Cleanse and Energize your Body with a Spring Detox!

While following the Diet of the Common Sense principles should keep your body in a good state of general health and shape, toxins can accumulate over time due to the 20% of the „red” foods we eat, other guilty cravings that may exceed the 20% 🙂 , the environment (pollution). Stress and poor sleep are also factors that can disrupt metabolism and contribute to toxins storage in the body. After all, the cells in our bodies are always producing waste, as a natural result of metabolism.

If the Diet of the Common Sense principles are already part of your lifestyle (or at least you stick to 2-3 principles on a regular basis), then your body will be already cleaner. Body detox is recommended at least 2 times per year. The spring detox is probably the most important, as during a long winter we probably accumulate the most toxins in our bodies. Spring is also a good time to refresh our whole body.

The detox benefits include toxins release, clearer skin, clearer thinking, greater energy, better health, better nutrients absorption, weight loss, a better feeling of overall well-being. In fact, a body cleanse in itself may help you lose some pounds. We all like to look good in shorts or a bathing suit so there is motivation 🙂

The 30 Days Detox Challenge

Step 1: Weeks 1 & 2: General Body Cleanse

Focus on your diet, with the Diet of the Common Sense principles being the starting point. From the foods you eat, you may want to prioritize some over the others:

Liquid foods: juices, smoothies, and soups – check our Diet of the Common Sense Pinterest account for a variety of smoothies, juices, and soups that you’ll love and will never get bored! Overall, make sure you get at least 2-3 liters of liquids daily.
Top foods for a spring detox: the green leafy greens specific to the spring season with high fiber and water content – spinach, radishes, nettles, green peas, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage and yes, sprouts – they are amazing! Eat your veggies preferably raw or steamed. Start lunch and dinner with a large green salad.
Lemons are the detox fruit, helping flush away toxins from the body. Drink lemonade or infuse your water with lemon or lime.
Chia seeds and psyllium are good cleansers of the digestive system and colon, it’s good to include them in your breakfast.
Eat moderate amounts of fruit, as they contain water and are rich in fiber. The fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach and in moderation if you’re trying to lose weight. Cuban people, for example, consider that eating fresh fruit on an empty stomach can stimulate digestion and the detox process.

Check our Diet of the Common Sense Pinterest account for a collection of delicious and healthy food recipes that you’ll love!

In the end, make sure you get some moderate physical activity that encourages lymph drainage and flushes toxins out of your body. Liquids eliminate toxins and so does sweat (through the skin), so you may also add some walking, swimming and sauna to help the lymphatic system. Yoga helps to strengthen the overall body, while a professional lymphatic drainage massage can stimulate the flow of lymph.

Try to incorporate as many of these guidelines as you can, gradually. The more you do, the better you will feel – but adopting even one or two of these habits will make a large difference.

Step 2: Weeks 3 & 4: More In-Depth Detox

Besides adding more good practice from the General Body Cleanse guideline (weeks 1 &2), you may focus on specific organ detox that stimulates a more in-depth cleanse.

By stimulating the detox functions of the liver, kidneys, skin, digestive system, lungs and other organs, you will get a deeper, more thorough removal of toxins.

Digestive system detox: Increase fiber intake to cleanse the colon – psyllium and chia pudding, while eating your vegetables and fruit and drinking your juices on a daily basis.
Kidneys: eat liquid foods (such as soups, fresh juices and smoothies), water, lemonade in quantities of 2-3 liters daily to help cleanse the kidneys.
Lungs detox: spend more time in fresh air and breathe deeply.
Skin detox: Include regular saunas and steams while detoxing, to sweat and release toxins through the skin. Brush skin daily for 5 minutes before shower or bath, using a damp cloth with salt and bicarbonate, or a natural-bristle body brush. It stimulates lymph and blood circulation. Avoid areas that are irritated or where the skin is cracked. Use gentle but firm pressure when brushing your body.
Liver detox: you may take supplements that stimulate liver detox.

Liver Efficiency Formula, 30 vegetarian capsules

LifeExtension
Support your liver at the cellular level

According to the most recent estimates, one-third of Americans now require targeted support for healthy liver function.

Liver Efficiency Formula features two state-of-the-art molecular energizers shown to promote healthy liver function at the cellular level. The first is Schisandra chinensis, an adaptogenic vine native to Asia with a half-century of research and nearly 400 published studies that validate its system-wide benefits. Researchers have discovered that the lignans in Schisandra fruit specifically support healthy levels of glutathione — the cell’s own antioxidant defense system. Schisandra’s bioactive compounds have been shown in pre-clinical studies to be readily absorbed in all segments of the intestine. And in animal studies, Schisandra was shown to improve glutathione status dramatically in depleted liver cells.

Liver Efficiency Formula also contains Extramel®, a fruit concentrate derived from non-GMO muskmelon (Cucumis melo), a natural source of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase or SOD — one of the human body’s most powerful free-radical neutralizers. Extramel®’s efficacy and safety are backed by published clinical research. In a placebo-controlled trial, a group of 70 volunteers aged 30-55 taking 10 mg of Extramel® per day experienced significantly greater energy levels, improved physical performance, and a better mood after only four weeks.

HepatoPro (Polyunsaturated Phosphatidylcholine), 900 mg, 60 soft gels

LifeExtension
Promotes liver health

It is believed that PPC’s (polyenylphosphatidylcholine) beneficial effect is based on its ability to be incorporated into liver cell membranes to help restore its structure and the functioning of corresponding enzymes. This results in an increase in membrane fluidity and transport activity across the membrane.

Mounting evidence suggests that PPC supplementation beneficially supports the critical process of reverse cholesterol transport. This process is a well-documented function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) that involves the transport of cholesterol from the arterial walls to the liver for processing.

Research also supports PPC’s critical role in helping to reduce LDL oxidation.

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, 600 mg, 60 vegetarian capsules

Life Extension
Powerful antioxidant for liver & immune health

N-acetyl-L-cysteine is a highly bioavailable nutrient that supports bronchial and respiratory health. N-acetyl-L-cysteine supports healthy glutathione levels at the cellular level. Glutathione is a potent antioxidant that helps protect neurons from oxidative stress and insults from foreign compounds. N-acetyl-L-cysteine also offers powerful support for liver and immune function.

Benefits at a Glance:

Promotes healthy cellular glutathione levels;
Provides potent antioxidant support;
Supports immune system health;
Encourages liver health and function;
Promotes bronchial and respiratory health.

Step 3: Ongoing: Make The Diet of the Common Sense part of your Lifestyle

Keep in mind that detox is not a permanent, one-time, quick fix. To maintain good health, you need to make healthy eating and physical exercise part of your lifestyle – an ongoing process. We recommend the Diet of the Common Sense both as a starting point as well as an ongoing process. This is not a restrictive diet, but a flexible guideline (principles) which you can implement at your own pace and which can become your lifestyle.

You can also continue with your chosen supplement regimen for up to 3 months.

Detox Caution:

A too-aggressive detox can harm your body – especially if you start from a more unhealthy eating routine or you want quick detox results. If there are too many toxins that your body needs to suddenly release, you may experience a „detox crisis”, with symptoms such as bowel disruption and gas, headaches, fatigue, mood swings, cravings. Some experts claim such signs can be a sign that the detox process is working. However, it can also be the case that with too many toxins being released too quickly, the body becomes weak or the toxins get redistributed in the body if they can’t be eliminated properly. This is why physical exercise and sauna are recommended.

With this in mind, you can prepare strategies to fight the detox symptoms so that you are able to manage them effectively and safely. If the detox symptoms are mild, you can consider them as part of the body detox process, paying close attention to the body signals. If however, they start getting more serious and last more than a day, you should immediately stop the detox process and ask for medical advice. Each body is unique and has its own detoxifying pace.

Some detox strategies to consider to prevent and minimize side effects:

The first thing is awareness – knowing you may experience some side effects and be prepared to deal with them.
Instead of a quick 3-7 days more aggressive detox, choose a 30-days milder detox and implement changes gradually, paying attention to the body signals mentioned above.
Facilitate toxins elimination from day 1, starting with easy walks, swimming, yoga, moderate-intensity exercise and sauna. Don’t get the burden of intense cardio workouts while your body is also dealing internally with the detox process, especially in the first 2 weeks.
In the end, if the detox symptoms become more serious, stop the detox process for a few days, then implement the process more gradually. Be prepared to ask for medical assistance immediately if the symptoms suddenly become too serious.

From my own experience, I once drank a freshly squeezed juice that also included high amounts of nettles. I’ve always had a problem with nettles and this juice concentrate was my first time „eating” them – I assumed including them in my morning juice would make it easier to ingest them. It turned out that my body didn’t receive them well, forcing a strong detox process while keeping me sick in bed all day, with intense digestive disorders and fatigue. The next days I felt so good and full of energy, meaning the detox process worked, but looking back at the critical day I spent in bed, I would never force a detox process again. So pay attention to foods you eat for the first time or rarely or in high quantities and of course avoid the ones you know you are allergic to (some people are allergic to strawberries, for example). If in doubt, always ask for medical guidance for your particular case.

Don’t expect the detox process to be a quick fix, so you’d better consider it over a longer period of time (30 days vs 3-7 days), allowing it to be smoother, in the beginning, to avoid sudden releases of toxins in your body and minimizing the side effects of detox.

Also, remember that if you have any serious health issues you should ask your health professional for advice before any detox program. If you are pregnant, lactating, suffering from diabetes, heart diseases or other chronic diseases, or taking essential medications, you’ll want to avoid a detox program or keep it under medical supervision.