New Year, Cleaner You
After the holiday season, it’s normal to not feel our best. With all the festive celebrations, we can be left feeling depleted and undernourished. A detox is the answer to…
After the holiday season, it’s normal to not feel our best. With all the festive celebrations, we can be left feeling depleted and undernourished. A detox is the answer to getting you back on track, but not all detoxes are the same.
There are a lot of detoxes that promote teas and shakes that flush out your system, often flushing out the good with the bad, and sending your body into a state of shock. Other detoxes promote fasting and juicing for a certain number of days, but this too has its own side effects.
The best way to detox your body, is to make cleaner choices that can have a huge impact on your health and wellbeing.
You are what you eat
Here at Soulara, we are all about using food as medicine. We believe that by making smart choices with what you eat, you can heal and nourish your body without having to take endless supplements and vitamins.
Detox foods: The best way to help detox your body from toxin build up is by eating foods that are rich in prebiotic fibre and cleansing nutrients. Foods such as garlic, walnuts, cruciferous vegetables, cranberries, blueberries, apples and fermented foods such as sauerkraut are all excellent choices for detoxing your way to feeling great.
Say bye Felicia to sugar: Your body will never be able to detox if your sugar intake is high. Sugar disrupts your body’s optimal function, right down to a cellular level. By reducing or even eliminating your sugar intake you are giving your cells and organs a rest from the damage control they have to do when you eat refined sugar. Natural sugars from fruit and vegetables give you all the sugars you need in your diet.
Take probiotics: The supplement we always highly recommend is a probiotic. Probiotics help balance the bacteria in your gut. Not just for after a dosage of antibiotics, but also from everyday wear and tear. With what we eat, there is a lot of bad bacteria that grows in the fertile soil of your gut. This bacteria can cause a lot of illness and imbalance in the body. A probiotic aims to balance the bad bacteria with good bacteria, check out your local health food store to find which probiotic is best for you.
Highway to hydration
We all know the importance of staying hydrated, but there is more to hydration that just drinking. What else should you be drinking after your 8 glasses of H2O?
Juice: Freshly squeezed juices are bursting with vitamins and minerals. By switching your morning coffee for a energising juice, you are giving your liver a rest whilst still having enough energy to get through the day. If you don’t have a juicer or don’t have time, check out our selection of fresh juices with your next Soulara order!
Tea: There are plenty of detox teas out there, however most of them will have you running to the toilet more than you’d like. The kind of teas that we love here are Soulara are kind and nourishing. We don’t want to send your body into a state of urgent evacuation but rather gently cleanse toxins and help you feel great. Herbs such as nettle and dandelion make for great detox teas. Keep the tea, covered in the pot and steep for at least 5 minutes for optimal benefits.
Smoothies: Always a great way to get your fibre, omegas, and protein in one drink. Throw in some banana, cacao, hemp seeds, chia seeds, LSA, a few dates and splash on some almond milk – blend and enjoy!
Catch some Z’s
Ahhh! There’s nothing like your head hitting the pillow after a long and tiring day. Getting enough sleep gives you the foundation of wellness you need for the day, but many of us have trouble either falling or staying asleep which can affect not only our energy levels but also our mental health. Here are some tips to help you get the sleep you need.
No phone before bed: It’s safe to say that an alarming number of us use our phones in bed, right up until we go to sleep but research out of Harvard University suggests that looking at screens before bed (including backlit e-readers) can dramatically affect your sleep, and your melatonin levels. Try not using your phone for 1-2 hours before bed for 2 weeks and see how it impacts your sleep and wellbeing.
Meditate: Stilling your mind before bed is a sure way to turn off brain chatter and mental noise. You can do a short 15 minute mantra-based meditation or even a guided meditation from YouTube (just listen to the audio). By meditating before you sleep you are inducing a level of relaxation which will send you off to dreamland fast that you can say OMMMM…
Read: Reading before bed is great distraction from wanting to reach for your phone and it also quietens your mind from the stresses of the day. A chapter into a good book and you will have forgotten what you overheard Veronica say about you in the lunchroom, which would have normally kept you tossing and turning in aggravation all night.
Tea time: Drinking a sleepy time tea before bed helps your body and mind relax without any conscious effort. Herbs such as passionflower, valerian, chamomile and lavender make a great sleepy tea blend that will have you reaching for your PJ’s before your show has even finished.
Detox your pits
It doesn’t sound pretty but a lot of toxins and bacteria can build up in your armpits, especially from using a non-natural deodorant. Your armpits are the gateway to your lymph glands, and can easily hoard toxins which can affect your health in the long term. By detoxing your armpits you are cleansing this highly sensitive area of your body and it will help if you switch to an aluminium and formaldehyde free deodorant.
Detoxing your pits is something you can do at home with 3 simple ingredients:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Bentonite Clay
- Water
Mix the three ingredients together to form a creamy paste, spread on a generous amount onto clean armpits and leave for 10 minutes. Then rinse in with warm water (easiest in the shower).
Detox your skin
Your biggest organ and yet it is often an afterthought when it comes to detox. Detoxing your skin can be a result from eating well and staying super hydrated but there is a way to detox your skin from the outside, in.
Create your own toner: Toning your skin with harsh over-the-counter toners can strip or irritate your skin. Creating your own detoxing toner at home is easy. With one part apple cider vinegar and one part water, wipe over your skin after cleansing to feel fresh and deeply toned.
Go coconuts: At night, after toning, moisturise your face with a thin layer of coconut oil and allow all the enzymes to heal and nourish your skin while you sleep.
Go makeup free: Although there are lots of “healthy” makeup brands out there nowadays, it is still best to go bare. We’re not saying you have to head into the office with a squeaky clean face but try to have one day a week without putting any makeup on. And remember to always take off your makeup before bed.
Detoxing doesn’t have to be harsh or aggressive, it can be gentle and something that is safe to do regularly, or as needed. Choose to honour and respect your temple with a soothing detox that will leave you feeling brand new.
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