Five simple detox strategies to boost your energy

Try a gentle detox, optimise your digestion, improve concentration and feel more effective this year. Cleanse your system with five simple easy steps:

•  Take control of your inputs

• Replace with healthy habits

• Simplify food combinations

• Go to bed early, feeling a little hungry

• A detox can be tailored to specific conditions.

Here’s how. Take control of your inputs for a month and watch your energy improve. Simply eliminate alcohol, sugar, caffeine and processed or greasy foods. Avoid eating between meals to give your digestion a well-earned rest and reduce the load on your liver. You can create a whole new ‘normal’ for yourself.

Replace these habits with plenty of water, and delicious fresh juices. Try carrot, apple, celery, beetroot and ginger. Include chlorophyll by adding kale or other fresh leafy greens such as sprouting your own wheatgrass. Balance the thermal nature of the concentrated raw food with a cube of fresh ginger and a dash of hot water in your juice. Explore many variations according to your research, taste and inspiration.

Simplify food combinations to improve your digestion. Consider protein and vegies, or carbohydrates and vegies in warm salads and quick, easy stir-fries. Food groups digest at different rates, so fruit after carbs is more likely to ferment and create wind and bloating. Try to keep fruit before meals as a digestive stimulant, or eat it on its own. Eat light at night. Occasionally, miso soup is a nourishing option.

Go to bed early, feeling a little hungry. This way, your body can detox during the night, rather than trying to digest a big meal when you’re sleeping. This is when you’ll convert food to storage or fat. You’ll wake with a good appetite, ready to fuel up and energise.

A detox can be tailored to specific conditions. Are you motivated by gut, bowel, skin, liver, immune or smoking issues? Or is your energy just flat even though you’ve had a holiday?

Make a start, and if you’d like support to get more specific, give Rima Truchanas a call at Healing Well Chinese Medicine, 0408 407403, and book an assessment of your needs.