5 Ayurvedic Detox Tips for Spring

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Spring and fall are important times of the year to detoxify, according to Ayurveda. A spring detox is especially important as an antidote for the excesses of the winter (think holidays).

To maintain health and balance in the long run, however, Ayurveda also recommends a daily detox protocol. If you don’t yet have one, spring is the best time to put one in place. Incorporate these five detox tips into your daily life to feel lighter and energized as you head into the warmer months.

Scrape Your Tongue

Use a tongue scraper first thing in the morning, before you brush your teeth. Ayurveda recommends tongue scraping to help boost the health of the oral cavity, including the teeth and sinuses, and to aid digestion. Digestion begins in the mouth as saliva mixes with the food and breaks it down. An excessively thick coating indicates the presence of Ama or toxins in the digestive system. Use a high-quality U- or V-shaped stainless steel or copper tongue scraper.

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8 Tips for a Successful Spring Detox

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Spring! This is the season of renewal and rebirth. Spring is not only a time to clean out your home, but also your body. Mother nature provides us with naturally detoxifying foods in the springtime, so it is a perfect time to try a detoxifying cleanse. The best programs are the ones that include self-care and nutrition education as part of the detox – a detox of the whole body, rather than just diet.

1. Prepare Your Body

Take 3-5 days to prepare your body for a detox. That means eliminating toxins from your diet, like dairy, sugar, chemical sweeteners, alcohol. The more you can eliminate ahead of time, the less likely you will experience headaches and fatigue during your detox program.

2. Pick the Right Detox or Cleanse

Not all programs are created equally – do your research on who is running it and what is included. Most detoxes are between 1 and 5 weeks long. There are detoxes that are food-based only, and others that include coaching, self-care, and nutrition education. It is extremely helpful if you are able to find a holistic health coach who runs a detox program and can actually provide you with a consultation beforehand to help you decide what length is best for you.

Read more from the Epoch Times

Spring Detox: I Do Love a Challenge

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Here I am, on day 10 of a 14-day “Spring detox” with a big group from my gym.  And I’m miserable.  Okay, perhaps that’s a bit too dramatic- I’m not miserable, but I’m definitely not feeling like myself.  However, I am learning a lot…

Past cleanse experiences have left me feeling weak and hungry- not something I was willing to put myself through with a young family and busy career to manage.  Jennifer Morris, the owner of Crossfit Altitude, and Dr. Jordan Robertson, ND, are leading this group, and explained that the meaning of this detox is to:

• give yourself a break from daily habits
• incorporate more nutrients, sleep, and healthy habits
• learn about how your body works
• overcome cravings, vices, and unhealthy habits.

Bingo.  I decided to join in to break myself of a few habits that have crept in; namely, near-nightly sweets, a drink with dinner, and far too much coffee. There’s strength in numbers, right?  And it’s been a couple of years since I’ve done a cleanse, so it seemed like a good way to kick-start myself into better health and better nutrition.  And I do love a challenge.

Read more from DRWOROBEC

Do Detox Diets Really Work?

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Detox diets vary widely and can last for as few as four days to as long as one month. Many involve some version of a liquid diet – giving up solid food for a few days and then gradually reintroducing certain foods such as organic fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds along with vitamin and mineral supplements. Red meat, wheat, sugar, processed foods, caffeine and alcohol are usually avoided.

Some detox programs involve replacing one or two meals with a high protein, vitamin-rich shake. Most include detoxification “boosters” in the form of herbal laxatives and diuretics, probiotics (to replace healthy bacteria in the gut), nutrients and antioxidants.

Read more from The Globe and Mail

A 3-Day Spring-Cleaning Detox

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You know your closet is ready for Spring cleaning, but what about your body? Why is it that we always think of Spring cleaning in terms of going through our closets? We toss out all of our no longer stylish, necessary, or wanted items of clothing that we use to cover our bodies — but we don't always think about doing the same for what we put inside our bodies.

Life is a toxic process, one way or another. Even the cleanest of lifestyles leaves its residue, and to be honest, we can't always live that clean of a lifestyle after all. A refined sugary pastry, saturated fatty pizza, or deliciously intoxicating cocktail is bound to sneak in every once in a while. The occasional treat is most certainly understood and easy to forgive as long as you remember to take care and clean up your diet every so often.

What Is the Perfect Detox Combo?

As the lead writer at Eat, Drink, & Be Skinny! and the creator of The Color Yourself Skinny 21-Day Diet Detox, I know a thing or two about clean eating. In the process of all of this, I have developed a three-day detox that gives your body a bit of a rest, lets you shed a few pounds of "fluff," and gets you ready to jump back into your skinny jeans.

Read more at PopSugar

Detox: The Body’s Spring Cleaning

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Detoxification is the physical removal of toxins from a living organism.When the body is equipped with healthy lungs, kidneys and a liver the body is constantly detoxing. In fact, the liver’s main function is to process toxins that we ingest purposefully (alcohol, cigarette smoke, charred meats, etc.) and unintentionally (pollution, heavy metals, etc.). In general, the detox process occurs in three phases:

Phase I: A family of enzymes, known at Cytochrome P-450, lead a series of reactions that create an unstable form of the toxin. These reactions are known as oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis.

Phase II: This step continues the process initiated in phase I and creates a water-soluble product that can be removed via bile or urine.

Phase III: Activity in this phase occurs in the intestines where the intestinal cells (enterocytes) pump toxins, known as xenobiotics, back into the bowel. When the toxin re-enters circulation, phase I and II activities also increase, and the overall detox process occurs at a higher rate.

Read more from onesource4wellness

Detox Fail: 10 Things You're Doing Wrong

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If you've put yourself through a full body-detox this Spring and you're still not happy with the results, are you sure you're doing all the right things? You might think you're cleansing by keeping a strict food plan and eliminating certain foods, but a detox won't be as effective if you haven't factored in some of the essential steps. So in order to make your skin glow and recharge right make sure you're not doing these 10 detox fails.

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4 Details to Design Your Detox

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You may have gone to your local natural foods store and bought a detox in a box. It may have even been a great program that really made you feel well. However, maximizing the benefits and experience of your detox is determined by the details of design – or planning, preparation and personalization.

I often recommend to clients that they do a detox once or twice a year, usually in the spring and again in the fall. Why? Toxins build up in the body day by day through what you consume, breathe in and absorb. That may include processed food, what you drink (sodas, diet drinks, alcohol), smoking, skin care products, soaps, make-up, prescriptions and over the counter medications, cleaning products, and simply the air we breathe. These toxins negatively impact the health and function of our systems and hormones at the cellular level. If you’re going to try a detox, let’s set you up with four details to design a successful detox.

Read more from Dr. Michelle Robin