6 Easy Steps to Detox Your Body

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone and should not be taken as medical advice. #HonestGoodness #CollectiveBias

When you are raising kids with special needs, you need to be at your best most of the time. I have been really lucky. Good genes and switching to real food has gone a long way to making me as healthy as I am. But now, it’s not enough. My next phase of life is coming soon, and business and volunteer roles are taking up a lot of time and energy. My body is not yet up to it all – I’m completely wiped out!

That pretty much describes me in 2015. It was a rough year and, I’m ashamed to say, I faced most of the challenges of that year with my mouth full of junk food rather than healthy foods. I indulged in a lot. I did give up wine for a good portion of the year, so overall I *may* have had less sugar, but I think my cupcake intake guaranteed I did not. In addition, I went to two food-based conferences, where it was easy to lie to myself that the organic cookie with the veggies in it was good for me.

It wasn’t.

And I have the waist-tire to show for it! Trouble is, I crave sweets. Cravings can be a sign that toxins, sugar or other bad things have built up in your body. Unhealthy additives in food may have addictive qualities, and sugar? Well, that particular demon is really hard to shake.

Most of us need to get back to eating real food but we need help to clear out the junk we’ve taken in. It can be such a challenge just to get on a healthy eating plan, and adding, “detox your body” to your plate is exhausting. But you can add healthy detox practices that are easy to manage and only take small amount of time from your schedule. The reward is how you feel with more strength and energy so you can be more productive, creative and in better spirits. How do we do that?  Here are some steps that can help you:

6 Easy Ways to Detox Your Body

1. Cook Less

Does this sound like you? Cooking mostly means MEAT (usually + veggie) OR BAKED GOODS. In fact, I rarely whip up vegetables. That needs to change – I want to focus on reducing how much meat I make for my family as well. Lately, we’ve been adding robust salads to our dinners every night. My family members are not fans of veggies — and the kids hate beans, so cooking less meat will take some doing. However, I’ve been testing what meat-free dishes and foods go over well. I will start integrating quinoa and lentils more often, including use them as full meals.

2. Take a Probiotic

I started taking these in December with approval from my doctor, but my indulgence in baked goods may have cancelled out their effectiveness! Winter means more soup and roasts, so it may be time to indulge in real bone broths recipes for their probiotic effects as well. I also need to start eating fermented foods – which, by the way, I love! It’s easy when you start with the options you find at the grocer, like pickles and sauerkraut but taking the probiotic is a start.

3. Drink More Green Tea

My goal this is year is to drink a cup of green tea daily. It’s not just that I keep hearing about its wonderful health benefits. It’s also true that it relaxes and calms me – I simply feel better when I have it. I drink it before bed now that it’s cold out, but I’m going to work on replacing my second cup of coffee once the weather warms.

4. Supplements

I have to be careful with taking supplements but it’s important to make sure you’re not vitamin deficient. (Always clear supplements with your doctor, especially if you take medication regularly!) A supplement you might not have considered is turmeric, a spice found in most curry dishes. It contains natural compounds known as curcuminoids, which have strong antioxidant properties.* Unfortunately, the spice that you cook with doesn’t contain enough of this amazing element to give you good health benefits. Nature’s Truth makes Turmeric Curcumin Complex 500 mg Plus Black Pepper Extract. This supplement may be a helpful antioxidant and can have other benefits for your health, including supporting your immune system.*

5. Have a cabinet full of smoothie mixes

Ok, I’ll admit it – I had these all winter and didn’t use them. My project now is to figure out how to make a smoothie that actually feels is a meal. I’m always in the mood for something really good at lunch and a healthy smoothie full of raw ingredients is just the ticket. I think I’m not bulking them up enough. I found this article, “16 Meal Replacement Smoothies,” and it’s true – I need to make my smoothies denser! Since I buy all-organic produce, I’m not I can afford these many fruits in my smoothie, so denser choices like bananas are a good alternative. Smoothies are great because you can load them full of healthy fruit & vegetables, protein-filled nut milks, fibrous seeds like hemp or chia and even toss your essential supplements in there as well.

6. A good night’s sleep

I’m struggling to sleep enough these days. I wake up really early every morning. Perhaps it’s that menopause is approaching, or it’s my newfound habit of waking up and really having to go to the bathroom. Either way, sleep is hard to come by. Plus, my husband has recently taken up snoring (!) and so getting to sleep is more challenging then usual. He’s even woken me up a few times, yikes!

Melatonin is a great supplement that we turned to before we solved Zoe’s sleep issues. For us, it helped straighten out her sleep cycle enough for us to find the problem.* Melatonin can also help with occasional sleeplessness.* Nature’s Truth Melatonin comes in a tasty berry flavor and dissolves quickly, if swallowing pills is difficult for you. Or, there’s always this method:

Take the Challenge!

Can you do those 6 easy steps to detox your body in 2016? Yes, you can – and here’s some incentive: Take the Honestly Good Challenge. Try Nature’s Truth vitamins for 30 days and feel the difference – or it’s free. We all know that high end supplements can run as much as $30 per bottle, but Nature’s Truth makes high quality vitamins that will not break the bank. Visit HonestlyGoodChallenge.com to sign up for discounts, prizes and more.

I loved checking out the line up of Nature’s Truth products at Rite Aid – this is just a small sampling of what I found! I was psyched to see what they carry. My family follows natural health care practices as much as possible so I’m familiar with the benefits many of these products. You can also purchase Nature’s Truth products at Walgreen’s, Amazon.com, and Target.com.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.