Whole Health Spring Detox

by Victoria Pawlowski

Feeling tired? Headaches? Difficulty concentrating? Constant upset stomach? Skin problems? Joint pains? Food sensitivities? Or are you just curious about detox?

Whatever your reason, detox cleansing programs can help you feel better. They are designed to support your body to get rid of accumulated toxins that stress the body’s ability to handle them. Think about it. The number of chemicals that we are exposed to each day in our air, food, water and environment is incredible. How many chemicals are you exposed to just getting ready for work each day in your makeup, shampoo, lotions, hair gels. Not to mention your food, water, plastics, fabricated wood products oh and caffeine, alcohol, medication and drugs!

If we minimize our exposure to environmental toxins and take good care of ourselves through rest, good food, exercise and positive thinking, our body can do its job of detoxing and keeping us clean and healthy. Unfortunately, stress, fast food eating and other lifestyle imbalances all interfere with our body’s ability to detoxify. Toxins then accumulate at a rate faster than our body can eliminate and we start to feel symptoms of ill health. Fatigue, food sensitivities, gastrointestinal distress and skin problems are all symptoms of imbalance. The body is calling out for support and attention. ‘Detox’ is a wonderful way to clean out the body, mind and spirit. Detox dieting involves consciously reducing our intake of toxins while increasing elimination.

First take a look at your lifestyle and figure out a way you can fit in some balanced time for work, play, exercise, rest and reflection. You don’t need to stop working to do a cleansing program, but it really helps to slow down.
Then clean out the cupboards and get rid of foods containing artificial colors, flavours, sweeteners, preservatives and hydrogenated fats. These ingredients are known to increase cellular inflammation and oxidative stress contributing to premature aging and disease.

Go shopping and fill your cupboards with ‘real’ foods. Here is a start shopping list:

Whole Foods Detox Shopping List

For the pantry:

  • whole grains: rice, quinoa, amaranth, oats, barley, oats
  • canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa
  • fresh dried herbs and spices
  • dried and canned legumes: garbanzo, black, navy, kidney, lentil, soy, split pea
  • canned wild salmon, mackerel, sardines
  • oils: olive, canola, grapeseed (mechanically pressed)
  • green tea, herbal tea, organic coffee

For the fridge:

  • nuts and nut butters (almond, hazelnut)
  • seeds and seed butters (sesame, pumpkin, hemp, flax)
  • eggs: free range, omega 3
  • fortified soy/rice/oat beverage

In the crisper:

  • rainbow of fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables including onions, garlic, leafy greens, orange, red, purple, coloured produce

In the freezer:

  • berries, vegetables, lean organic meats, fish, poultry, burgers

Supplements:

  • probiotics, fish oil, calcium/magnesium, enzymes, multivitamin/mineral, herbal detox product, fiber

Different Types of Detox Programs
Detox programs vary from fasting to a full whole foods alkaline based diet. Choose one that works best with your unique circumstances.

Master Cleanse
Fasting with a basic Master Cleanse can be made by mixing 2 Tbsp organic lemon or lime juice, 1 Tbsp organic maple syrup, pinch of cayenne pepper and 8 oz water. Drink 8 – 12 glasses of this Master Cleanse throughout the day for 1 to 3 days. After that, slowly progress to whole foods alkaline based diet as described below.


Juice Cleanse
Drink fresh squeezed vegetable and herb juices throughout the day for 1 to 7 days. Capers Whole Foods Markets Juice Bar offers the following juices that are perfect for a juice fast:
ABC Juice (apple, beet, carrot) with Greens Plus Booster
Triple C Juice (carrot, celery, cucumber) with Spirulina Booster
Cool Ruby Juice (carrot, celery, cucumber, beet) with Bee Pollen Booster
Teachers Pet Juice (apple, celery, carrot) with Greens Plus Booster

Smoothie Cleanse
Drink freshly made smoothies made from fruits, vegetables, herbs, rice/soy/oat beverage and boosters such as protein powder, ground flax/hempseed, flaxseed oil, vitamin C, algae or probiotics.
 Capers Whole Foods Markets Juice Bar offers the following smoothies that can be used for a smoothie cleanse. Add your choice of nutritional booster: greens plus, wheat grass, hemp protein, bee pollen or spirulina. Continue for 1 to 7 days.

  • Mondo Berry Smoothie
  • Eat Your Greens Smoothie
  • The Big Yummy
  • Tropical Sunrise





Alkaline Diet Cleanse

The alkaline diet cleanse focuses on foods that help to rebalance and optimize the bodies pH. Eat a whole foods - real foods, plant based diet of whole grains like brown rice and millet; raw nuts and seeds; legumes, and lots and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Start your day with 1 – 2 cups of hot water with fresh squeezed organic lemon or lime juice. Following is a sample one week detox diet using foods from Caper Whole Foods Markets deli and juice bar. This diet is ideal for weight loss as well!

Breakfast
Smoothie:

  • Mondo Berry Smoothie with Hemp Protein
  • Eat Your Greens Smoothie 
(you can substitute berries instead of the banana if you like)

Optional: If you need a heartier breakfast, add a bowl of hot grains (oatmeal or brown rice with rice/soy beverage;

  • ground flax; stevia; sunflower seeds; ground flax/hemp)
  • Green tea or roiboos tea (plain or with stevia for sweetener)
  • If you drink coffee, limit to 1 – 2 cups organic coffee.




Morning snack

  • A small handful of raw almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
  • or Capers Organic Granola Bar
  • Locally grown organic apple or pear
  • 

Green, herbal, white or roiboos tea
  • 

Water

Lunch
Choose up to 250 gm of the following salads along with 2 cups leafy green salad

  • Cabbage and Chicken Salad
  • Tofu Broccoli Salad
  • Edamame Salad
  • Chicken Cherry Blossom Salad
  • Spicy Quinoa Salad
  • Spelt Kamut Berry Salad

Optional: Vegan Tomato Tofu Soup – as desired

With your lunch or as an afternoon snack or a pick me up after work:

  • ABC Juice (apple, beet, carrot) with Greens Plus Booster
  • Triple C Juice (carrot, celery, cucumber) with Spirulina Booster
  • Cool Ruby Juice (carrot, celery, cucumber, beet) with Bee Pollen Booster
  • Teachers Pet Juice (apple, celery, carrot) with Greens Plus Booster
  • Water

Dinner

  • 1 – 2 cups Brown Rice
  • 1 – 2 cups Vegetables including Steamed Greens; Beet Salad; Squash salad; roasted root vegetables
  • 1 serving of lean protein:

    • Green Tea Halibut; Salmon; Provencial Lavendar Herbed Chicken;
    Tofu Sesame Sticks; Turkey or Lamb Sausage: Turkey Burger; Crab Cakes (3)
    Optional: Vegan Tomato Tofu Soup

Evening Snack
if you are hungry before bed, have a serving of nuts or seeds.

Note: if you require a sweetener for your coffee, tea or other beverages, use stevia powder or liquid rather than sugar, syrup or artificial sweeteners. If you require milk or cream in your coffee or tea, choose unflavoured rice or soy beverage. Drink lots of water throughout the day.

Other very important components of detox:

  • Eat slowly and mindfully
  • Dry brush your skin each day before showering to promote circulation and exfoliation
  • Consider infrared sauna a few times a week to help eliminate toxins
  • Do not drink alcohol or take drugs (except required medications
  • Do moderate exercise each day – walking is ideal
  • Do some stretching or yoga each day
  • Journal each day for 3 pages about how you are feeling. There is no right or wrong way to feel throughout a detox but often feelings become more intense. If you can, just feel them without resistance and with lots of compassion. Just feel them and let them go through you. It is part of the detox process.

What to expect
Each detox program feels different each time you do it, depending on what is going on in your life at the time. It is not uncommon to feel fluish after a few days as toxins are released into the body. Drink lots of water and rest. In a day or two your energy will come back in a way you may not have felt for a while. Most people experience renewed energy and vitality by the end of the cleansing program.

After this basic detox you may decide to...

Continue with this dietary plan if you feel good eating it. There is no problem with this however you may need more food to keep your weight balanced. Slowly add in more whole grains; live culture yogurt or kefir and organic eggs if desired.

You can return to your usual diet – hopefully without adding back artificial chemicals or additives

Or you can move onto a more advanced detox dietary program focusing on cleansing one or more of the organs. It is advisable to check with a naturopathic doctor for support with an advanced detox program.

Enjoy your health!

For more information and support with your health program, contact Capers Whole Foods Nutritionist Victoria Pawlowski, for a complementary nutritional consultation or personalized store tour.