It has been a year and a heavy winter—heavier than most. But spring is the quintessential time of creating, cleansing, growth, and renewal. And, therefore, this is the perfect time to reap the benefits of a Spring detox. 

Pressing the Reset Button

Detox and cleanse can be such polarizing terms. They can really set people off as in, “I would never,” or excite them as in, “I need to lose excess weight, bring it on!” When we talk detox, however, we are speaking mostly in terms of resetting the body’s systems — and especially the liver–after winter’s downtime and heavy foods. According to Chinese Medicine, the liver and gallbladder are at their peak of activity during the spring months, making it an especially useful time to focus on supporting their function.

Supporting the Liver and Gallbladder

The liver is like a commander, working endlessly to keep everything in balance. It is said to assist the body in more than 500 functions. Everything that you take in (liquid, food, medication), has to be filtered by the liver. Its task is to eliminate everything not useful to the body. It governs not only our hormones but also our cholesterol levels and body weight. It makes sense then to support this main organ and allow it to reset and reset (as much as it can).  The gallbladder works to clear out the toxins of the metabolism from the muscular system. It also works to remove muscular fatigue and various aches while also ensuring the quality and duration of our sleep.

The Detox 411

There are many variations on how to detox or cleanse, but we really like a whole-food approach. Incorporating a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as some fatty fish, and legumes are the pillars to getting things moving. Detoxes can last several days (if you are doing a juice/broth fast) to several weeks. A sweet spot seems to be around 10 days. This is enough time to really feel results and perhaps even create some new sustainable habits, but not so long that you ever feel deprived or frustrated. And, in this short time, you greatly assist your body in renewing itself by not overloading it with greasy foods, unrecognizable chemicals, alcohol, and heavy toxins. Speaking of, while detoxes may vary in parameters and length, most will agree on the things to remove for the greatest benefits; they include alcohol, coffee, sugar, artificial anything, processed anything, non-organic meats, and dairy that may contain hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics. 

On the flip side, there is nothing better than embracing the idea of getting your body back to homeostasis and feeling great. Special nods go out to:

• Water, herbal teas
• Vegetables, especially leafy greens, and cruciferous veggies
• Healthy fats like avocados, olive and coconut oils, nuts, and seeds
• A variety of fruit
• Beans and legumes
• Organic lean meat and wild-caught fish
• Fresh herbs and spices

What You Can Expect From a Detox

If you are on the fence about whether to detox, let us help push you over. For those that believe your body was designed to naturally detoxify, you are correct. And it does that daily. But, today’s world can overwhelm even the healthiest of people. Here are just a few things that your body needs to defend against on a daily:

• Pesticides
• Our Standard American Diet of processed foods, quick carbs, sugar, and bad oils creates chronic inflammation in the body
• Pollution
• Food sensitivities and allergies
• Stress
• A sedentary lifestyle (moving is essential to detoxifying)
• Antibiotics and prescription drugs

As for what you can expect, it is a great start to:

• beginning your journey to being pain-free
• balancing your hormones
• gaining more energy and vitality
• sleeping more soundly
• clearer skin
• decreasing anxiety, depression, and mood swings
• allowing your body to heal on a deeper level
• cleaning up your diet and feeling lighter

In addition, we have had perimenopausal and menopausal women reveal a decrease in symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes, disturbed sleep, and agitation.

Getting Started with Spring

Spring cleaning of darker energies and collective messes is not just for your home, but also for you internally. It’s time to release old emotions, especially those tied to the liver and gallbladder, such as anger, resentment, and frustration that have built up through the dark winter season. Think of the benefits of spring detoxing as helping to renew your mind, body, and soul. Our detox supports you with:

• A complete daily guide to acceptable eats
• A suggested meal plan
• Individual recipes
• Private Facebook for support (for groups)
• Additional email support throughout

To learn more about our detox/cleanse/reset (spring or anytime), give us a call or schedule your 15-minute discovery call to learn more. We run seasonal groups, or you can detox individually, as well.