Written by Dr. Angie
As many of you know, I am not a fan of New Years Detoxes. They go against the natural detox cycles of the body and although still beneficial, tend to be extremely difficult to complete.
In the winter, the body needs well-cooked, warm foods that easily digest. If we were all homesteaders, we would be eating food that we preserved or froze 1-2 mos ago. This means that it would be very unlikely that we would be eating big salads. This is why I am a fan of is refocusing on healthy choices that are appropriate for the season and saving our true detoxes until the spring.
So what would I do to make healthier choices in the New Year?
Water- Start your day with 20oz of water before consuming anything else. This alone will help you eliminate a lot of toxins from the body. Adding a pinch of salt to this water or a good electrolyte will help with your hydration levels as well.
Movement- Everyone loves to join the gym in January, but by Feb 1st, 92% (forbes.com) of those people have already given up.
Fasting- I LOVE fasting for detox! I plan on giving a more in-depth class on this later this year, but extended (1-5 day) and intermittent fasting are both great for detox and healing.
Hormetic Stress- I could give a 3 hour lecture on hormetic stress, but the short explanation is a little bit of stress in a small dose makes your body healier and more resilient. We are not built to be comfortable all the time.
Food Choices- With so many different diets out there today, its hard to know which one to chose. Diet depends A LOT on the person as well. Keto works great for some, but not all. Vegetarianism and veganism leaves huge holes in nutrition that requires supplements. A good basic rule is each meal should contain a protein, a fat, a vegetable, and a complex carb and your diet should have variety.
Dry January- Last, but not least, I am a fan of Dry January! If your family is anything like mine, not only do we eat a lot of sweets, but we also tend to drink when we all get together over the holidays. Alcohol and sugar are both easy habits to acquire and can be uncomfortable to kick. The benefits to "drying out" are worth the effort though. Men who consume an average of 2 drinks/day and women who consume and average of 1 drink/day have double the chance of having high blood pressure which can lead to stroke, heart, and other vascular issues. Alcohol increases heart rate and temperature and makes sleep less restful=less healing and more brain fog. Alcohol, like sugar, increases inflammation and decreased hydration making chronic pain more intense.
If you still feel the need to perform a detox, please meet with either me (Dr. Angie) or Dr. Jay and we can set you up with something not too harsh. Otherwise I'd like you all to join us in April for the Taproot Annual Spring Cleanse! We will have a few options this year for cleanses, as we are moving away from Standard Process due to some of their company policies. We will be offering both custom and standard cleanses with 14 & 21 days as options. We hope to be able to offer these cleanses at a lower cost than Standard Process has charged us the last few years. Our start date is April 3rd (after Easter and Spring Break this year) but look for sign up emails to come late Feb-early March!
Happy New Year!!
Comments