Monday, August 30, 2010

Summer Detox to Feel and Look Fabulous

by Irina Wardas

Summer is the best time for an easy detox and natural weight loss because of its abundance of fruits and vegetables.

Detox is a relative term, because anything that supports elimination helps us detoxify. If the body is working well with good immune and eliminative system, we can handle the basic every day exposure to toxins. But sometimes we need to change our dietary (healthier food choices) habits to reduce intake of toxins and improve elimination which can be also a great weight loss technique.

Simply drinking more water (filtered) helps us eliminate more toxins. Hot weather increases sweating and reduces urination which might lead to dehydration.  Headaches, fatigue, dizziness, muscle cramps, tingling of the limbs are the symptoms of dehydration, so we need to drink extra 2-3 glasses of water to feel and look fabulous in Summer.

All fruits (apples, berries, pears, apricots plums, melons, grapes, peaches, mangos, papaya) as well as all citrus are both cooling and laxative which can help our cleansing/natural detox process.
 
We also should try to eat more refreshing and cooling salads with slightly bitter-tasting, cleansing greens, such as dandelion greens, watercress and endive.

In summer we can eat more local fruits and vegetables, so don't forget to incorporate a lot of cooling vegetables, such as potato, tomato, summer squash, zucchini, cucumber, celery, mushrooms, bean sprouts, artichoke, bell peppers, asparagus, sweet potatoes, beets root and yam into your diet. You can cook them, eat them raw or make delicious juices.  And have in mind that all vegetables from cabbage family increase alkalinity and reduce acid condition such as bad breath, excess hunger and even anger.
Humid weather demands additional cleansing, so enjoy your fruits and vegetables as a natural detox all day long.  And speaking about easy detox, a dash of lemon will be a great addition to any salad or drink.


If you live in a climate with high humidity, try to eat more watermelons - they can make a delicious breakfast or snack. As a natural diuretic food, watermelon increases urination and detox the system by flushing toxins from the body which is very beneficial for weight loss, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalance symptoms, such as bloating and water retention. Watermelons are also rich in lycopen needed for preventing heart disease, sun skin damage and cancer.

In Summer,
we are supposed to eat more cooling foods that are easily digested, so mung beans, barley, rice, couscous, as well as sea vegetables can be added to salads if you want to avoid hot dishes. They are rich in fiber and will help you improve elimination, lose weight, reduce heart attack risk, lower high blood pressure.
 
Let us drink more water, juices and smoothies, eat more detox and cooling vegetables and fruits to feel better, get slimmer and look fabulous, shall we?


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Irina Wardas is a founder of NaturalCounselor.com – Holistic Health and Wellness Programs, Retreats and Radio Show for Women. As a certified holistic health and nutrition counselor, Irina helps her clients get healthier and happier with her unique approach of combining natural detox, weight loss and stress relief techniques and tools.

Irina is also a producer/host of “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina”, the talk radio show dedicated to helping women feel and look fabulous naturally.    http://www.naturalcounselor.com