People have been practicing body detoxification for thousands of years. Many leading people including Hippocrates and several religious groups have recommended fasting for improving health.
Most detox foods can now help you in losing weight. But you don’t want to begin with a low-calorie fasting because it will start your body and slow down your metabolism, as you lose crucial nutrients.
There are many other negative impacts of detox diets like fatigue, colon damage, dehydration, giddiness and nausea.
Our Body’s Detox System
There is a detoxification system within our body, and our kidneys, liver and colon are 3 important organs which are part of it.
Our liver works as the first organ or line of defense against toxins. It will work as a filter and prevent toxins in our foods from getting into our blood stream.
Our colon has bacteria that help in creating both healthy and unhealthy chemical compounds. Its primary function is to eliminate toxins before they could cause any harm to our body.
Our kidneys are the organs which help in filtering our blood round the clock. They help in removing toxins from our urine.
If you are serious about an effective detox diet, you must support your body by taking the right kinds of nutrients.
The famous Dr. Oz suggests this 48-hour weekend cleansing of our body. This cleansing is based on the consumption of particular foods which are helpful to all these 3 crucial organs so that they work effectively. It will be required to prepare and take these meals/snacks for 2 regular days.
Breakfast – Quinoa & Prunes
You should take one bowl of quinoa in the morning. It is a whole grain which has high levels of phosphorus, fiber and proteins. You should also include some prunes, as they have high levels of fiber and a chemical known as sorbitol. This chemical is a great laxative.
Ingredients Required
- Quinoa – 1/2 cup
- Water – 1 cup
- Nutmeg – 1 pinch
- Flaxseed oil – 1 tbsp
- Ginger (grated) – 1 tsp
- Prunes (chopped) – 1/3 cup
- Rice milk – Quarter cup
How to Prepare?
- Take a small pot and add the water into it.
- Add the quinoa, nutmeg and grated ginger into it
- Stir it well and bring to boil
- Lower heat, cover it and allow simmering for 10 minutes
- Now add the rice milk and prunes
- Cover and allow cooking for 5 minutes
- Add and stir 1 tbsp of the flaxseed oil before consuming
Snacks – Detoxification Drinks
1. This detox drink has pineapple, ginger and kale.
Kale does an amazing job in cleansing our kidneys. The bromelain in pineapple helps with digestion. Ginger helps in stimulating bile flow in our gallbladder. Make sure to have a blender to prepare this detox drink.
Ingredients Required
- Pineapple – 1/2 cup
- Cucumbers (large) – 2
- Kale (stems removed) – 1 bunch
- Lemon – 1/2 squeezed
- Ginger – 1/4 inch
- Mint – 1/2 cup
Mix all these ingredients into a juicer and mix well.
2. This detox drink has pineapple, pomegranate and lemon
This drink can be prepared without a juicer.
Ingredients Required
- Unsweetened pineapple juice – 3/4 cup
- Unsweetened pomegranate juice – 1 cup
- Lemon – 1
- Water – 3 cups
Take a cup and mix all these ingredients and your drink is ready to be enjoyed. This will give you 4 servings that can be enjoyed throughout the day.
Your Veggie Snack
- Take radishes, cucumber and celery and slice and mix them (you may also take other fresh veggies)
- Add lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt
- You could enjoy this snack through the entire day
Lunch – Fruit Smoothie
You will need the following ingredients:
- Unsweetened almond milk (plain) – 1/2 cup
- Flaxseed or chia (ground) – 1 tbsp
- Blueberries (frozen) – Quarter cup
- Banana – 1/4
- Ice – 1/2 cup
Mix all these ingredients in the blender to get a smooth concoction.
There’s lots of quercetin in blueberries. Quercetin is a flavonoid that helps in improving immunity and is great for our liver.
Banana has high levels of vitamin B6, an essential vitamin for detoxifying liver.
Flaxseed (ground) contains omega 3, which helps nourish our brain. It also has fiber which is beneficial in healthier elimination.
Dinner – Veggie Broth Soup
The ingredients required for this soup are as following:
- Red onions (chopped) – 2
- Celery stalks (chopped) – 2
- Fennel bulb (chopped) – 1 (with stalks and fronds)
- Sea salt – 2 tsp
- Caraway seeds – 2 tsp
- Pepper – Freshly grounded
- Shitake caps (sliced) – 1 cup
- Cabbage (chopped) – 1
- Large garlic cloves (chopped) – 4 large
- Water – 2 quarts
- Fresh oregano (chopped) – 2 tbsp
- Paprika – 2 tbsp
- Parsley (chopped) – 8 sprigs (with leaves and stems)
- Parsley (chopped) – 1/2 cup
Add everything (excluding chopped parsley) into a pot and pour the water into it. Boil it and then lower the heat. Then allow it to simmer for 1 hour. You can then serve it with topping of freshly chopped parsley.
- Fennel is helpful with bile flow in our gallbladder.
- Cabbage helps in detoxifying our liver and kidneys.
- Garlic is beneficial in helping our liver and the functioning of the gallbladder.
- Shitake mushrooms are beneficial in improving liver enzymes.
- The soup can also be served with sauerkraut siding using sliced apples. It has probiotics (good bacteria) that help in protecting our GI tract.
- Apple helps in improving liver and kidney functioning.
You should follow these rules too:
- Never eat after 7 in the evening.
- Get Epsom salt bath for removing toxins and to help with sweating. It has magnesium which helps in relaxing muscles.
- Take dandelion root tea before going to sleep. It will further help our liver in removing toxins from our body.
Other Foods for Boosting Detox
For Our Liver – Blackberries and blueberries, and other dark black berries are great for our liver in eliminating some kinds of toxins.
Capsaicin found in hot pepper helps in stimulating enzymes which help in liver detoxification. Choose hotter pepper for higher amount of capsaicin.
For Our Colon – Whole grains have phosphorus which works as a natural laxative. They also have fiber that helps in bulking up the stools. Also take sour pickles and fermented foods which contain high levels of probiotics. These good bacteria help in protecting our colon.
For Our Kidneys – Take soy products because they work as diuretics. They allow you in urinating regularly.
Veggies like bok choy, broccoli and cauliflower also help in boosting the power of kidneys in sending toxins into the urine. They also help our liver cells in recovering after detox.