I love a good cleanse and detox. When you talk about healthy living, there is nothing healthier than cleaning out and strengthening your system. The goal of any good detox should be to clear out toxins in some way shape form or fashion. The most common way to do this in relation to detox drinks is, by combining healthy fruits and vegetables with detoxifying properties (antioxidants). Here are my top 5 simple and easy detoxes that will provide added benefit to your health and well being:
1. Lemon Water Detox
This is the simplest one on the list! Lemon water detoxes are great because in addition to being easy to make, it has a multitude of health benefits. Thanks to the lemon, It’s a great source of vitamin C, promotes weight loss, helps with digestion, and improves skin and oral health.
I typically do this detox at least three – four times a week. To make it, all you need is a fresh lemon and water. I use the whole lemon, but it is perfectly acceptable to use a half of a lemon as well. Add the fresh juice from the lemon into eight – twelve ounces of either warm or cold water, and drink up.
I like to do this detox in the morning. I will have my lemon water detox first thing in the morning, and that is it. From there I abstain from food until 12pm.
I do this because I want to fully reap the rewards of the detox and not diminish its health properties. When it is time for me to eat, I usually start light with eggs or yogurt. I like something that is easily digestible to start the day.
After this detox I am lighter on my feet, I feel purified, and I am ready to face my day.
If you want to give this detox a health boost, you can also add ginger or turmeric to it. Ginger is great for muscle health. It can also improves your heart health, mental health, your reproductive system, and it can help prevent cancer. Turmeric helps with anti-inflammation, increased brain functionality, combating aging, and reducing levels of depression.
2. Apple Ginger Turmeric Shot
Apple Ginger Turmeric Shot is the second detox you should incorporate into your life.
The apple added to the ginger and turmeric turns what were already beneficial ingredients, into complete power houses! The goal of this detox is to give you a health and energy boost. The apple complements the ginger and turmeric by providing healthy carbs for energy, fiber, vitamin C, and other helpful antioxidants.
To make this drink (as well as others on this list) you will need some type of blender/juicer. I have a Magic Bullet so that is what I use, but a juicer works fine too.
Please note, that if you are using a juicer, you may need to adjust how much of each ingredient you use to accommodate for the juice yields. If you are using a blender like a magic bullet be aware that your detox drink will come out a little more fibrous.
For one serving of this detox all you will need (again these are blender measurements) is a half of an apple. I recommend a Red Delicious Apple simply because there is more nutritional value in it when compared to other types of apples. Add to your apple one – one and a half teaspoons of turmeric, a medium sized piece of fresh ginger, and two – four tablespoons of water. Blend or juice until well incorporated and homogeneous, and drink up!
I recommenced this one as often as you like or deem necessary. You could also scale up the ingredients and make a decent amount to leave in the refrigerator for whenever you want it. This detox has a shelf life of about a week or so; and sometimes its better to let it sit so that the ingredients can better combine. As mentioned before this is an energy shot so a good way to think of it is like a healthy version of a Red Bull.
3. Blueberry Cucumber Guava Detox
This one is one you are absolutely going to have to try! I call it my Blueberry Cucumber Guava Detox. All that is in it are those three ingredients: blueberries, cucumber, and guava. These three ingredients were divinely inspired and I think when combined together, make a magnificent detox.
Blueberries are low calorie high nutrient berries with plenty of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and Manganese. They are high in antioxidants, can combat aging and cancer, help prevent heart disease, assist in maintaining brain function; And aids in muscle recovery.
Cucumbers also have a high nutrient profile with the added benefit of being 96% water. Cucumbers also have disease preventing antioxidants, can help with hydration, aids in weight loss, lowering blood sugar levels, and promotes regular bowel movements.
Guavas are great in that they help in lowering blood sugar levels also. Additionally, they help boost your heart health, benefit your digestive system, boost your immune health, are good for your skin, have an anticancer effect, and aid in weight loss.
For this detox, literally just throw all of your ingredients into your juicer/blender – it will be ready in moments. Its up to you whether or not you decide to peel the guava or the cucumber. For more nutritional value however, I recommend leaving the skin on. For one serving you will want to use a third of a cucumber, a decent handful of blueberries, and one – two guavas depending on size. One thing to note about the guava is that it does have noticeable seeds. The seeds are edible and frankly tough to get around otherwise (they are all throughout the fruit).
Depending on the ripeness of your guava, the seeds may be difficult to process. In such a case you can either tough it out or wait for your guava to become more ripe. If neither of those potions work for you, then feel free to swap the guava out for an orange. The only other thing you may need to add if you are blending this detox together, is about two splashes or a quarter of a cup of water. Because of the hardy nature of the guava and cucumber, you may need to add water to loosen the drink up.
My recommendation for this detox is to do it about three-four times a week. All the ingredients in this detox provide an ample amount of health benefits, making it something you can do regularly. Beyond that it also tastes decent and makes a for a good casual drink throughout your day.
4. The Apple Cider Vinegar Detox
This detox to me is the mother of all detoxes. It is no secret that apple cider vinegar has a multitude of health benefits including: increased potassium intake, weight control, promoting pH balance, the removal of toxins from the body, and healthy skin.
Apple cider vinegar is known for being a common at home remedy and using it as a detox can take it to another level. This detox simply calls for two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, preferably unfiltered, eight ounces of warm or cold water, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a teaspoon of either honey, or a healthy sweetener of your choice.
Cinnamon has a plethora of health benefits as well. It has loads of antioxidants, helps with heart disease, lowers blood sugar levels, promotes mental health, and protects against cancer. Your choice of sweetener is to add a little flavor to this concoction, which can be a little abrasive because of the vinegar.
You can also swap out the cinnamon for cayenne, and or add lemon. I do not recommend doing this detox too frequently. On average I will do this one once a week to once every two weeks. If you feel so inclined this detox can be done daily, I have done it daily before as well.
5. Super Green Detox
Finally, for my vegetable lovers, I have this fun detox – the Super Green. I call it that obviously because of its deep green hue, but also because all the nutrients in it make it worthy of its “super” title.
To start, there is the spinach. Spinach is a high fiber vegetable packed with vitamins C, A, and K1, Folic Acid, Iron, and Calcium. It also helps reduce stress, protect your vision, prevent cancer, and regulate your blood pressure.
Then there are the kiwis. Kiwis are a great fruit that can help treat asthma, aid in digestion, boost your immune system, reduce blood clotting, and protect against vision loss. Finally there is lemon, which is great for weight loss, oral health, digestion, vitamin C, and skin health.
As a sweetener for this detox I also add some Agave Nectar (syrup). Ideally you would want to use the real thing, but that can be hard to come by; So, the sweetener is the next best thing. There are a few caveats when using agave that I will go over. In relation to the sweetener, the lighter the sweetener the more potentially beneficial. The darker the sweetener the less beneficial, but more flavorful.
If you want to avoid the sweetener all together, you can, or, you can use honey. I encourage some type of sweetening agent whether it be agave, honey, or something else, because the natural sugar from the kiwi is not enough by itself in the presence of the relatively bland spinach and tart lemon. Plus you may be gaining additional health benefits when you do use a sweetener like agave specifically.
I picked agave nectar for this detox because of the benefits of agave itself. The agave plant is beneficial in relation to helping you control your blood sugar and your metabolism. It is also helpful with combating depression, and it helps protect you from heart disease. Agave nectar is the sap of the agave plant extracted.
The issue is that once the sap is extracted, it is heated to make the nectar. Once the agave sap is heated, it essentially loses most if not all of its nutritional value. Light agave nectar is potentially more nutritional than dark agave nectar because it is heated less. Dark agave nectar on the other hand is more flavorful because it is heated more. They are both notably less beneficial than the raw plant itself.
In relation to this detox, whichever you decide to use ultimately depends on preference. That being said, if you cannot get the fresh stuff, I would recommend the light agave nectar, as at the very least it has more potential than the dark.
To make the Super Green detox (one serving) all you need is two cups of spinach, two kiwis (your preference of skin on or off. Skin on is more nutritional but will result in a more fibrous end product.), the juice of half a lemon, the zest of one whole lemon (optional), and one table spoon of Agave – either nectar, the real thing equivalent, or another sweetener of your choice.
I recommend doing this detox no more than twice a week or three times every two weeks. This detox is a prime example of too much of a good thing becoming a bad thing. Specifically in relation to the spinach, kiwis, and agave. While they all boast beneficial properties, too much of any one of them can potentially result in adverse health effects. The main benefit to this detox is its positive impact on mood, digestion, and overall muscle health.
I hope you try at least one of these amazing detoxes, if not all of them! Remember, the goal of any good detox should be to help regulate and detoxify you in some way. Not every detox out there is tried and true so make sure you are being mindful of what you are putting in your body. Each one of these I make and drink for myself and if you know me, then you know that my goal is to help you to become as healthy as possible. Leave a comment below if you end up trying one of these, and let me know what you think!
Ken
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