Detoxing

Happy Saturday to all of you!!

Well, the long awaited blog on detoxing the body and I found out a LOT. But, it's pretty simple which is awesome.

The one thing I found is that some things that are good for one thing, are not to be used for other things and I think you could confuse the hell out of yourself trying to find a balance in all of this.

So don't. The things I am going to suggest are things you can do on a regular basis.

When I talk about detoxing, I'm speaking mainly of the liver but also the kidneys and the bladder. Why detox? These particular organs work extremely hard to keep us free of toxins and to convert certain things into waste or energy, etc.

The first thing you can do won't cost you a thing. It's water, pure and simple; water. Drink eight 8oz cups a day and this alone will do wonders for helping these organs flush toxins from your body.

The second thing you can do, is eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes lots of natural fiber, fruits and vegetables, lean meats and low fat. As a single, full-time job mom, I get that can be hard to do. Hard time wise and hard on the finances as well. I have found in trying to get my children and I eating a healthier diet, that my grocery bill went up...WAY up. I highly suggest co-ops and farmers markets if you can get to them.

The foods that are especially good for detoxing the body are:

• broccoli
• cabbage
• artichokes
• kale
• ginger
• garlic
• lemons
• limes
• apple pectin
• asparagus
• beets
• carrots
• cauliflower 

Herbs that are fabulous for liver detox are:

• garlic
• turmeric
• ginger
• rosemary
• dandelion root
• milk thistle
• barberry

There were others mentioned but in my studies, I found that long term use could be harmful so why even go there?

Now, a brief aside. And I know I'm going to piss some people off with this. I am not fond of supplements for the foods and herbs above, i.e., pills.

All of these nutrients can be taken in natural form and have been proven to be more effective if you do so.

As a society, we want the easiest way possible and so we think, "if I pop this pill, I"m good to go" but in almost all of my readings about supplements, the only people who really need them are women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, people who are on extremely low calorie diets and people who have certain issues with absorption. 

Milk thistle makes a killing in pill form because of Milk Thistle's ability to detox livers whose owners drink excessively or are habitual drug users. But the pill form, they've proven it does little to nothing. The benefits can barely be acknowledged. Drinking a tea using the herb however, does help the liver. Damage caused by long term and excessive drinking and drugging is slowed down dramatically in users who drink one cup of milk thistle tea a day but there was little to no improvement in those who pop the milk thistle supplements.

I think I'm going to try this; I am going to drink one of these tea's each day. In addition, I am going to make a drink that was highly suggested on multiple self detoxing sites I visited. Steep one tsp of fresh, chopped ginger in one cup of boiling water. Add to this the juice of one lime or lemon and one tbsp. of honey (see my blog on honey, it's only good for you if it still has the pollen in it and most chain grocery stores carry the nasty  honey that doesn't). You can put it over ice once it's steeped. This one I'll have once a day.

I also suggest that if you can't eat the foods mentioned above on a daily basis (not all of them all at once of course), make a juice. I'm a big one for juices.

My all time favorite is one beet, one carrot, one apple and one bunch of spinach. Sounds awful but it's fabulous and amazing for your body. You do need a juicer and they are spendy but so worth it. If you have a juicer, play with the foods above and come up with concoctions you like. Remember, it's ok to add honey and lemon and lime juice to anything.

My blog is very basic but this is a good start. I highly encourage you all to do research of your own and please remember that I am in no way an expert. If you question anything I write, check with someone like your doctor or herbalist.

Good luck and happy detoxifying!!!!