Planning for a detox...

I mentioned that I wanted to start a detox. The plan was to make this post on getting started on a two week plan. I thought about it and decided, since a lot of you have shown interest in doing this with me, to take it slow. Instead of jumping right into a major two week detox, it would be best to take a week to get ready.

A lot of you must be asking:

Why detox??? I’ve gone this long without doing one, do I really need it? How will one benefit me?

Detoxification helps your bowels, kidneys, liver and lungs function efficiently. Many believe that hormonal problems, fatigue, muscular aches, headaches, infections, illness, digestive issues, allergies and disease are all causes of toxic overload. Toxins weaken the body and its ability to fight bacteria and virus. Detoxing cleans out toxicity from the system.

The benefits of detoxing:

 Increased energy
 Improved sleep
 Decreased bloating
 Decreased fluid retention
 Reduced aches and pains
 Improved mental clarity
 Improved memory
 Reduced PMS

This week will be about getting the body ready for detoxing. For those interested in participating, we will officially start our two week detox on Sunday January 17th 2010.

Until then here’s this week’s check list of things to do:

o Make sure you get 8 glasses of water in DAILY(1 glass = 8 oz)
o Have a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon squeezed into it first thing in the morning
o Cut down on your caffeine, sugar and salt intake (This includes coffee, pop, alcohol and chocolate)
o Stop eating by 7 pm (if you get really hungry have a fruit!)
o Try to incorporate colour into your meals (add strawberries, cranberries, yellow peppers and/or beets to a salad)
o Eat slowly and Chew your food thoroughly
o Do not drink large quantities with your meals

Also take a look at Dr. Oz’s seven deadly sins. He has some great tips and ideas to stay healthy and ‘shave a decade off your age.’

Stay Healthy!