Happy second day of spring!

I love spring; definitely one of the best seasons. Spring reminds me of “new life.” New life with the spring harvest, longer days and a brighter, calmer, fresher outlook! It reminds me that brighter things are always close by.

Spring is also the time of year when our bodies naturally crave lighter foods. Many people will do a “detox cleanse,” which I’m not opposed to, but I tend to stay away from. To me, a detox cleanse can be done any time of the year: get the additives and preservatives, added sugars and all other gut irritants out of your diet and that’s all the detox you likely need.

Instead of enduring the typical 10-30 day detox cleanse, how about just creating your own spring detox? No major slumps or suffering will be involved. Make over your foods and overall lifestyle to compliment the real spring detox you want.

Here are my top 7 ways to Spring Detox

1. Kick the sugar. Sugar looms everywhere, and you would be surprised how quickly the amount of sugar you consume daily adds up. Sugar isn’t just “sugar.” It is also called things such as: white sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, invert sugar, raw sugar, beet sugar, turbinado sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrin, honey, maple, evaporated cane juice, malt, molasses, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, maltose, etc. Start your day with Orange Juice? Even a lower sugar one like this has 10g sugar/serving. And you haven’t even had your cereal, toast, jam or muffin yet! I will be talking about sugar in great detail over the next several months, but kicking your sugar habit is a great place to start. (And by the way, I’m 37 days in on no sugar. You can still join me!)
2. And then kick the “fake” sugar. Most fake sugars are dirty chemicals – yes, dirty chemicals. They include words like: saccharin, sucralose, aspartame. Did you know that many places in the world ban these fake chemicals? Just look at “Bad Guy #1: Aspartame.” It’s hard to give this one up, especially when we are pre-programmed to understand that they are “fat free and sugar free” and the healthy alternative. Try nixing them.
3. Just say “yes” to natural food coloring. I know that’s it fun to decorate and eat cupcakes with pretty blue or pink food coloring. But this is another chemical that could really stand to get the boot from your kitchen. Scientists have been warning against food colorings! I recently found my natural “green” food coloring with Spirulina, but I’m on a mission to find many other natural colorings. I think this is a great article to get started: 8 Ways to Make Organic Food Coloring.
4. Food Intolerance. This is a tough one, since many of you might not even know you are food intolerant. I didn’t…..for years! And for years I just masked it with antibiotics and the thoughts, “oh well, I guess this is just how my stomach is supposed to be.” All of that would eventually downward spiral to Colitis, more drugs and then a huge awakening. So what did I do? How did I start? I took the natural approach and looked to food to be my solution, not my problem. It started with an elimination diet, which you can do, too! Here is some information on an “allergy avoidance diet.” This is an in-depth service I will be providing once I fully launch my Health Coaching business because I believe it’s one of the things that was absolutely critical in my journey to healing. As Dr. Mark Hyman, MD said during a lecture last night, “The gut is always the first place I start when healing my patients.” <- I couldn’t agree more; I’ve been saying this for years now, too!
5. Move Outside. Now that the weather is getting nicer and the days longer, move more outdoors. This is a double whammy for me because moving is key for a healthy, detoxed body and fresh air is unparalleled. We need the sun and fresh air more than you can imagine. Start soaking it up.
6. Get it Out. Does coming out of winter have you feeling down and negative? These down-and-out thoughts are likely to leave you feeling less than optimal. Take some time for yourself everyday to journal or vLog or paint or whatever else creatively you need to do to get it out. Bottled up thoughts and emotions are as much a drag to the immune system as many of the foods we clutter it with.
7. Add Them In. If all else fails, just add in some great, new items to your diet. Try any or all of these: anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats (ie. Wild Alaskan Salmon), fruits, vegetables, cayenne pepper, turmeric, SuperFoods and more SuperFoods, nuts and seeds, probiotics, cinnamon, ginger and greens!

Your turn: What are your favorite ways to spring detox?