It’s new year and with a new year comes resolutions or promises of better eating habits, exercise and willpower. But we often find those promises fall by the wayside once our lives get busy or we get distracted. Then, disappointment sets in and we give up leaving us right where we started.
I believe this happens because we fall short in starting. Expecting to hit the gym right after the new year after months of being sedentary is not realistic. You have to ease into new things, taking it one step at a time, celebrate your wins and accept your non-wins. (It’s not failure, if you reset and start again….it’s only failure when you truly give up.) A great way to start changing your eating habits is to complete a cleanse. There are many companies and programs out there that offer quick cleanses, etc., but to do it right, you need to use real food. Shaklee has a great program for a 7 day cleanse that involves REAL food and supplements. It’s worth investigating if you really do want to make a REAL change.
Here’s a great article Shaklee put together about the benefits of a cleanse. Take a read and let me know how I can help you get started the right way.
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Benefits of a Cleanse
 Do you feel stressed or lack energy? How is your digestion? Are you looking to kick-start your weight loss program? While these issues may seem unrelated, they may be signs that your body needs a reset to help it get back to functioning optimally.
In our world today, we are all exposed to toxins; our food is lacking in nutrients; and many of us carry excess body weight. These all place a large burden on the body’s natural detoxification systems.i
When you eat better and support your body’s natural cleansing systems, your body becomes more efficient and you feel better.
What Is Detoxification?
Your body has multiple detoxification systems.
The body detoxifies itself naturally, primarily through the action of the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. By eliminating alcohol and non-nutritious foods from your diet and increasing your intake of produce and water, you free your body’s natural detoxifying systems to work more efficiently.
Why Cleanse?
A properly structured cleanse can help:
- Increase elimination of toxins naturally
- Support healthy digestion
- Increase energy and focus
- Kick-start your weight loss
- Improve skin health
- Improve sleep quality
A True Cleanse Requires a Change in Diet
Start with an eating makeover: remove processed foods, grains, meat, and dairy and focus on eating mostly fruits and veggies. Choose organic foods whenever possible. Foods such as white flour, sugar, dairy, and processed foods are all pro-inflammatory and can leave you feeling achy, tired, and bloated. Remove them during your cleanse. And replace beverages that contain caffeine, alcohol, sugar, or artificial sweeteners with good old water, ideally filtered for best quality.
Because so many of the detoxification systems in our bodies require nutrients that may be missing from our diets, a high-quality multivitamin is usually a good place to start. Alfalfa is a nutritive herb that also helps provide a wide variety of nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins, as well as chlorophyll and bioflavonoids.
Support and protect your liver with the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Other potentially helpful additions to your diet include Reishi mushroom, Schisandra chinensis, dandelion, turmeric, and artichoke. To maintain regularity and help support detoxification, consider the herb Senna. However, you should not use Senna for more than one week.
The right combination of supplements and liver and digestive support can increase your body’s natural ability to process and eliminate toxins.
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For more information on the Shaklee cleanse, reach out to me (katecasey25@gmail.com) and let’s chat or simply click here.
| iAllen J, Montalto M, Lovejoy J, Weber W. Detoxification in naturopathic medicine: a survey. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2011 Dec 1;17(12):1175-80. |
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