta, cakes, biscuits, commercial cereals
- Unnecessary over the counter medications Deep fried foods ie hamburgers, chips, pizza,
- Caffeine: Coffee, tea, energy drinks
