DETOXING GENTLY EVERY DAY

1. Sleep

Repair, metabolism and detoxification happen during sleep. If yours isn’t dialed in,. I can’t tell you how important it is to get enough deep, restful sleep. Give yourself permission to nap during the day, if you can. Go to bed early. Turn off social media and news 2 hours before going to bed. Try to wake up without an alarm.

2. Lymphatic massage (aka dry brushing) before showering

Your lymphatic system is like the Venice canals - carrying flowing liquids that are the host of your immune system. Stimulating movement and flow in the lymphatic system with something simple such as daily dry brushing is a great way to detox gently and keep a healthy immune system. The Dollar Store carries exfoliating gloves that are perfect.

3. Start the day with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or jamu

This daily ritual will help you to alkalize your blood (a good thing) but acidify your stomach (a great thing!). It will awaken your digestive juices and enzymatic production to chomp down food (breakfast, most likely) and break it down to absorb most of the nutrients. Many of our readers have reported a great bowel movement and the end of constipation using this technique. It’s that simple: Add 2 tablespoons of lemon (or lime) juice, ACV or jamu to a glass of warm or lukewarm water 15 minutes before breakfast. You can do it with your thyroid medication. If you can stomach it, pun intended, do a straight-up shot rather than diluting the drink. My personal favorite is jamu because it gives the extra benefit of the highly anti-inflammatory turmeric and warming ginger.

4. Bitters before each meals

I just bought a whole lot of new bitters while at the conference and we will be making our own brand of bitters soon (stay tuned!). I’m obsessed with them and have a bottle in each purse and bag I carry - never to forget them! Swedish Bitters are perfect, if you never had bitters before.

and where to get them. In short: Bitters support liver detoxification (like most bitter foods), they prime your digestion for food by stimulating the enzymatic production, enhance vitamin and mineral absorption, lower systemic inflammation and stabilize blood sugar levels.

5. Drink enough clean water

The amount of water you should drink depends on your body weight and activity level. The simplest way to know is using this calculation:

Your daily water intake in ounces = 50% of your body weight in pounds.

(Sorry to our Canadian and European readers, you would need to do some math here!)

For example, I weight 147 lb so I would drink a minimum of 74 ounces, or 2.3 quarts, and more when exercising or when at a higher altitude. In reality I drink 3 quarts (or liters) per day and when I do not, I feel sluggish and brain dead.

Drinking water can be highly energizing.

I’m currently researching various water filtration systems - more soon!

6. 3 to 5 servings of cruciferous vegetables each day

Like I mentioned above, anything bitter will be a tonic to the liver. Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, arugula, mustard greens, bok choy, and radishes. Shoot for 3 to 5 servings (1 serving = ½ cup) per day. I recommend gently cooked because raw crucifers are hard to digest.