Spring Detox

Detoxification has become a bit of a trend over the last decade. It is actually a necessity to keep the body maintained. The same as you take your car into the mechanic to get a service every 6 months or a every year; to keep the car running at it’s optimal level. The same is true with our body: if we cleanse the body every 6 months, we can keep the body at an optimal level with optimal health.

Spring into Spring with a detox to reboot your system, revitalise your body, and renew your energy. Reset your body with a 7 days Spring Detox to feel amazing for the Summer months ahead. 

Here are my Spring Detox Diet guidelines to cleanse the body....

1. Focus on eating whole foods: vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Eat a variety of different fruits and vegetables everyday.

2. Drink at least 8 cups of water daily: The body is made up of at least 60% water, which makes water the best detoxifying fluid. Always have a drink bottle with you to sip during day. Try to avoid drinking a lot with meals, as liquid will dilute your digestive power. If you struggle to drink water then you can jazz up your water with adding lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, mint, or cucumber to add some flavour.

3. Snacks: Some people need to eat constantly and others do not snack between meal times. Raw vegetables, green juice, and fresh fruits are the most ideal snacks as they are light and digest easily.

4. Lunch and Dinners: focus on 1/4 plate Protein, 1/4 plate Complex Carbohydrate, 1/2 plate Vegetables / Large salad.

5. Eat living foods that are raw and are packed full of enzymes. Raw foods are in there natural forms and have not been cooked, microwaved, frozen, or steamed.

Best Foods to support Detoxification:

• Fresh Fruit

• Fresh Vegetables and Greens

• Fresh pressed Vegetable and Fruit juices

• Nuts and seeds

• Legumes (in moderation)

• Fresh herbs and spices

• Mineral Water

• Herbal Teas (caffeine free)

Foods to Avoid during the 7 day Detox:

• Meat, Fish, Poultry, and Eggs

• Dairy products

• Refined Sugar: Sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate

• Breads, pasta, cereals, wheat products

• Refined and Processed foods

• Fatty and Fried Foods

• Alcohol

• Caffeine: Coffee, black tea, and energy drinks

Written by Naturopath Erin O'Hara 

5 Tips to Boost your Immunity

The dreaded winter cold/flu that inevitably strikes when the seasons switch. Try these top 5 immunity tips to boost your health and dodge the bugs this winter.

1.    Reduce your stress externally and emotionally. When we are feeling stressed our immune system is also compromised. Try to add in 5-10 minutes of daily breathing or meditation into your daily routine.

2.    Eat warming foods. Over the winter months we tend to want to eat more comfort foods. Instead of eating rich creamy foods switch to healthy nutritious vegetable soups and slow cooked foods. To build internal fire increase warming foods such as cloves, ginger, chilli, horseradish and pepper. Try to use fruit and vegetables that are seasonal and local so they are packed full of nutrients.

3.    Reduce sugar intake. The negative effects of sugar starts within 30 minutes and last for over 5 hours!! Sugar typically reduces the ability of the white blood cells to destroy and engulf bugs by about 50%. Try to have less than 50g of sugar per day (12.5 teaspoons). The more sugar you consume the greater the negative impact on the immune system.

4.    Take Vitamin C daily. Vitamin C is antiviral and antibacterial. It helps to enhance the response of white blood cells to fight infections and reduce the severity of a common cold. Take a maintenance dose over the winter of 1000mg per day and then when you are feeling like you are getting sick take small doses (250mg) every 2 hours. Increases interferon (chemical factor that fights viral infection and cancer). Vitamin C has a direct biochemical effect on white blood cells as interferon.

5.    Boost your immunity with herbal medicine

• Echinacea root: Maintains upper respiratory tract health and supports the body's own natural immune system to bring effective relief from the symptoms of colds, flu and minor infection.
• Astragalus: A traditional Chinese herb to enhance immune function and has a mild antiviral activity to help prevent colds.
• Andrographis: Supports the body's immune system when dealing with cold symptoms.
• Withania (Ashwaganda): Enhances immune function and is a natural antioxidant.
• Goldenseal: It is anti-microbial, anti-biotic, anti-inflammatory and astringent. So it can help fight bacterial infections, and fungal disorders.

By Erin O'Hara