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The New Year is a time to, well, start anew. And right after that dreaded month-long period of over indulgence, the New Year is the perfect time to detox your mind and body. A good detox can help you to lose weight, think clearly, and feel good. Toxins can be a result of excessive alcohol, smoking, environmental pollutants, processed foods, caffeine, and any other health demons. Pick a realistic amount of time to detox and get going! Here are my tips for detoxifying your system in the New Year:
- Don't drink caffeine and booze
Caffeine can be extremely stimulating for your central nervous system. It can alter your state of mind and make you nervous. Non-organic coffee, tea, and soda contains pesticides and chemicals that can add to the toxicity level in your body. Alcohol can add unnecessary calories to your diet and make you lose your inhibitions so that you eat foods that do not contribute to your overall detox. Both caffeine and alcohol also dehydrate you and it's critical during a detox to keep the system fully hydrated.
Instead:
Drink tons of filtered water and caffeine free teas. Limit your intake of wine to one to two glasses of antioxidant-rich red wine. - Don't eat processed foods and meats
It takes energy to break down processed foods and processed foods can be laden with pesticides and chemicals. So give your system a break by giving them up. Processed foods also come with tons of packaging that's hard on the planet. It's also best to cut back or give up meat. The key to a good detox is the ability to pass bowel movements and meat is much harder for the body to digest than other protein sources.
Instead:
Eat tons of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Eat whole grains like wheat berries, brown rice, and quinoa. These foods also help to pass substances on through your system. - Do break a sweat
Sweating is a great way to push the toxins out of your body naturally. Pick an activity that you enjoy! I cannot stand the treadmill and refuse to spend my free time doing something I don't like. So find an active hobby and get sweating. I love to hike and surf but there are just so many activities to try out! - Do yoga
Yoga helps you to unblock your body. It's known for it's ability to detox the body because it puts pressure on body parts like the liver, kidneys, and stomach. It allows energy to flow through your body freely and many yogis believe that blocked energy is what later leads to disease. - Do experiment with detoxifying holistic treatments like colonics
Let's all be adults here. Poop shouldn't be so hard to talk about. True colonic lovers believe that your system needs a good cleanout as fecal matter builtup can lead to problems down the road. Detoxifying your system with a colonic is said to help with constipation, IBS, chronic fatigue, body odor, headaches, and the list goes on. Colonics, or colon hydrotherapy, clean the system out by running water through it to release the bowels and remove fecal build up.
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Craving more green celebrity gossip? Maria Menounos dishes it up on Planet Green TV's Hollywood Green.
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