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The Cleanse
February 15th, 2019 + The Naturopathic Co.

SPEEDREAD>>

After the holiday season, it can be a good idea to give your body a gentle cleanse. It helps your liver remove all the excess from the Christmas period, clear out toxins, and generally reset.

The end result is clear and glowing skin, more energy, better digestion and nutrient assimilation, weight loss, a more rested sleep, and improved feelings of wellbeing.

Another benefit is that it gets us back on track to healthier habits, which let’s face it, usually goes a little off track over the holiday period.

Some signs that you may need to consider a post-holiday cleanse are recurrent headaches, low energy, body aches, bad breath, digestive issues, skin blemishes, liver lines, and brain fog.

The colon affects every aspect of your health, and when you have dysbiosis in the gut, many other problems follow. A colon that’s overrun by toxins will also have difficulty absorbing nutrients. It’s interesting to note that even a few days of making poor food choices (for example, over the Christmas period) can have significant influence on your intestinal microbiota, and will require a cleansing diet to get back on track.

There are many different kinds of cleanses, some extreme, all providing different levels of toxin release. The effects of a juice cleanse or a water fast can be very unpleasant and even dangerous if done incorrectly, as the body releases too many toxins into the bloodstream all at once (causing headaches, migraines, etc). However, this cleanse is a very mild version, bringing us back to clean eating by removing all the nasties. Increasing water intake is crucial, in order to flush out unhealthy waste and clear out what we don’t want, otherwise it just circulates.

The main principles of the cleanse are to strip the diet back to foods that have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body and only intake foods that nourish and support the liver.

For 3 days remove:

Coffee, alcohol, dairy, sugar, sweeteners, soy, gluten, meat, fried and fatty foods, processed foods.

Help your body to flush toxins with gentle exercise:

Accelerate the release of toxins with movement such as swimming, walking, yoga, pilates.

Add spices to your cooking, and consider herbal support:

Spices such as cayenne pepper, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and clove can be beneficial. Coriander is wonderful for cleansing support. Your naturopath can also provide you with a liver-supporting herbal mix to make the cleanse a whole lot more effective.

Ensure adequate rest and sleep time:

8 hours of sleep is ideal during a cleanse. Taking rest time throughout the day will also be important, as your body is working extra hard. You will likely feel tired.

Be aware of emotional ups and downs:

As toxins release into the bloodstream and the body receives less intake of food than it usually would, it can cause certain emotions to arise. It is not uncommon to feel irritable and moody during a cleanse, so be mindful of allowing yourself extra time for you.

Enjoy a bath:

Accelerate the release of toxins by enjoying a Epsom salt bath. Again, ensure adequate water intake to avoid dehydration. Consider a infrared sauna session, or a lymphatic massage for even more benefit.

Need support?

Email us if you’d like to try our FREE signature cleanse over the weekend. Start on Friday, and continue through to Sunday evening. Do your best to keep with it and good luck!

Yvette is a qualified Melbourne-based Naturopath and Nutritionist, MINDD Practitioner, member of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia, and Complementary Medicine Association. Yvette specialises in the treatment of conditions commonly affecting women and children, with a key interest in children’s digestive and neurological conditions, as well as women’s hormonal concerns, digestive issues, fatigue, anxiety, and skin concerns. Yvette consults in South Yarra, Melbourne, as well as Australia-wide via skype/zoom/phone. 

The Naturopathic Co. Melbourne Naturopath 2020


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