Hello Beautiful People! Today I am going to talk to you about one very controversial topic that is close to my heart.

Detoxing.

Yes spring is here you may have started to get that spring clean itch. You want to get ready for summer and feel a little bit fabulous and you will probably have one of two reactions to the word detoxing:

1. I love detoxes, do them all the time and feel great for a week but then it does actually leave any lasting changes in my life..

2. Detoxing is so faddy and weird. Plus I would never survive on just juice or salads – I like food too much...

Detoxing is a funny word but one I have come to terms with, and in my books it means a set period of time to invest in your body and life. Super Naturally Healthy detoxing is about nourishment, rest, healing and kindness. Detoxing is NOT about ‘losing 5 lb in 5 days’ or other gumph like that, sure that may happen but that is not the motivation because most of that is just water anyway...

  So before I share with you some of my top tips for detoxing this spring here is an important thing to realise these 3 things…

1. A period of time where you choose to invest in your health and life (aka Detoxing) is a completely natural process. Our body are detoxing machines and they do it all the time when we choose to detox we are simply mirroring our own natural processes and supporting our body in what it is already doing.

2. Mindset is EVERYTHING. If you have a history of eating disorders or faddy dieting then a food detox is not for you right now. Detoxing is only healthy when you come at it from a healthy, healed and balanced approach. And in general if you sole reason to do a detox is to lose weight then I would say don’t do one at all. For me detoxing is really about allowing my body to heal and rest and giving it all right foods in order to do that well.

3. It is about a lifestyle. A 5 day cleanse is not going to anything if the rest of the year you eat loads of processed unhappy foods. If you have yet to create a healthy lifestyle then don’t make detoxing a priority make changes to your lifestyle.

Also a lot depend on personality types. I know that some of my one2one clients LOVE to jump right in on a set protocol/detox and they thrive off of it. Others need to make small changes over time so a lot of this depends on you.

In my Flourish eCourse we start the 6 weeks off with a mind and body detox where we look at food but also thoughts, beliefs, words and life schedules. And what I love about this detox is that we talk about food (of course) but we also talk about other lifestyle factors and what things to ADD to your diet. So often we equate getting healthy with deprivation and this does not need to be the case in any shape of form! Living a healthy life is about abundance in all areas. Abundance of healthy foods, healthy habits, healthy thoughts – it is not about eating iceberg lettuce every day!

(The next course starts this weekend so make sure you sign up if you interested!)

So with that in mind, how do you detox? 

Well I would normally recommend getting support as the type of detox you want depends on your desired end results. Do you want to heal your gut? Do you feel addicted to sugar? Maybe you have no energy or are dealing with bigger health issues? How to detox needs to be bespoke to you and your body so that is why I recommend doing something like the Flourish eCourse or getting some coaching to help (shameless plug alert!).

But in general I would keep it between 3-10 days, follow the principle below and take your focus off of things like refined sugar, gluten and dairy. Now this is very general advice and again may not suit everyone but in general most people will feel tons better for having a few days where they make the powerful and happy choice to avoid those things. And if you don’t feel happy about it then don’t do it – simple;)

So with that in mind here are my 10 top tips for simple detoxing and please bear in mind this is about what you can ADD to your life and diet 

1. Drink your juice. Homemade vegetable and fruit juice is like a shot of goodness and it is a super easy and tasty way to get loads of vitamins into you day. Read here to find out more

2. Oil Pulling. Swishing coconut oil around your mouth for a while every day is a gentle and easy way to perk up your teeth and support your body detoxification – plus it means you have an excuse not to speak in the morning – always a winner! Read more here.

3. Hello Bone Broth! Drinking some bone broth every day is fantastic for you beautiful body! Use it in a batch of soup for a super simple and detoxifying lunch! Grab my favourite recipe here.
    
4. Sleep like a baby. Maybe you get sick of hearing people harp on about sleep but sleep is crucial for health. We heal, repair and rebalance while we sleep so if you want to have a bit of a spring clean physically then make sure you up your sleep or if that is problematic, then increase the amount of rest time you have. 
5. Supporting herbs. If I am looking to heal my body and my gut I often use certain herbs and essential oils to really help. I am a big fan of tea tree, lavender and oregano oil which can be massaged in the feet. Oregano oil can be taken orally and you can read about its benefits here. (Please note oregano oil is a very strong herb please use under guidance of practitioner  it is not to be taken lightly or on an ad hoc basis!)
    
6. Bathe. Yep a hot bath can do wonders not just mentality and in term of relaxation but for you body too. Fill you bath with 2 handfuls of Magnesium Chloride Flakes  , a handful of Bicarbonate of Soda and some essential oils or check out these detox bath recipes. 
7. Water. If you are focusing on resetting and nourishing your body then it important to ensure you drink lots of water. If you are for example focusing on removing a yeast overgrowth (candida) in your diet then you will be removing a lot of the sugars and hitting your body hard with some great supplements and herbs. The aim is to budge and get rid of any pathogenic bacteria but is has to be carried out some how and this is often down through our bowels and healthy bowels require lots of quality filtered water.
8. Kindness. If you are detoxing in order to punch yourself after eating too many pies or crisps then please don’t bother. Detoxing is about taking some time out to be kind to your self, to nourish and rest it is not about punishment. So don’t go for a 5 mile run or plan it on a day when work is mental. 
9. Gentle exercise. Getting the body moving in a really gentle way can really help the body cleanse and heal. I love rebounding (aka jumping on a mini trampoline) but yoga, pilates and walking are also great options.
10. The Three S’s. You will hear more about this on my podcast coming up this Thursday but the 3 S’s stand for Smoothies, Soups and Salads and these meals constitute as great detox meal so if in doubt go with a few days where you eat tons of the S’s

So there you are! You are armed and ready to go when it comes to having a spring clean of your body! And if you want a bit of support in having a lifestyle overhaul then make sure you come and be part of my Flourish eCourse happening this Friday and there is a spot with your name on it;)

Let me know you thoughts about detoxing (or whatever you want to call it) below and share some of your top tips with us too!