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5 In/5 Out Detox Guide
Rest. Clean. Nourish.
Many doctors now believe that the cause of chronic disease (maybe all disease) is toxicity. Conversely, the quickest way to heal what ills you is to detoxify your body and mind as completely as possible
Detoxification is the first step to super health, perhaps the only step because it is what everything boils down to. A toxic body and mind will never be healthy.
Try this for 1 week and I guarantee you will feel different. Maybe you will want to go even further with a fast, a long term change in diet or a new exercise regime.
Here we go…
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5 to Add
1. An extra hour of sleep each night.
Your body detoxifies and heals while you sleep.
Sleep actually flushes toxins out of your brain, according to a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center.
"The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states — awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up. You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests or clean up the house, but you can't really do both at the same time. – Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M. Sc.
Lack of sleep makes it easier to gain weight, increases your risk of heart disease, makes it very difficult to recover from exercise, makes you feel hungry even when you are not, raises blood pressure, and gives you brain fog which impairs decision making and makes you more emotional.
Lack of sleep exacerbates numerous chronic diseases.
Wow. So, turn that all around and you have a well rested, focused, emotionally balanced, smart you – making great decisions!
One hour extra a night this week. And that means going to bed an hour earlier, not getting up an hour later. The optimal sleep time is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The hardest time of all may be after the birth of a child when sleep is extremely hard to come by.
To help you sleep better follow these tips:
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No devices or computer an hour before bed.
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No food an hour or two before bed.
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No caffeine after 2.
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Drink a cup of calming tea.
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Darken your room as much as possible.
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Keep it quiet.
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Keep your bedroom cool.
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Use lavender essential oil.
2. Replace most of your beverages with clean water.
Drinking enough pure water every day is essential to detoxification.
Get the juice and soda out totally. Everyone tells me they never drink soda, but someone must be drinking it because they have an entire isle of it at the store, so I’m a little suspect.
Drink water. Put lemon in it. Infuse with fruit or mint it overnight in the fridge. Add a drop of lemon or peppermint essential oil. Flavor it naturally, but drink it all day long.
How much? We all know the 8 x 8 oz. glasses a day rule, and I say go for that if you like. Don’t worry too much about exactly how much you should drink. Just drink.
Drink water until you are not thirsty AND make sure your pee is always very pale yellow (unless you just took vitamins about half an hour prior, in which case it's likely discolored as a result).
Dehydration causes your cells to draw water from your bloodstream and makes it hard for your body to function at its best. Flooding your body with pure filtered water will immediately stimulate your kidneys, liver and digestive system’s functions. It will boost your metabolism and, in turn, accelerate toxin and fat elimination.
For one week replace almost everything you drink with water, and make sure you drink the 8 x 8 a day. More if you exercise a lot or live in a hot place.
3. Organic only greens and green juices or smoothies. Every day.
Go organic as much as you possibly can. Today.
Just a couple of years ago it was pretty expensive to go organic. I would buy a few things, but most of my produce was still “conventionally grown” or grown with lots of toxic chemicals.
Not so anymore I am very happy to say. My local grocery store stocks a ton of beautiful organic veggies (although not local), so no excuses anymore.
Better still farmers markets have local organic fare which is the best of all choices. It is more expensive so it is not in my basket all the time, but when possible it’s ideal to support this kind of farming. And your local produce is by far the most nutritious as it probably hasn’t been sitting around for weeks.
Are you still not convinced that organic is the way to go? Really??
Watch this 95 second video and tell me you aren't convinced this is what you want for your family.
Okay, so let's get the bad stuff out right now. And keep it out.
The best food you can put in your body is dark green leafy vegetables. No other regular food (not a superfood) packs the nutritional and detoxification punch.
We need to eat large amounts of leafy greens every day. The easiest way to get these into you is in a green smoothie every morning.
Another great way, of course, is a big salad for dinner. And yes, you will have to chop some vegetables. Get over it.
Vary your greens. That varies your mineral intake ensuring you get everything your body needs. Typically I use spinach in my smoothies. My dinner salad greens combo is often kale, red chard, dandelion greens, romaine and cilantro. But that varies of course depending on what looks great that week. And there is so much more. I like getting the greenest, darkest greens though. You may need to work up to that.
Juicing is wonderful of course, and I juice wheatgrass almost every day. Juice is also easy to buy. Don't juice as a replacement for fresh raw greens though, or you will miss out on all that wonderful fiber your digestive system needs to keep it squeaky clean.
However, if you are eating your vegetables cooked a raw juice is a great idea to get those raw enzymes into your system.
I start every day with a greens heavy smoothie blended with bananas and whatever other fruit I have on hand (papaya, pineapple, mango, grapes, blueberries, strawberries… you name it and it can flavor your smoothie). I also add in some protein powder when I’m working out a lot and some other potions, but …
The main job of my morning smoothie is as a greens input vehicle! The other stuff is just window dressing.
I chop and wash several kinds of greens every 3 days and make a big batch of ready to eat salad base. I keep it in a bowl in the fridge with a wet paper towel over it. I remoisten the towel each day and the greens stay fresh.
Vary your greens. That varies your mineral intake ensuring you get everything your body needs. Typically I use spinach in my smoothies. My dinner salad greens combo is often kale, red chard, dandelion greens, romaine and cilantro. But that varies of course depending on what looks great that week. And there is so much more. I like getting the greenest, darkest greens though. You may need to work up to that.
4. A short de-stressing walk in nature every morning.
I discovered what a great addition to my life a morning walk was walking my son to the bus stop each morning. Over summer holiday I continued to add in even longer walks each morning.
On the days I walked I simply felt different. Calmer.
Research shows that even one five-minute episode of anger is so stressful that it can impair your immune system for more than six hours (resource here). Stress causes brain damage, increases inflammation, damages mitochondria, reduces your ability to metabolize and detoxify, messes with your hormones and is bad for your bones and muscles. (There's more - read a great article here.)
Whew! A regular 15 minute walk will do wonders to turn all that around.
Walk wherever you are. 15 or 20 minutes will do it. Just throw on some clothes, the earlier the better and get out there.
Feel your part of the earth waking up. Feel the animals and plants waking up. See the sky change as you walk. Feel a part of it. Feel the silence and the harmony.
What if you are in the city? Same thing. The city wakes up too.
Just get out there.
Let your mind get quiet. Forget the coming day and just let yourself observe what’s around you. Go with the morning flow.
If you aren’t exercising that day later walk quickly and purposefully to get your body moving. Walk longer. Make it count.
I am often teaching exercise classes during the day and my walk is more meditative that anything else. My neighbors jokingly tell me I walk too slowly.
That’s another thing. You will meet all the other morning people and pets. There are a whole group of us who are out there early. We are cheerful and promise to say hi to you!
You might wonder why I didn't list meditation here. I do meditate and think it is an amazing addition to your lifestyle. But... these days so many of us are indoors all day long and this morning ritual may be the only time you get out in fresh air at all.
Take advantage of it. Meditate earlier/later or when the weather doesn't appeal to you. : )
5. Sweat often.
The two most powerful pathways through which your body eliminates toxins are your GI tract (digestion) and your largest organ - your skin.
So, you need to break a sweat.
According to Mercola.com,
“The use of sweating as a form of detoxification is downplayed by modern medicine, yet it has been valued as a form of cleansing since ancient times. Traditional examples include Roman baths, Aboriginal sweat lodges, Scandinavian saunas, and Turkish baths.
According to a systematic review published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health, an array of toxins are excreted in sweat, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, flame retardant chemicals, and bisphenol-A (BPA).”
The best way to break a sweat is, of course, exercise!
This week see if you can get heated enough to sweat at least 4 times. Do whatever exercise you wish. Whatever makes you do it… do that!
Obviously cardio like spin, running, zumba, boxing and the like will get your sweat glands going. But, they are also hard on your body, and might not be your thing.
A terrific way to get this detox going is in a hot yoga class. Hot yoga is super popular right now and I bet you can find a studio nearby. Hot yoga will really get you sweating, make you stronger and de-stress you all at the same time. Fantastic combination. Nothing makes me sweat more than a hot yoga class and the feeling is cathartic.
Another really popular way to detox through perspiration is in an infrared sauna. Look online for “infrared sauna your city name” to find a spa, gym or chiropractic office with a sauna near you. No workout involved here, but you will still get the meditating, de-stressing effects previously mentioned in addition to the detoxification.
Lastly, you can get all the benefits mentioned above by grabbing your sweetie and getting a good romantic workout. Not only will you sweat if you try hard enough, but you will release oxytocin, the happy healthy feel amazing hormone. : )
That's what your are adding to your life for 1 week...
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I'm Birit Trematore. (Rhymes with Spirit!) I'm obsessed with, addicted to, can't stop pursuing ways to feel better and higher and fill our lives with more love and vibrance. I hope you find inspiration in these pages!
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