Periodic cleansing can help the body function optimally by allowing you to ‘clean-house’ as your diet and lifestyle change throughout the year. Spring-time is often associated with liver detoxification. While there are many ways to help the liver perform it’s many functions, simple cleanses often work the best.
Spring Cleaning
The transition from winter to spring inspires many people to de-clutter and ‘clean-house’. Our bodies and minds need this same periodic cleansing to perform their best. Liver detoxification is most often associated with this transition from winter to spring, and there are many ways to support optimal liver function.
One of the easiest things we can do is limit our exposure to toxins. From a physical standpoint, this can be accomplished by:
- Eating only organic foods, including fruits, vegetables and meats.
- Drinking organic vegetable juices daily (or vegetable/fruit blends) – 6-8 ounces 1-2x/day is all you need.
- Eating whole foods and/or dishes made from whole foods (i.e., foods that don’t need a label) and avoiding packaged foods of all kinds (including organic or ‘natural’).
- Limiting exposure to pollution; this may mean avoiding highways if possible, taking walks in a nearby forest or wildlife area and limiting exposure to smoke.
- Drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces of pure water (i.e., distilled, reverse osmosis or purified) daily
Here is a list of foods that are especially good at supporting optimal liver detoxification:
- Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Garlic, Horseradish, Kale, Kelp, Leek , Parsnip, Radish, Red Cabbage, Snap pea, Spinach, Turnip, Watercress
- Bass, Cod, Flounder, Mackerel, Perch, Pumpkin Seeds, Trout, Turkey
- Raspberry, Pineapple
Giving our bodies the nutrients it needs to eliminate toxins is important; it’s equally important to do the same thing for our minds. Here are a few suggestions:
- Limit your exposure to the news, even if only for a week or two. Use that time to meditate, go for a walk, do yoga and/or perform anything else that feeds your spirit.
- Take time daily to just sit and be quiet.
- Meditate, even if only for 5-10 minutes 1-2x/day.
- Explore a new (or old) hobby, craft or endevour that you’ve always wanted to do, but didn’t have time for.
- Read a good book, passage or verse, something that inspires you.
- Journal – just taking 20 minutes/day to write can provide incredible insights into the inner workings of your mind.
Some people choose to do a concentrated detox for a week or two; others find that incorporating aspects of the items listed above into their everyday lives is more effective over time. Which every way you choose, use your body’s natural inclination for spring cleaning to shift your body out of it’s winter hibernation into the beauty of spring.