Have you heard of digestive health? Some says that your inner healing potential sits inside of your intestines. Most of us don’t realize the importance of digestive health on the rest of the body. A myriad of diseases and health problems, even those we wouldn’t suspect, like mood swings, pimples and skin inflammation (redness), are caused by digestive problems.
Digestive problems are a sign that your body does not function optimally. And most of the time, making simple changes in our diet can solve many health problems by supporting the natural body detoxification process. You do not need to fast or even to follow a drastic cleanse. Simply taking the following steps can greatly improve your digestion and your overall health.
9 steps to detox naturally and support digestive health
- Get rid of the 3 Ps: Processed, prepared and packaged food. Those foods usually contain trans fats, sugar, salt and additives.
- Drink enough water: Water is essential to health. It’s primordial in supporting natural body detoxification
- Skip meat: Not only meat is difficult to digest, it’s also low in water and fiber. It’s very hard on your kidneys and intestines. Give your body a break. There’s so many delicious vegan and vegetarian recipes out there!
- Cut back on dairy products: Dairy products are difficult to digest and mucus forming. Not to mention that they also contain saturated fats. To support your natural body detox and to promote a healthy digestion, try to avoid dairy products, at least for a while.
- Put fruits and vegetables at the center of your diet: Your meals should be composed of at least 70% of fruits and/or vegetables. Boost your fruits and veggies intake by starting your meals with a fresh vegetable juice or a fruit smoothie. There’s so many ways to eat vegetables: think of salads, or a plate of steamed, roasted, braised or sautéed vegetables.
- Eat more often: but in smaller portions. Giving your body a large amount of food at once can be harder for your digestion. Eating less but more frequently also helps keeping your blood sugar steady and leave you with more energy.
- Boost your fiber: As I mentioned in a previous post, fiber, soluble and insoluble, are essential to natural body detoxification and digestive health. It’s the fiber that ensure that the toxins find their way out. Try to add flax meal or psyllium husks to your smoothies or cereals. Beans and legumes are also a wonderful fiber source.
- Cut back on fats: Cutting back on trans and saturated fats is not only good to detox naturally, but it’s also beneficial for your overall health.
- Sweat daily: But don’t sweat the small stuff! Exercising is essential for the detoxification process, to support digestive health, and to promote general health. Exercise ensures that the nutrients are transported to the cells, and that the toxins are correctly eliminated. It also helps reduce stress, one of the major enemies of digestive and overall health. Try to find something that you truly enjoy. Exercise goes way beyond the gym, walking and yoga classes!