Last night I was at dinner with two of my friends from my old job. One of them is having her baby in a couple weeks, so we wanted to celebrate her last day at work. My other friend is actually on a detox diet in preparations for her wedding. This got me thinking… what are some top foods for detoxing. I’ve read a lot of books on healthy eating and read an overwhelming number of blogs and websites each day on the topic. *Please note, that I am not a medical doctor nor a nutritionist. This list has been compiled based on my research and experience.*
1. Lemons. Lemons are great for digestion and help release enzymes into the body as well as Vitamin C. You may have thought that you could only get a good source of Vitamin C from oranges, but think again! Lemons help convert toxins into a water-soluble form that is easily eliminated from the body.
How do I like to eat lemons: I love adding lemons to my water or even in my juices. Be warned: if you are juicing lemons make sure to remove any rind and only use about a half a lemon; otherwise your juice will be very sour.
2. Apples. Apples help stimulate bile products which is used by the liver to release toxins from the body. Apples also have a high source of fiber which is great for digestion purposes. As I mentioned in my When To Buy Organic post, it’s important to buy organic apples because apples are fruits sprayed with many pesticides.
How I like it eat apples: by themselves! One of my co-workers jokes around with me that I eat a LOT of apples. She’s probably right. I have at least one a day – sometimes two. They are a great snack and keep you full because of the fiber. I like eating mine raw or sometimes with a bit of honey.
3. Seaweed. My friend, Leslee from Her Happy Balance, LOVES seaweed – and rightfully so! Seaweed has a LOT of antioxidants that help alkalize the blood and strengthen the digestive tract by extracting any toxins.
How I like to eat seaweed: I LOVE seaweed salads from Japanese restaurants, but I have never tried to make my own at home. With a little bit of lemon, seaweed salads are a great way to detox your body!
4. Dark leafy greens. Dark leafy greens help boost chlorophyll levels in the digestive tract, which helps the body rid itself of toxins from our environment (such as herbicides!). The darker the greens the better. For instance, iceberg lettuce has the least amount of nutrients because it is very dense in water. Kale and spinach are much darker and are highly nutrient dense foods.
How I like to eat dark leafy greens: either in my salads or in my juices. I almost always eat a large salad every day. It’s something that I’ve come to enjoy and actually find fun! I like experimenting with different veggies and fruits, but one thing for certain – I also use a dark leafy green base. No iceberg lettuce or pasta as my salad base!
5. Green tea. Green tea is PACKED with antioxidants and detoxifying properties, because it is high in catechins – a flavonoid, that helps speed up liver activity and increases the production of enzymes in our bodies.
(source)
How I like to drink green tea: usually hot, unless it’s the summer. No milk for me and only a tiny bit of sugar.
Talk to Me
- What are some foods you like to eat everyday or during a detox?
- How often to do you detox?
- What foods do you typically need to detox from? Too much alcohol? Too much sugar?
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In Japan, we never, ever add sugar to green tea!!! If my grandma saw that, she would cry! Why would you want to cover up the delicious taste? Also think of the extra calories you are drinking every time you sit down to a cup if you put in even a tiny bit of sugar!
Yay! I already like and consume these things! Now I’ll just work on incorporating some more often.
I like to detox my body once a month. I mostly detox with lots of fruits, veggies, smoothies and salads and I do on weekends so my body is ready for a new week. I love Green tea and I have it with a dash of honey.
I’m thinking I’ll do a detox next week sometime. This week was absolutely crazy w. work and I made some not so great meal choices.
Love me some seaweed! Great list.
Thanks Ali! I need to go out and by seaweed salad asap! Whole Foods probably has it right?
seaweed – didn’t know about this one!
Hey Linz! YES! I was surprised too. I love seaweed salads!
Oh my goodness haha My obsession with seaweed may be getting out of hand. I’ve had a side snack of it at lunch every day this week. And I am finally getting on to the idea of adding lemon to my water. I used to hate it, but now I think the taste is nice and crisp and refreshing.
haha nothing wrong with that! def better than chips or candy! 🙂
Lunch and Dinner are both salads. Love me some greens! I also love green tea, but don’t drink it too often because of the caffeine, don’t want to get hooked since I never have caffeine lol. I only detox when I need to get away from gluten foods. Gluten doesn’t agree with me, and doesn’t really help me either, so for me, no point in eating it, other than it just taste good lol
Yeah I think I have an allergy to dairy 🙁 Allergies are no fun!