Spring is here! This is a time for renewal of life and growth, with the reappearance of green and color everywhere. As many of us spring clean our homes and our closets, we should also consider spring cleaning our bodies. Dr. Cynthia, holistic cardiologist in Los Angeles, says it’s the perfect time of year to clean up your diet and change from winter comfort foods to lighter healthier foods that help the body detox from those indulgent winter festive foods.
Most of us eat differently depending on the season, for example rich comfort foods or soups in the winter and salads in the summer – but what should we be eating in spring? This time of year we should focus on cleansing our diets to shake off those winter melancholies.
In fact, spring cleanses and spring tonics have been used for many years all around the world. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) spring is the time of the liver and classic Western herbal spring cleanses include liver tonic herbs and real foods.
Are you feeling inspired to do a spring diet cleanse? Using real whole foods can help support your body through the seasonal transition. Here are our top five suggestions for an optimal spring dietary cleanse:
- Start every day with an 8-ounce glass of warm water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Optional to add a dash of cayenne pepper to get your metabolism working and your blood moving.
- Add more spring veggies to your diet. Check out what looks good at your local farmers’ market or grocery store. Chances are you’ll start seeing more carrots, root vegetables, leafy greens like kale and mustard greens, artichokes, asparagus and radishes. Commit to adding at least one new spring vegetable to your diet each week.
- Drink homemade natural vegetables juices. This is a perfect time for juices or broths, as the enzymes in fresh vegetable juices provide extra nutrients that help your body eliminate toxins. Leafy greens are particularly cleansing, especially those that are bitter such as dandelion, endive, parsley, kale, beets, chard, mustard greens, spinach, endive, bok choy, and arugula. The advantage of making juice at home is that you control making sure it includes the highest quality ingredients no added sugars.
- Stay hydrated. Flush your system by drinking plenty of water and herbal teas. When drinking water throughout the day you may add a dash of lemon juice to stimulate the liver. Also, try different teas with cleansing properties such as dandelion, ginger, licorice root, mint, fennel, and cardamom.
- Incorporate raw, lightly cooked and sprouted foods. Lighten up your cooking methods just like your foods to make your meals more digestible and the living nutrients more bioavailable. Anti-inflammatory foods in season are also easier to digest. If you are experiencing bloating and/or having intestinal discomfort include foods like: cucumbers, bananas, papaya, asparagus, fennel seeds, ginger and peppermint.
Your health and well-being are in your hands – try these easy tips to get healthy this spring and go outside to enjoy the spring air.
Here are some suggestions on how to commit to yourself: solutionsweightloss.net
