Two days ago I returned home after a very pleasant but eventful vacation in Moscow and Europe. Having arrived in my native Moscow for only a month, I ate my favorite foods non-stop (and even got into an ambulance for overeating!!! :)))) I also did not move around much, because I had to drive all the time; I drank very little water; I did not get enough sleep, because I wanted to have too much time; I used the phone day and night... I thought more than once that I needed a serious "rest" after all these excesses - a so-called detox. I even recorded a video about detox at home with Lena Shifrina (the founder of Bio Food Lab, which produces Bite bars).
Meanwhile, I talked to another of my friends and associates, Yulia Bogdanova, author of the blog "Spinach and Buckwheat," about how to help your body "unload" and cleanse itself with the help of detox menus. And here's what she told me:
- Representatives of the actively growing field of functional integrative medicine widely use various detox procedures in their practices. They recommend detox to their patients for a number of complaints and ailments that include fatigue, headaches, depression, seasonal allergies, skin rashes, irregular stools, "stubborn" overweight and many other fairly innocuous "symptoms of modern life" that we often perceive as unfortunate inevitabilities.
Detox can be compared to a kind of vacation for our body. Similar to limiting the flow of information for emotional and mental relaxation, an effective detox procedure is to reduce the amount of toxic substances entering the body with food, through the use of household chemicals, cosmetics and even as a result of high levels of stress.
Detox menus combine high nutritional value with ease of digestion. Thanks to this we, on the one hand, release resources of the organism (for which priority is given to operative tasks of vital activity critical for survival) for more strategic tasks - removal of toxic substances remaining in the organism, "restart" of some systems (hormonal, digestive), and on the other hand, provide it with absolutely necessary nutrients and microelements for this.
The different methods of dextox differ in their intensity - as a rule, the less food, the more intensive is the excretion of toxic substances, but because of this the health risks increase.
The main principles of the detox menu are:
- high nutritional saturation: vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients that are necessary for the effective functioning of the organs responsible for the removal of toxic substances from the body (in particular, it is recommended to consume a lot of leafy greens - after algae it is the most nutritionally saturated category of products);
- ease of assimilation: as a rule this is characteristic of vegetables, greens and fruits; cereals, most legumes and nuts for the detox period should be soaked/sprouted - thus you will increase their nutritional richness and make them more available for assimilation by the body;
- Absence of the most common allergens: dairy products, gluten (contained in wheat, rye, barley and even oats), eggs, peanuts, corn, soy, as well as citrus fruits, which if sensitive to them can cause non-localized inflammatory processes and therefore provoke a resource-intensive immune response for the body to cancel them;
- small amounts of meat (and no industrially produced animal products, since their digestion and assimilation is relatively time-consuming and resource-intensive, and increases the risks of ingestion of hormones, antibiotics, heavy metals;
- No industrially processed foods and food additives: this list essentially includes all the additives you don't use in your kitchen.
Recommended format:
- duration from 3 to 7 days; weakness and headaches are possible in the first 2-3 days, which should be replaced further by a feeling of clarity and vigor (if the malaise continues after 3 days, it is better to stop the diet);
- try 2 meals in liquid form - smoothie and cream soup - in any order for easy and quick digestion;
- Take at least 12 hours between meals at night;
- drink at least 8 glasses of water a day plus tea - chamomile, ginger, rose hips;
- do not drive yourself to a sudden feeling of hunger - snack on fruit vegetables, seeds, nuts, soaked dried fruits for sweetness.
It is advisable to add:
- not too strenuous physical activity - at least half an hour a day;
- rest and sleep;
- a trip to a bath or sauna;
- massage;
- stress management techniques (yoga, meditation, walks);
- positive emotions (from sports, reading, communication, hobbies).
Exclude:
- Caffeine in any form (coffee or tea);
- alcohol;
- Smoking (if possible);
- Any refined foods (sugar, white flour, white rice, vegetable oil).
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