Six Foods to Eat and Avoid for Your Best Detox Diet

Dr. Ingrid Maes for www.PBHealthCenter.com

If you are experiencing symptoms that keep you from feeling your best, get to know these foods to eat and avoid for your best detox diet.

Headaches, fuzzy thinking, low libido, difficulty losing weight, low energy, dry skin, digestive problems...do any of these symptoms sound familiar?

Some people might tell you that they are normal signs of aging and suggest that you pop an over-the-counter drug. But there’s another reason you may be experiencing these symptoms...your body may be signaling that it’s time to detoxify.

Your body was made to detoxify, but with all the toxins we are exposed to today, clogged detoxification pathways are not uncommon.

Clogged detoxification pathways can lead to symptoms that affect your skin (acne, eczema, rashes), respiratory system (coughing, wheezing), digestive system (abdominal pain, gas and bloating) and endocrine system (hormonal imbalance, low energy, chronic fatigue).

The good news is that Mother Nature has already provided us with one of the most amazing tools for detoxification: food.

It’s true - food is an incredibly powerful detoxifier – but where do you start?

The Best Detox Diet Solution

You may recall from our previous article on detoxification steps that natural detoxification should:

1. Enhance the function of your primary organs of detoxification (skin, intestines, liver, lungs, kidneys) through the use of lifestyle and dietary modifications and food supplements.
   
   
2. Identify and treat the stressors to your detoxification systems (e.g., food allergies, infections, nutritional deficiencies, maldigestion, malabsorption, or toxins from environment).

One of the best detox diet solutions we’ve found at PureBalance Natural Health Center is The Body Ecology Diet. The Body Ecology diet is a system of health and healing that helps enhance your digestion and boost your energy and immunity.

Created by Donna Gates, the Body Ecology program was first developed as a way to treat candida and other bacterial, viral and fungal infections. However, over many years and thousands of results from Body Ecology followers, it has become apparent that the Body Ecology system also helps conditions like autism, alcoholism, depression and MS.

So How Does the Body Ecology Diet Work?

First of all, it’s NOT about counting calories, eating fat-free foods, or taking stimulants.

The main goal is create digestive health. Once your digestive system is healthy, you are able to assimilate more of the much-needed nutrients to keep your body looking and feeling its best.

Don’t be surprised if as you start feeling better, you see a youthful glow to your skin, nails and hair!

While the Body Ecology diet is not about weight loss, losing weight is a side benefit that many people experience. Toxins normally accumulate in your fat cells, so as you detoxify, weight loss is a common fringe benefit.

One of the key concepts that sets the Body Ecology diet apart is the focus on creating a healthy inner ecosystem.

Donna Gates coined the term “inner ecosystem” to describe the balance of good and bad bacteria and yeast in your intestines. We all have a mix of these good guys and bad guys in our gut, but stress, poor diet and buildup of toxins can kill the good guys, leaving the bad guys to take over. This can lead to illness, toxic buildup from poor digestion and yeast infections, like candida.

Think of the good bacteria and yeast in your system as your “health team.” These tiny microorganisms help you digest, boost your immunity and even make certain vitamins, like vitamin K and B vitamins.

When you have a healthy inner ecosystem, you tend to look and feel younger and better.

Here are some general Body Ecology guidelines for foods to eat and to avoid to help your body detoxify so you can look and feel your best:

1. Eliminate sugar – The goal is to eliminate sugar and sweeteners that feed bad bacteria and yeast. This doesn’t mean you have to give up sweets though, because Body Ecology has solutions for healthy, all-natural sweeteners to satisfy your sweet tooth: Stevia and Lakanto.
   
   
   • Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar and virtually calorie free. You only need a tiny bit to sweeten your favorite food and beverages. An herb from the chrysanthemum family, stevia has been used safely for over 30 years in Japan.
     
     
   • Recommended by the Japanese Ministry for Health for obesity and blood sugar issues like diabetes, Lakanto is an all-natural sugar substitute that tastes and bakes just like sugar.
   
   
   
2. Focus on Fermented Foods and Drinks – Once one of the keys to great health, fermented foods and drinks have been consumed for centuries in almost every tradition around the world.
   
   Fermented foods and drinks are full of probiotics, which are the good bacteria and yeast that help balance your inner ecosystem. Fermented foods and drinks also provide the “sour” taste that is missing in many people’s diets. According to Ayurvedic medicine, we need a balance of all six tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent) to feel balanced in our eating.
   
   Fermented foods and drinks help you:
   
   
   • Boost immunity
     
     
   • Improve digestion
     
     
   • Balance your inner ecosystem
     
     
   • Reduce cravings for sweets and carbs
     
     
   • Eliminate candida
     
     
   • Increase energy
     
     
   • Detoxify
   
   
   You can learn to easily make your own fermented foods and drinks, by following the instructions in the Body Ecology Starters. Choose from Culture Starter to make cultured vegetables; and Kefir Starter to make Body Ecology’s famous healing elixir, young coconut kefir. Both Starters allow you to use one packet up to 7 times by transferring some of the last batch into your new batch – an affordable way to achieve great health!
   
   If you are short on time and want convenience, choose a ready-made probiotic liquid, like Innergy-Biotic. A great replacement for your energy drink, Innergy-Biotic contributes to long-lasting vitality.
   
   
3. Eliminate cereal, flour and regular grains – Regular grains feed candida and often contain difficult-to-digest gluten. Instead, include amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa. These weight-optimizing grains are actually protein and B-vitamin-rich seeds that do not feed candia. You can find these “grains” in your health food store and if you buy in bulk, good health can come at a great savings!
   
   
4. Replace “refined oils” with organic, unrefined oils – Most oils in your grocery store aisle and even in your health food store aisle are refined. Refined oils are stripped of important essential fatty acids that boost your brain-power and mood. Further, refined oils are difficult for your liver to detoxify. While any oil can be refined, some typical examples are peanut oil and corn oil.
   
   Instead of looking for “cold pressed” on the label, look for “unrefined” or “extra virgin.” Choosing organic, unrefined oils (like olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, almond oil, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil and borage oil) is a great way to give your brain and liver a leg up when it comes to good health.
   
   
5. Eat mostly vegetables and sea vegetables – Mom was right when she told you to eat your vegetables. The Body Ecology system teaches that for each meal (even breakfast!), your plate should contain 80% vegetables. Organic vegetables, specifically green vegetables and sea vegetables, are nature’s greatest detoxifiers. Sea vegetables (seaweeds like nori, dulse, wakame and kelp) in particular, are full of minerals that help boost your energy.
   
   
6. Add a green drink to your morning routine – Each morning, most of America gets up and drinks coffee, which may “seem” to boost your energy, but over the long term, depletes energy. Instead, we recommend choosing Vitality SuperGreen – either before, or better yet – instead of – your morning coffee. Vitality SuperGreen is the most delicious, vitamin-mineral-probiotic-packed green drink on the market. Add two scoops to water and drink to your health!
   
   Not everyone is ready or willing to change their diet, but if you really want to experience the benefits of detoxification, we recommend you choose just one of these steps and add more as you are ready.
   
   Healthy eating is one of the best ways to take care of yourself. Your goal should not be perfection. No one can eat perfect all of the time.
   
   Sometimes life puts you in a position where you have to make the best possible decision because perfect is not offered. First understand what healthy eating looks like, and then set your goal to do the best you can.
   
   Every day is a new opportunity to eat healthy. Every meal is a new opportunity to eat healthy. Educate yourself, do your best, and make it fun!

Tell a friend:

Sources

The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates

Ready to Feel Slimmer, Younger and Healthier? Detoxify your body and feel your best with our New Year, New You Detox Program! The New Year, New You Detox Program is customized for your specific health goals. We start where you are and build a tailored program to help you cleanse your body and move you to the next level of health. Join detoxification experts at PureBalance Natural Health Center for the New Year, New You Detox Program and feel the benefits of detox for yourself!

Two Minutes, Two Scoops...Lasting Energy. If you only take one step toward your health, make it a green drink first thing in the morning. Vitamin-mineral-probiotic rich Vitality SuperGreen is set apart from other green drinks because it is chock full of ingredients that help heal your digestive tract, boost your energy and nourish your body. Nowhere else will you find fermented greens and algaes for your thyroid health, the anti-aging superstar, resveratrol and an unparalleled intestinal support ingredients. Have two scoops first thing in the morning and drink to your health!