Three Cleanse and Detox Foods You Probably Already Have in Your Kitchen (and 2 More to Get Today)
Living a healthy life doesn’t have to mean investing in expensive, exotic or hard-to-find supplements or complex diet regimens. In fact, a quick check of your kitchen may reveal that you already have the ingredients you need for running a simple body cleanse and detox.
Here are 3 common “cleanse and detox” foods, and a few ways you can use them for naturally boosting your energy and immunity and improving your daily health without too much effort!
1. The Sour Power of Lemons
Lemons have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers, and can also be used as a weight loss aid.
Alkalize Your Body
Although lemons are acidic on their own, once they are metabolized inside your body lemons are alkaline, and an alkalized body prevents disease states.
Cleanse and Detoxify Your System
Drink the juice of one lemon with a pinch of salt in a tall glass of room-temperature water every day as a digestive aid and liver cleanser. It will increase your rate of urination and flush toxins from your body.
Support Immunity
The vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium in lemons help to fight colds and prevent inflammation. Lemons are also surprisingly high in potassium, which helps regulates blood sugar and reduce infections.
Jumpstart Weight Loss
Lemons (along with grapefruits and oranges) have lots of pectin fiber, which – like many other fibers – suppresses appetite. To get the most from your lemons, juice them and include plenty of zest and pulp in your diet.
2. Cleanse and Heal With Garlic
Garlic is good for more than keeping vampires at bay – and you don’t even need (or want) large doses of it for effective cleansing and immune system support.
Flush out LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
Garlic is perfect for promoting cardiovascular health. A study in 1994 showed a 12% reduction in total cholesterol among participants who took garlic supplements. Garlic also helps reduce the aortic plaque deposits, and combats unhealthy triglycerides.
Prevent Weight Gain
Recent studies show that obesity is a state of long-term, low-grade inflammation. Garlic may not only help regulate the formation of fat cells in your body, it’s anti-inflammatory power can help reduce appetite and prevent weight gain.
Strong Antibacterial Properties
Fungal and bacterial infections are easily treated with garlic, which not only works from the inside by supporting your immune system with vitamin B6, it also works when directly applied. When crushed, garlic releases Allicin, a sulphuric compound that is a natural antibiotic.
3. An Apple a Day
The advice in the old proverb really does hold up to scientific scrutiny. Here are just a few of the ways the apples in your kitchen can translate into a cleaner, healthier you.
The Secret Power of Quercetin
Apples have a powerful antioxidant called quercetin that keeps cell membranes strong in the fight against cancer-causing free radicals. New studies show that quercetin may also reduce muscle fatigue, since it stimulates your energy-producing mitochondria. High levels of mitochondria are strongly associated with longevity and anti-aging.
A Clean Colon
In addition to supporting digestion, as the natural fibers in apples ferment in the colon they produce the chemicals that help your body resist the formation of cancer cells. Include apples, apple sauce, apple juice, and apple cider vinegar in your diet for a healthy, clean colon.
Breathe Better
The phytochemicals in apples help calm inflammation in the airways, supporting those with asthma and other breathing-related difficulties.
Two More Foods to Get on Your Next Grocery Run
To be at your healthiest, why not keep easy-to-eat cleansing and detoxifying foods on hand to enjoy any time? You can find some great cleanse and detox recipes that include all these foods here [LINK to recipes article].
Avocados Against Toxins
Avocados are packed with a powerful nutrient called glutathione, which helps block dozens of different carcinogens. Glutathione also assists your liver in detoxifing synthetic chemicals from your food and environment.
The Healing Nature of Blueberries
Did you know blueberries are filled with a natural aspirin that reduces inflammation and eases pain? Blueberries also block bacteria in your urinary tract, thereby helping to promote urinary health. And in one more super-powered move, these little gems prevent toxins from crossing the blood-brain barrier to gain access to delicate brain tissues.
by 
Greta Blackburn is an actress, fitness magazine editor and Founder/Director of Greta Blackburn’s FITCAMPS, which have taken place for over 20 years in locations ranging from Malibu, Maui, and Mexico to Las Vegas and served as training symposiums for fitness professionals and other interested men and women from all over the world. Today the focus at Fitcamp is making 100 the new 50. In 2011 Greta co-authored, “The Immortality Edge” with Michael Fossel, MD, PhD. (author of the pivotal 1997 tome “Reversing Human Aging”) and Dr. Woynarowski with research and solutions based programs based on the emerging field of Telomere Biology.
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