(written for detox week of Brik for Kaia Fit)
As we enter into detox week here are some food tips to get you through the week. Not sure what to eat, what is detoxing and what isn’t? Let’s get into the nitty gritty of detox!
1. Greens: Fill your refrigerator with blue green algae, barley, wheatgrass, kale, spinach, spirulina, alfalfa, chard, arugula, and other organic leafy greens to give your digestive tract a detoxifying boost of chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll rids the body of harmful environmental toxins from toxic metals, herbicides, cleaning products, and pesticides. They also aid the liver in detoxification.
2. Citrus: Citrus fruit aids the body by flushing out toxins and jump-starting the digestive tract with enzymatic processes. Lemon juice supports the liver and kidneys in their cleansing processes. To increase detoxification, start each morning with a warm glass of lemon water.
3. Garlic: Garlic is one of the best detoxing foods out there. It stimulates the liver into producing detoxification enzymes that filter toxic residues from the digestive system. I recommend adding sliced or cooked garlic to a suitable dish, as it will help any detox diet.
4. Broccoli Sprouts: Extremely high in antioxidants, the ability for broccoli sprouts to stimulate detoxification enzymes at the cellular level is unparalleled. The sprouts are actually more effective than the fully-grown vegetable.
5. Raw Vegetables: Whether juiced or eaten raw, onions, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, romaine, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, garlic, turmeric, and oregano provide a great foundation for a healthy diet. The combination of these foods will help your liver purge toxins during the cleansing process. They are also high in naturally occurring sulfur and glutathione—sulfur helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals.
6. Turmeric: The golden spice, turmeric, helps accelerate the metabolism rate and lets your body burn a significant number of calories, leading to weight loss. It is also useful in reducing fat mass and detoxification of the liver, which are essential contributors when it comes to diet-induced weight loss efforts. Also, with curcumin, turmeric can be an ideal weight-loss supplement as it lowers bad cholesterol levels and is responsible for suppressing inflammatory messages in muscle, pancreatic and fat cells. So, while your body isn’t fighting inflammation, it can easily focus on reducing weight.
So make yourself a big salad, or juice a few grapefruits. You can get cold pressed juices from many places like Keva Juice, Jamba Juice, Rawbry, and even Starbucks. A plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers is a perfect detox food. Brown rice and roasted veggies also a great detox week food. Baked sweet potato topped with fresh guacamole would be also be very good. It isn’t cold yet- but veggie soups are another option, how about gazpacho? Green smoothies are what I tend to lean on as well as simple fruits and veggies- natures first fast food. Embrace detox week!