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Detox

Detox: what are toxins?

The toxins we all speak of are invisible chemical compounds: they are present in the air we breathe, due to environmental pollution, but also in water, fruit and vegetables and animal products. Drugs can also release toxins, as well as many natural foods and especially packaged foods filled with additives such as dyes and preservatives.

Many toxins, however, are produced by the body itself, in a completely natural way, as a result of many biological processes. The toxins that the body produces spontaneously are the waste substances of metabolic processes, those that are constantly eliminated by the cells of our organism like the products linked to the transformation of food into energy.

We are constantly intoxicated, therefore, both from the outside and from the inside. The endogenous intoxication, that comes from our body, produces toxins resulting from the assimilation of food and are made up of water, carbon dioxide and nitrogenous substances coming from the demolition of proteins. Some of the toxins are removed from the lungs through breathing, such as water and carbon dioxide, while the rest is processed by the liver and kidneys and eliminated with urine and faeces.


Detox diet: does detox also help lose weight?

Nature has equipped us with different ways to defend ourselves against these continuous attacks from outside and inside. In fact, our body has evolved to such an extent that it includes a continuous purification. Detoxification from heavy metals, however, is a difficult mission for our body.

The microparticles of mercury, lead or arsenic, are deposited in our organs and can not be removed by the endogenous detox processes. A purifying detox diet aims primarily to clean the body of toxins, and not to lose weight. Lose weight can be a natural consequence of a detox diet, but we should pay attention to the nutritional aspects. Detox must be done with the help of a doctor, in order to avoid vitamin or mineral deficiencies.


Why is detox so important?

Detoxifying the body is of paramount importance these days. Our natural detoxification processes are able to keep healthy an organism that lives an active and healthy life. A liver weighed down by improper nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, or hyperventilated and reduced breathing due to smoking will not be able to cleanse us of all toxins.

Today's world is particularly rich in pollutants at various levels: water, air, food are polluted, but we must also consider the rhythms of life, stress, the few hours of sleep and the related hormonal imbalances, the contact with synthetic and hyper-worked materials and many other causes.

Everything seems to be against us, but in reality there are many things to do to ensure an effective detoxification and keep us in good health. The intoxication from internal or external agents are able to cause degenerative diseases, chronic inflammations and tumors. That's why detox is essential. How can we protect ourselves from these dangers?


Detox: what it is and how it's done

An effective detox must include:


Regular physical activity

An excellent management of stress

Regular night rest and synchronization with the circadian rhythm

A balanced nutrition


Making movement, practicing a sport, but also Yoga and meditation, doing relaxation and breathing exercises, sleeping well and not overdoing the rhythms can help a lot to detoxify the body. But nutrition is central to purification.


Detox diet: what to eat and what to avoid?

First of all, avoid alcohol and limit fatty foods. And then focus on foods rich in antioxidants, able to neutralize the free radicals that the liver produces and which can cause inflammation that damages it. We must consume seasonal vegetables and fruit, especially the bitter ones, which stimulate the secretion of bile, the decongestion of the liver and help the intestine.

The detox must be gradual, in order not to subject the organism to excessive shocks. It will be useful to gradually decrease, until complete elimination, the intake of these foods:

Fried food

Sausages and cold cuts

Cheeses, milk, dairy products

Red meat

Sweets and sugary foods

Industrial drinks and juices

Saturated fats

Non-organic and processed foods

Refined products

Additives

Coffee and stimulants

Gluten

Supplements and drugs not prescribed by a doctor


Detox diet: menu and program

Breakfast: in a purifying diet, breakfast consists of fresh fruit and vegetables, gluten-free cereals such as oats and buckwheat, oilseeds and dried fruit. You can drink centrifuged detox, tisane detox or a la vegetable soup. 

Lunch: seasonal vegetables, better if raw, can be eaten with gluten-free cereals, pseudo-cereal such as quinoa, legumes such as peas and tubers such as sweet potatoes. 

Dinner: small portions of steamed fish can alternate a similar diet to that of lunch, topped with good fats such as olive oil, avocado or oil seeds. 

Snacks: if you get hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon you can prepare detox smoothies with green vegetables, apple, kiwi and with the addition of some superfoods, such as the green algae Chlorella and Spirulina.


The best detox superfoods 

A balanced diet and constant physical activity can stimulate natural detoxification processes, but they can not do much against heavy metals and other toxins . This is why Nature offers us very simple solutions. So simple to be present on our planet for millions of years. We talk about micro-organisms like algae, which thanks to their structure can bind to toxins to expel them from our organs. Here are the best superfoods to detoxify and purify the body: 

Spirulina: known for millennia, Spirulina is able to eliminate toxins without depriving the body of valuable nutrients. Rich in vitamins, mineral salts such as iron, magnesium, antioxidants such as chlorophyll and with over 60% of proteins, Spirulina is the best choice for an effective detox. 

Chlorella: a seaweed very similar to Spirulina, rich in protein and very rich in chlorophyll. The Chlorella is considered as a complete food, and is one of the most powerful natural detoxifiers. 

Wheat grass: it is obtained from wheat seedlings of about 10/15 days, is gluten-free and has all the properties of a sprout. And it is precisely at this moment that the wheat plant retains the greatest nutritional properties, such as vitamins, mineral salts and chlorophyll. 

Barley Grass: it is one of the most rich plant foods of vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and enzymes! Rich in the most powerful antioxidant, chlorophyll, it is excellent for a healthy and natural detox. 

Moringa: in Africa Moringa it is known as a "purifying tree": it is in fact widely used for the purification of water. The same properties that make Moringa an exceptional plant to make turbid water drinkable, allow it to exert a detox effect on our body! 

Matcha: Japanese green tea is the richest in absolute antioxidants. As it is grown in the dark, it develops a lot of chlorophyll, which makes it a detox drink with extraordinary purifying properties! 

All these detox superfoods are easy to take and very practical: just add a teaspoon to a little apple juice! You can take 1 or 2 times a day, morning and evening for maximum results.