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Want to Look Stunning this Christmas? - Get Rid of the Toxins
Already looking forward to Christmas? Choosing your dress to impress and starting on a beauty treatment? Or browsing for new and tasty recipes to indulge your whole family over the festive season? Part of your preparation should be a quick detox programme to naturally get rid of the toxins, beautify your skin and help your digestion get ready to those few days of yummy dishes and to-die-for deserts. Let’s be fare to our gut (feeling) and help it cope better over Christmas. After all, we surely want to feel gorgeous in that stunning dress, don’t’ we?
After reading a lot about detox plans, supplements to help the process and advice from my friends, I decided to start a 40-day Ayurvedic detox programme. Ayurveda means "science of life" (ayus = life, longevity, veda = science, knowledge), and originates in India more than 5000 years ago.
Detoxification literally means making the body “free of toxins.” Faulty digestive function builds up toxins in the gastro-intestine tract producing symptoms such as fatigue, reduced appetite, nausea and bad breath. When toxins are cleared from the body, it leads to higher energy levels, improved digestion and concentration, and string immune system to fight bacteria, colds and infections.
A good diet will help you to unleash your inner fire or “Agni”. Your inner fire is located in your digestive system and your diet will help regulate it. There are three known imbalances in our body named doshas. These doshas are called Vata, Pitta and Kapha – check your dosha via this simple test.
One concept of Ayurveda is that hot water should be consumed during the day time. The reason for this is pretty simple; hot water flushes toxins out of our body more efficiently. When it comes to flushing toxins out of our system, our urine all provide for this. To increase the detoxifying efficiency, spices must be use with the same ratio as warm water. The spices cumin, coriander and fennel are all combined together to make a detoxifying tea. Detoxifying teas not only let you flush out toxins but you flush them out in amazing amounts. To increase the potency of your detoxifying tea, you may use herbal teas adjunct to it.
Instead of super strong black tea with milk or coffee, a big pot of Ayurveda detoxifying tea would be a great start of the day:
Ayurveda detoxifying tea:
200ml water
½ tbsp mint
½ tbsp camomile
¼ tbsp cumin
¼ tbsp coriander
seeds of 5 cardamom pods
¼ tbsp ginger
Boil water, add herbs and spices, steep for 10 minutes, strain and add a slice of lemon. To boost the sugar level add a spoonful of pure organic honey.
This tea is great to drink not just in the morning, but after each meal to help digestion and detoxification.
Another way to help elimination of the toxins is drinking vegetable juices: carrot, celery, wheatgrass (small quantities), spinach and parsley all have amazing detoxification properties and are recommended by Ayurvedic practitioners during a detox programme. The rule is: never combine vegetable juices with fruits as fruits and vegetables need different length of time to be processed and absorbed by the body and if consumed together, the fruit will ferment in our gut, causing gas and bloated stomach.
Foods to avoid during the 40-day detox programme.
Say NO to:
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Red meat
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Diary products (except live bio yogurt, cottage cheese and mozzarella)
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Wheat, gluten, yeast (only rue bread and gluten-free oat cereals are good)
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Sugar, except honey – so avoid any biscuits, cakes, chocolates, jams, etc.
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Coffee and tea, except herbal and green tea
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Artificially produced food, such as ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard. Homemade hummus is good. Replace refined sugar with rice syrup
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Processed food. If you are not able to always cook at home, try salads with green leaves and seeds when eating out, chicken soups, or risottos.
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Alcohol, especially wine, beer and whisky, which are fermented and worse for your digestion. If you still need to drink something on your company Christmas, a shot of vodka or gin (but no tonic) should be OK for once
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Sweetened and fizzy drinks
Not much left in the fridge then, ah? Well, what’s left actually is the healthy food which is great for your body and will not clog the cells or turn into fat.
What to eat:
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Filtered tap water: aim to drink and least 1.5-2l water a day
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Vegetable juices, especially from carrot, beetroot and green-leaf vegetables such as spinach, parsley and celery
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Herbal tea – chamomile, mint and green tea are best
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Spices to help digestion such as fennel, cardamom, turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon
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Garlic is great for digestion and have amazing antibacterial properties
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Olive, sesame seed and sunflower oil to replace the butter
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Fresh and steamed vegetables, but avoid potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and aubergine. Best are leafy greens, also squash, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, beetroot, and peppers
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Fruits: they all should be consumed at least 1 hour before other meal to ensure proper digestion and avoid fermentation in the gut. During the detox programme many people decide to exclude fruits completely from their menu for 2 weeks with the only exception of bananas
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Pulses: best is dhal/ lentil, but also kidney beans and chickpeas
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Grains and seeds: barley, wholemeal rise, all seeds but especially flaxseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds
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Fish
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White meat: chicken and turkey breast or filets
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Eggs (but not more than 3-4 a week)
See? – Still enough to put on the table and it’s tasty and healthy at the same time. Quite important is all we buy to be organic to avoid adding toxins to our body, and fruits and vegetables should be always properly washed.
And if you feel like eating something sweet, try nibbling a couple of carrots – the sugar in carrot will satisfy your sugar needs and your will stop craving the sweets. Iif you are craving salt, a few slightly salted nuts as almonds and walnuts with pine nuts and mixed seeds will give you a boost and sill satisfy your salty craving.
But think of detoxification as cleansing the five senses. Cleansing your mind through “greeting” the sunrise with a glass of carrot juice in the morning or some quiet “me time” in a nice relaxing bath before bed will help you “cleanse” your mind from negative emotions, “poisoning” your day (and your body). Smiling at yourself in the mirror for 10sec in the morning may sound stupid, but try it for a few days and see the difference – the initial “false” smile gives positive signals to your brain and soon you will start smiling because you feel nice and positive, which, in return will make you cope with the daily routine in a much positive way and will reduce the stress.
An advice from me – why don’t to try to make this a habit for you and your whole family? Firstly, you will not be challenged by the sweets and junk food in the fridge, and secondly – your kids will get into the habit of eating nutritious and healthy food, which will help them stay away from obesity, heard diseases and will naturally boost their immune system.
So finish the detox programme, then wait and see the difference - colleagues and friends will start making you compliments and will wonder what you've done to look so gorgeous! They will admire at your beautiful skin, perfect body and that naturally occurring smile on your face! And if they don't say anything, either you've been cheating, or they are simply jealous!
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