I read this week that film actress Gwynth Paltrow was saying that the best way to detox and lose weight was to limit your calorie intake take to 300 per day!! Not Possible!! Someone living a normal life, with jobs to do and children to run around after, cannot possibly function properly on 300 calories a day! Not only that, as we all know, when following a diet which restricts calories so hugely, the weight may come piling off quickly, but, it piles back on even quicker!
Actually, one of the best ways to detox AND lose weight is to follow a sugar free diet, which has plenty of fresh vegetables and protein rich foods like beans. Ideally you should Focus on foods like flax seeds, beetroot, walnuts, oily fish, garlic, greens and tomatoes and whilst avoiding alcohol and fizzy drinks. Drink plenty of water and limit tea and coffee. This limits all the stimulants and things that strip your body of nutrients. It also ensures that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to heal itself and cleanse the tissues.
But as well as this it is absolutely vital to look at the health of your liver. Any detox diet which does not look at cleansing the liver, is not going to work as well as you would want it to. Your liver is your body’s main detoxifying organ – it breaks down all the wastes and eliminates them. It deals with all the chemicals and medications. Therefore, you can detox your tissues with juices, or cocao or lemon juice etc, but unless you clean your liver out, those toxins are not going to leave your body as effectively as you would like.
Your liver is also your main metabolic organ. Signs of a sluggish liver, to a practitioner of natural medicine will include weight gain, bloating, indigestion, skin problems, low energy, bowel problems and sugar cravings. Boosting the liver function then could be really useful – not just in ensuring that your body is detoxing properly but also in helping shift a few excess pounds. The best way to support your liver in my opinion is with Vogels Milk Thistle Complex This combines milk Thistle, which has been reported in clinical trials to help promote the regeneration of liver cells, with artichoke, which helps lubricate the bowel, easing bowel issues. Artichoke also helps with indigestion symptoms and bloating, making it a great addition to this remedy. Milk Thistle Complex also contains dandelion, which again with the breakdown of fats. Taking a course of this whilst following the simple dietary guidelines I have laid down, should help you achieve what you want from a detox, without starvation or feeling awful. We do have a free diet sheet available to support this – if you would like it, please contact us and we will email it to you.