5 Natural Detox Drink Recipes

Cleanse your system with special detoxification beverages

 

:: by E.C. LaMeaux

If you are looking to revive yourself from within while increasing your energy level and your overall well-being, a body detox may be in order. Detoxification is the process of eliminating toxic substances from your body. Before beginning any detox diet, it is always good to check with your doctor, especially if there are any health concerns.

In their book 7-Day Detox Miracle, Sara Faye; Stephen Barrie, N.D.; and Peter Bennett, N.D., explain that detoxing with a whole body cleanse can enhance the body’s systems. According to the authors, detox drink recipes can assist in ridding your body of toxins and bringing it back into healthy balance.

Lemonade cleanse

Lemon consists of ascorbic acid, assisting in the cleansing process. Known also as the staple beverage of Stanley Burroughs' Master Cleanse, this detox drink is easy to make. Mix 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup and one-tenth teaspoon of cayenne pepper in 8 ounces of purified water. Proponents of the Master Cleanse recommend you drink 6-8 glasses of this lemonade drink and eat nothing each day of your cleanse. Despite its popularity, nutritionists warn against the lack of essential nutrients in this drink.

Green detox drink

This vegetable detox drink is made up primarily of green vegetables, providing an effective natural body cleanse of the digestive system.

In her book The Raw Food Detox Diet: The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss, certified clinical nutritionist Natalia Rose discusses the importance of vegetables at length. For this detox drink, you will need:

• 3 carrots

• 3 kale leaves

• 2 celery stalks

• 2 beets

• 1 turnip

• ½ bunch of spinach

• ½ cabbage

• ½ bunch of parsley

• ½ onion

• 2 garlic cloves

Mix all ingredients with water and puree in a blender.

Detox dandelion tea

According to classical homeopathic practitioner Sonya McLeod, B.A., D.C.H., dandelions are a great source of vitamin A, potassium, iron and calcium. According to McLeod, dandelion detox tea is a diuretic that will eliminate bodily toxins through your liver and kidneys. She recommends brewing 6 tablespoons of 1-year-old dried dandelion root and 12 tablespoons of fresh dandelion leaves in 4 cups of purified, boiling water. Other recipes call for simply adding 2 teaspoons of crushed dandelion leaves to a cup of boiling water and allowing it to brew for about 10 minutes.

Fresh cranberry juice

According to Mayo Clinic, there is some evidence to suggest that drinking cranberry juice may help prevent urinary tract infections and ulcers in healthy individuals. Cranberry juice also contains vitamin C, manganese and antioxidants. Though not advocated by any authoritative body, cranberry juice has become a popular detox drink, and according to Mayo Clinic, two 16-oz. glasses of full-strength juice can be safely consumed on a daily basis by healthy adults. To make this detox drink, dilute one part cranberry juice in four parts water. Then, add 1 tablespoon each of apple pectin and psyllium fiber to stimulate gentle intestinal elimination.

Fruit detox drink

Because fruit is high in fiber and packed with essential vitamins and minerals, it is a wonderful natural detox for the body. This recipe incorporates fruit, along with flax oil and lecithin, to provide essential fatty acids while you detox. In your blender, add:

• 8 oz. of orange juice

• 4 oz. of pure water

• ½ cup banana strawberries or yogurt

• ½-inch slice of ginger

• 1 small garlic clove

• 1 tablespoon flax oil

• 1 tablespoon lecithin granules

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice if desired

• 1 tablespoon of protein powder or spirulina powder

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3 Simple Relaxation Techniques

Tips for de-stressing quickly

:: by E.C. LaMeaux

One of the most important keys to maintain good health is the ability to relax. Relaxation is good for the body. It adjusts our hormone levels while lowering our heart rate and blood pressure. Relaxation helps us fight illness, and it heightens our mental abilities.
You may struggle to become relaxed, or it seems to take a long time. However, there are some very simple and effective relaxation techniques available to you to help you quickly glide into a calmer mental and physical state. We all have a built-in relaxation response, and the goal is to trigger that response with simple relaxation exercises.

Adjust your environment

Find a quiet place where you can close your eyes comfortably and just "be" for a few minutes. Choose features that specifically help you mentally and physically relax, such as soft music, a comfortable chair, non-distracting lighting and agreeable room temperature. If you will be more comfortable, remove your shoes.

Guide your relaxation all the way through your body

Rest your hands on your legs just above the knees. Mentally picture the stress leaving each part of your body as you concentrate on that part. Start with your head, noticing and mentally releasing tension in your neck, face, forehead and so forth. Next, move your mental relaxation to your shoulders, then back, chest, stomach, thighs, knees, lower legs and feet. Keep your thoughts simple and gentle.

Focus on your breathing

Take deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. After guiding your relaxation exercise all the way from the top to the bottom of your body, continue breathing deeply with thoughts of wellness. Pastor and motivational speaker and writer Joel Osteen recommends mental exercises during the breathing in which you think about affirmations such as:

• I am breathing in joy. I am breathing out strife.

• I am breathing in strength and healing. I am breathing out illness.

• I am breathing in refreshment and encouragement. I am breathing out defeat.

With practice, you can reach a very deep state of mental relaxation in just a few minutes, after which you will feel noticeably rejuvenated and alert. You can do each relaxation exercise on this list in tandem or separately, and you may supplement these techniques with additional tools. For example, you may choose to record a short guided relaxation exercise to listen to as you step through your personalized strategy.
Relaxation is an important part of good health, vital for maintaining clear-mindedness and overall wellness. Make time for it every day, and develop a relaxation technique that deeply relaxes you quickly. You'll find that your built-in relaxation response will make it easy to relax with just a little practice.
Give yourself a comfortable place with no distractions; gently, mentally walk through your body to release tension throughout; and couple your guided relaxation exercise and self-edifying affirmations with deep, cleansing breathing. You will find yourself not only relaxed but also alert, strengthened and more enthused for that next set of challenges.

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10 Ways to Detoxify Your Body

Body cleanse and detox diet tips for beginners

Three naturopathic physicians share insight on why and when to detox, what type of detox program is right for you, and 10 ways to start.

:: by Deborahann Smith

Feeling sluggish or out of sync? Having skin problems, aches and pains, or digestive problems? Straying from your healthier habits lately? Having trouble kicking off your weight loss? It might be time for a body detox.
Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world — including ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems — detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health.

"The body has its own natural healing system," says Peter Bennett, N.D., medical director of Helios Clinic in Victoria, B.C., and co-author with Stephen Barrie, N.D. and Sara Faye, of 7-Day Detox Miracle (Prima Health). "Detoxification enhances this system," he explains.

How does detoxification work?

Basically, detoxification means cleaning the blood. It does this mainly by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin. However, when this system is compromised, impurities aren't properly filtered and every cell in the body is adversely affected.

A detox program can help the body's natural cleaning process by:

1) Resting the organs through fasting;
2) Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body;
3) Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin;
4) Improving circulation of the blood; and
5) Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.

"Detoxification works because it addresses the needs of individual cells, the smallest units of human life," says Bennett.

How do you know if you need to detoxify?

Bennett suggests that everyone should detox at least once a year. A short detoxifying program or whole body cleanse is generally safe; in fact, scientific studies show that a detox is beneficial for health. However, Bennett cautions against detoxifying for nursing mothers, children, and patients with chronic degenerative diseases, cancer or tuberculosis. Consult your health care practitioner if you have questions about whether detoxing is right for you.

Today, with more toxins in the environment than ever, "it's critical to detox," says Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., the author of Detoxification (Healthy Healing Publications). Page recommends detoxing for symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, sluggish elimination, irritated skin, allergies or low-grade infections; bags under the eyes; a distended stomach even if the rest of your body is thin; menstrual difficulties; or mental confusion.

Where do you begin?

First, lighten up your toxin load. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars and saturated fats, all of which act as toxins in the body and are obstacles to your healing process. Also, minimize use of chemical-based household cleaners and personal health care products (cleansers, shampoos, deodorants and toothpastes), and substitute natural alternatives.

Another deterrent to good health is stress, which triggers your body to release stress hormones into your system. While these hormones can provide the "adrenaline rush" to win a race or meet a deadline, in large amounts they create toxins and slow down detoxification enzymes in the liver. So it's a good idea to detox stressful life situations along with detoxifying your body. Yoga, Qigong and meditation are simple and effective ways to relieve stress by resetting your physical and mental reactions to the inevitable stress life will bring.

Which detox program is best for you?

There are many detoxification programs and detox recipes, depending on your individual needs. Many programs follow a 7-day schedule because, as Bennett explains, "it takes the body some time to clean the blood." His program involves fasting on liquids for two days, followed by a carefully-planned five-day detox diet to allow the digestive system to rest. He also advises supplements, herbs, exercise, and practices such as dry-skin brushing and hydrotherapy to enhance circulation.

Page recommends a 3-7 day juice fast (drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable juices and water) as an effective way to release toxins.

Other popular detoxing programs and natural body cleanses include:

• Cleansing supplement packages, which generally contain fiber, vitamins, herbs and minerals. There are several safe products on the market, with easy-to-follow instructions.
• A routine of drinking only water one day each week — an ancient practice of many cultures.

10 ways to help your body detoxify

After a detoxification program, you can cleanse your body daily through diet, supplements and lifestyle practices.

1. Eat plenty of fiber, including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods.

2. Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such as dandelion root, burdock and milk thistle, and drinking green tea.

3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins.

4. Drink at least two quarts of water daily.

5. Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate more completely through your system.

6. Transform stress by emphasizing positive emotions.

7. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing the water to run on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes.

8. Sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration.

9. Dry-brush your skin or try detox foot spas/foot baths to remove toxins through your pores. Special brushes are available at natural products stores.

10. What is the most important way to detoxify? "Exercise," says Bennett. "Yoga or jump-roping are good. One hour every day." Also try Qigong, a martial-arts based exercise system that includes exercises specifically for detoxifying or cleansing, as well as many other exercises with specific health benefits. 

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Consult your doctor before using any health treatment — including herbal supplements and natural remedies — and tell your doctor if you have a serious medical condition or are taking any medications. The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is in no way intented as substitute for medical counseling.

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Eco Decorating: Reinvent Your Bedroom for the Spring Equinox

Hurray, we made it! With the vernal equinox today, spring is finally here — and I’m in my element! I adore a big spring clean in every sense of the word … breathing fresh new life into everything from my bedroom to my outlook.
People have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years with cultural rituals and traditions surrounding the coming of spring. The early Egyptians oriented the Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising sun on the day of the vernal equinox. While I can’t top that, I am quite happy to bid farewell to winter; I feel like one of the little buds on the trees aching for the sun! So I usher it in very consciously with my own spring equinox rituals …

My latest spring bedroom update: A breath of fresh air!

1. Change all the bedding from winter’s heavy comforters in browns, reds and oranges to lightweight blankets in creams, greens and blues mixed with some turquoise and orange (the color of 2012) for pop! In my bedroom’s latest spring-green incarnation, I used …

• An antique quilt as a wall hanging.
• Eco-friendly organic bedding
• New sheers around my canopy bed in a hemp/silk/organic cotton blend
• Rugs in natural wool and silk

2. “Wet-wash” everything, even cashmere, instead of dry cleaning — using gentle shampoo or eco-friendly laundry detergent, and chemical-free reusable dryer sheets.
3. Go all-out with nontoxic cleaning and weed out old stuff that’s broken or no longer serves me.
4. Open the windows wide and let my home breathe in the fresh clean air. Spring is my favorite time to deeply breathe in nature’s fragrances!
5. Lighten up personally, too, by eating fresh spring foods and doing conscious breathing techniques (Nauli breath is great for detoxification), Sun Salutations, and maybe a little emotional spring-cleaning!
Happy new beginnings!
Cheryl
A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.
– Emily Dickinson

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[http://blog.gaiam.com/blog/category/green-living/eco-decorating/] republished courtesy of Gaiam Life.