If the words detox diet, spirulina and wheatgrass juice make you
squirm and want to grab the nearest chocolate brownie, I’ve got some
good news for you. There are lots of other great foods out there that
will help boost your energy levels and cleanse your body at the same
time.
And the best news of all is that incorporating these ‘normal’ foods
that you can buy from your local grocery store into your regular diet is
often better for you than starving yourself with extreme at-home detox
regimens. Here are just a few of the most powerful antioxidant and
detoxifying foods you can add to your shopping list: Brazil nuts, sesame
seeds, goji berries, pineapple, apples, artichokes, avocados, beetroot,
seaweed, onions, basil, ginger, cinnamon, fennel and parsley.
Brazil nuts contain good levels of the antioxidant selenium which
helps remove heavy metals from the body, while sesame seeds help detox
the liver from alcohol and other toxins. Goji berries have high levels
of vitamin C and beta carotene. Vitamin C can help remove waste from
your body, while beta-carotene improves liver function.
Pineapple contains bromelain, a digestive enzyme that helps cleanse
the colon and improve digestion, and everyone knows an apple a day keeps
the doctor away. In fact apples contain good levels of pectin, an
insoluble fibre that helps remove toxins from the body.
Artichokes contain silymarin and cynarin to help the liver process
toxins and support the liver’s ability to break down fatty foods. Full
of insoluble fibre, avocados will help cleanse the colon. Beetroot is a
great source of betacyanin, and is a good source of magnesium, iron,
zinc and calcium to help flush out toxins. Seaweed helps cleanse the
body of lead, cadmium and the radioactive chemical strontium. It also
contains good levels of iodine, a natural metabolism-booster. Onions are
rich in powerful sulphur-containing compounds.
Basil is anti-bacterial and a powerful antioxidant along with ginger
that contains antioxidants from the gingerol family which include:
zingerone, shogaol and gingerdione. Cinnamon is full of iron, calcium
and manganese and is great for processing fatty acids and stabilizing
blood sugar levels. Fennel tastes like licorice and is packed with
dietary fibre that helps flush out toxins and boost digestion. Parsley
is full of beta-carotene and vitamins A, C and K to protect your kidneys
and bladder.
Related articles
- 4 Ways to Detox GMOs from Your Body to Minimize Damaging Effects (naturalsociety.com)
- 4 Signs There Are Too Many Toxins In Your Life (mindbodygreen.com)
