The word ?detox? seems to be everywhere these days. Need to get over your tropical vacation? Detox. Preparing for a wedding (or recovering from one)? Detox! How about recovering from an overindulgent holiday season? Detox? Maybe not. Though it sounds counterintuitive, what many people may be surprised to learn is that winter (assuming you live somewhere with four distinct seasons) may not be the best time to drastically reduce your caloric intake. This is largely due to the fact that our bodies? demands are greater in colder weather.
Detoxes and fasts can have a cooling effect on our system, when all you really want and need is to be warm. Instead of sending your body into shock by depriving it, focus instead on cleaning up your post-holiday diet while still taking in the necessary nutrients to improve your energy, restore hormonal balance and generally feel better.
Step 1. Re-energize the bunny
Toss the sauce: In moderate amounts, alcohol can have pleasant effects such as lowered inhibitions and stress relief. Over an extended period of time, abundant consumption of alcohol will depress, inflame and drastically deplete your energy levels. Limit your intake of high-fat proteins like red meat and cheese. Focus instead on lean animal proteins such as organic chicken and eggs, cold water fish such as salmon and trout, and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and pinto beans. Eggs are an easily digestible form of protein that also provide decent amounts of vitamin B12, which is not only needed for the health of the nervous system but also to keep energy levels up.
Cold water fish are great sources of EFAs, which will help counter the inflammatory effects of too much booze, help you recover from fatigue and are an integral part of the nervous system. And legumes provide us with a high fiber, a low-fat form of protein...which brings us to our next point.
Increase fiber: When we over-indulge in high-fat, sugar-laden processed foods, too much red meat and dairy, our systems can get backlogged. Sluggish bowels contribute to both lowered energy levels and moodiness, courtesy of all those toxins trapped inside you. Make nourishing meals with high-fiber grains such as brown rice, millet and quinoa. Try combining them with vegetables such as carrots, beets and dark leafy greens and you should start to see more movement in your pipes. Not only are these foods high in fiber, they?re chock full of other great stuff such as B vitamins (brown rice), protein (quinoa) and phytonutrients* (carrots, beets and leafy greens).
* Phytonutrients is a blanket term for the plethora of nutrients found in plants. These have several roles that include ? but are not limited to ? immune support, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant.
Step 2. Stop being so hormonal!
As women, the majority of us are no strangers to this statement. However, hormonal imbalances don?t discriminate. A season of running around, stuffing our faces and maintaining some kind of holiday pleasantry can very quickly turn into adrenal fatigue, temporary insulin resistance and an angry thyroid.
Here?s what we can do to help bring it all back to center. Support your adrenals with Vitamin C, E, B12 and potassium. Great sources include:
- Vitamin C: citrus fruits, strawberries, papaya, red and green peppers, dark leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes
- Vitamin E: raw nuts and seeds and their oils, avocado and whole grains
- B12: Best sources are animal proteins (focus on fish, organic eggs, seafood and leaner cuts of meat) with brown rice. Fermented foods such as tempeh and miso having small amounts of B12, too
- Potassium: Dark leafy greens, broccoli, lima beans, tomatoes, potatoes (skin included), citrus fruits, bananas, nuts and seeds and fish such as salmon and cod
Need a nourishing meal? Steam some kale, broccoli and swiss chard; cook some brown rice, grill some salmon or tempeh, and top it all off with a delicious tahini sauce. This is one of my staples and it never fails to please
Give your Pancreas a break
Not only is it the organ that secretes insulin and glucagon (which we need to keep our blood sugar levels balanced); it?s also responsible for making several important digestive enzymes needed to break down all the aforementioned foods in order to maximize nutrient absorption.
Overindulging in sweet treats, refined foods, caffeine and alcohol can put a serious strain on this vital organ, so take your hand out of the cookie jar, swap the java for some herbal tea and try to abstain from your post-work beverage sessions for a few weeks.
Boost your thyroid
This endocrine powerhouse plays a leading role in body metabolism and growth. It?s also linked to all the other glands of the endocrine system, so if your adrenals are suffering, chances are your thyroid might be, too, as a result of picking up the slack. An under-active thyroid can be given a boost with iodine and selenium. Great food sources of iodine are fish, seafood and sea vegetables such as kelp and dulse. Selenium can be found in moderate amounts in fish, shellfish, brown rice and oats and nuts (especially Brazil nuts).
In a case where hypothyroidism is suspected, a visit to a naturopath may be in order to properly diagnose and address the symptoms. So there you have it ??often all we need is a week of eating clean, nourishing food before we begin to feel re-balanced and re-energized. Once the initial feelings of withdrawal have subsided, you?ll be more than ready to take on 2013, and of course, the spring detox;)
Source: http://www.fitnessrepublic.com/nutrition/ditch-the-post-holiday-detox.html
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