After what seemed like an endless inter, it's time to shrug off the heavy layers and step into spring. A good spring detox always gets you going. Here's why and how:
From an evolutionary perspective, winter is a time of food scarcity; less daylight means less time to hunt and less foods to gather, with more danger from the elements; wind, rain, snow.
Digestion and metabolism slowdown in an effort to conserve energy and keep warm. We seek heavy foods that store easily as fuel and build layers for warmth. We move less, sleep more, and go outside less frequently.
It's preservation. We're wired to wind back in winter.
These days, we're not at risk of starving or freezing to death, but our physiology reacts to winter in the same way. We seek stodgy foods, stay indoors more and are often sluggish with less get up and go. We dress in heavier clothes, wrap ourselves in blankets and dare I say, many of us pop on a kilo or two as well!
As the weather lightens, the air clears and the days get longer and brighter, your body seeks to match that energy.
The urge to open the windows, let the light in, wash the linen and freshen your home is a powerful reminder of our human connection to nature.
But spring cleaning is not reserved for the home. After the sluggishness of winter, the heavy foods, clothes and energy, it's natural to want to shed it all and lighten up.
That's why spring is the best time to detox. Here are some of the best ways to do it:
1. Seasonal Spring foods. Have you noticed that spring foods are lighter?
Spring Detox Vegetables - Asparagus, spinach, artichokes, many varieties of lettuce, cucumbers, Asian greens, beetroot, broccoli and fennel. These are among the most detoxifying foods you can eat. They support blood flow, kidney and liver function, helping to cleanse and filter waste and toxins from your body.
Spring Detox Fruits - Berries, cherries, melons, pineapple, papaya and grapes. These are high in antioxidant and phytonutrient that again increase the cleansing capacity of the kidney and liver. Some attract toxins to help clear them out. Papaya and pineapple boost digestive enzyme production, which slowed in winter. This increases digestive activity and keeps the bowel moving which is also cleansing.
Increasing your intake of antioxidants and flavonoids and any nutrients that support liver function always supports detox.
2. Weight loss
If you eat more of the foods listed above in place of heavier, stodgier foods, you're likely to lose weight and shed some "winter layers". Cleansing juices that combine in-season spring fruits, vegetables and herbs like mint or rosemary are a nutritious way to lighten up. Replacing just one meal a week with a cleansing juice is a great start.
3. Skin Cleansing
All those months in coats, jackets, jeans and boots adds a winter layer to your skin as well. Boost your spring detox with a pedicure and a full body salt scrub, again literally shedding your winter skin. These treatments leave you feeling fresh and light and totally spring!
4. Invigorate
One of the best and simplest ways to bust out of your Winter sluggishness is a splash in the ocean or a cool stream. The cold, the minerals in the water and the sunshine are all powerful energy boosters -and they're free.
In fact, a spring detox does not have to be expensive or radical. All of the above are effective, inexpensive and easy to add to your day, every day, putting the proverbial spring into your step!
Boost your spring detox with our favourite antioxidant nutrients:
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