Two days ago I returned home after a very pleasant but eventful vacation in Moscow and Europe. Arriving in my native Moscow for just a month, I ate my favorite dishes without stopping (and even got into an ambulance from overeating !!! :)))). I also moved very little, because all the time I moved by car; drank very little water; I didn’t get enough sleep because I wanted to do too much; I used my phone day and night … I thought more than once that I needed a serious “rest” after all these excesses – the so-called body detox. We even recorded a video about home detox with Lena Shifrina (founder of Bio Food Lab, which makes Bite bars).
In the meantime, I talked with another friend of mine and associate — Julia Bogdanova, author of the blog “Spinach and Buckwheat“, – about how to help your body“ unload ”and cleanse itself with the help of a detox menu. And this is what she told me:
– Representatives of the actively growing field of functional integrative medicine widely use various detox procedures in their practices. They recommend detox to their patients in the presence of a number of complaints and ailments, including fatigue, headaches, depression, seasonal allergies, skin rashes, irregular stools, “stubborn” overweight and many other fairly harmless “symptoms of modern life” are perceived by us as an annoying inevitability.
Detox can be compared to something like a vacation for our body. By analogy with limiting the flow of information for emotional and mental relaxation, an effective detox procedure is to reduce the amount of toxic substances entering the body with food, through the use of household chemicals, cosmetics, and even as a result of high levels of stress.
The detox menu combines high nutritional value with ease of absorption. Thanks to this, on the one hand, we release the body’s resources (the priority for which is the operational tasks of vital activity that are critical for survival) for more strategic tasks – removing the remaining toxic substances in the body, “restarting” a number of systems (hormonal, digestive), and on the other hand, we provide him with absolutely necessary nutrients and trace elements for this.
The various dektox methods differ in their intensity – As a rule, the less food you eat, the more intense the elimination of toxic substances is, but because of this, health risks increase.
Basic principles of a detox menu:
— high nutritional saturation: vitamins, minerals and other trace elements that are necessary for effective work of the organs responsible for removing toxic substances from the body (in particular, it is recommended to consume a lot of leafy greens – after algae, it is the most nutritiously saturated category of food);
— ease of assimilation: as a rule, this is typical for vegetables, herbs and fruits; cereals, most legumes and nuts need to be soaked / germinated for the detox period – this way you increase their nutritional saturation and make them more available for assimilation by the body;
— absence most common allergens: dairy products, gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley and even oats), eggs, peanuts, corn, soybeans, as well as citrus fruits, which, if sensitive to them, can cause non-localized inflammatory processes and, accordingly, provoke an immune response that is resource-intensive for the body their repayment;
— a small amount of meat (absence industrially produced animal products, since their digestion and assimilation requires a relatively large amount of time and resources, and also increases the risks of hormones, antibiotics, heavy metals entering the body;
— absence industrially processed foods and food additives: this list essentially includes all the additives you don’t use in your kitchen.
Recommended format:
– duration from 3 to 7 days; in the first 2-3 days, weakness and headaches are possible, which should then be replaced by a feeling of clarity and vigor (if the malaise continues after 3 days, it is better to stop the diet);
– try 2 meals in liquid form – smoothies and cream soup – in any order for easy and fast absorption;
– the night break between meals is at least 12 hours;
– drink at least 8 glasses of water a day plus tea – chamomile, ginger, rose hips;
– do not bring yourself to a sharp feeling of hunger – have a snack with fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, soaked dried fruits for sweets.
It is desirable to add:
– not too tiring physical activity – at least half an hour a day;
– rest and sleep;
– going to the bathhouse or sauna;
– massage;
– stress management techniques (yoga, meditation, walking);
– positive emotions (from sports, reading, communication, hobbies).
Delete:
– caffeine in any form (coffee or tea);
– alcohol;
– smoking (if possible);
– any refined products (sugar, white flour, white rice, vegetable oil).
An approximate daily detox menu from Julia Bogdanova can be found here.
Based on:
Clean by Alejandro Junge
The Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas and Daniella Chace
Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford