7 tasty ways to detox

If you tend to snack on packaged foods and canned drinks, and are feeling bloated and lethargic, then it sounds like you could do with a detox! A cleansing one-week diet will help your body rid itself of toxins and increase your energy levels.

While it might mean having to give up mee goreng and nasi lemak for a week, the good news is that the spices we love can all be incorporated into this routine.

The beauty of our climate is that we can detox at any time of the year, without feeling that the chilly temperature requires comfort foods – which are often the most calorie-laden.

The below suggestions are interchangeable. Just remember to plan ahead and be prepared for how much fridge space eating a clean, healthy diet requires! Try these colourful foods for a healthy start:

1. Eat a rainbow of veggies: fill your fridge with these greens, reds and oranges
Enjoy:

• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, bok choy, kai lan and rocket.
• Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and Chinese cabbage.
• Roots and shoots, such as bitter melon, carrots, ginger, lemongrass, asparagus, lotus root, celery, cucumber and tomatoes.

Avoid: Corn and potatoes.

2. Get fruity: fill up on Vitamin C and antioxidants
Enjoy: Figs, blueberries, coconut, strawberries, apples, longan, mangosteen, melons and snake fruit.

Avoid: Bananas.

3. Load up on proteins: lean proteins keep you satisfied
Enjoy:

• Oily fish, such as salmon, tuna, cod and mackerel.
• White meat, such as organic chicken and turkey.
• Seafood, such as crab, prawns and scallops.
• Legumes, such as chickpeas, edamame beans, kidney beans and mung beans.
• Vegetable protein, such as tofu and tempeh.

Avoid: Any processed meat.

4. Good fat: boost your heart health
Enjoy: Extra-virgin olive, cold-compressed avocado, coconut or flaxseed oils, unsalted raw nuts such as almonds and cashews, and seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin.

Avoid: Margarine and refined oils such as corn, sunflower and canola.

5. Fill up with fibre: fibre keeps you sated and aids detoxification
Enjoy: Flax seeds, brown rice, chia seeds and quinoa.

Avoid: Refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice.

6. Foods to avoid on a detox:
Red meat, processed food, refined wheat products (yellow noodles, pasta, biscuits, cake), caffeine, artificial sweetener, alcohol, excess sugar (including honey), all dairy, eggs and gluten

7. Your daily cleanser:
Before you have breakfast, drink one cup of warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice. This will gently wake up your digestive system.

Now you’ve filled the fridge, click here for some tasty detox meal and snack ideas.

Sources:

• Fitday
• Healthaliciousness
• Heartandstroke