Your Spring Detox Guide

Teri Cochrane on
woman greeting the morning light

Detox is a word that’s used a lot these days – but what does it really mean?

Some would have you believe that detoxing means sticking to a single food group like protein, restricting hard foods, or pumping yourself full of liver supportive spices – NO, thank you!

I advocate for a safe daily detox practice that keeps your body clean, clear and better prepared to handle those unavoidable daily toxins we all encounter from time to time, like…

  • Toxic Foods
  • Poor Sleep
  • Immune burdens
  • Allergens
  • Environmental toxins
  • Negative thoughts and energy

Our Spring Detox Guide will help you address all of these and more! Here are our sustainable tips for a better day, a better season, and a better year.

Get A Better Night’s Sleep

Magnesium

If your sleep cycle is out of joint, your body’s detoxification pathways will be, too! Try supplementing with magnesium glycinate half an hour before bed. This calming mineral can soothe the nervous system, relieve anxiety, reduce muscle tension and even support a more relaxed heartbeat. This is a great tool to have in your arsenal when you’re struggling to get those 7-8 hours.

Hot baths

A relaxing, hot bath can help us all unwind – but traditional Epsom bath salts may not! If you have a sulfur sensitivity, Epsom salts may trigger some uncomfortable side effects, like dizziness and muscle weakness, as your body struggles to metabolize the sulfur content of the salts. Try magnesium chloride flakes instead! I like Ancient Minerals Magnesium Bath Flakes, which help relax your muscles and calm the nervous system – a perfect pre-bed ritual.

Candlelight

Try lighting a few candles an hour before bed and enjoy a natural glow in place of harsh lamps. While blue light from screens can actually decrease magnesium levels, making you feel more wired and anxious, soothing candle light helps the body wind down and transition to a sleep state.

Clear Your Mind

Take a sound bath!

Have you ever heard of sound bathing? This meditative technique uses sonic healing to relax and soothe the nervous system and prepare the body for sleep. Sound baths usually consist of using a tuning fork to draw resonant notes from quartz or copper sound bowls – but they can also be a little more DIY and au-natural.

If you’re in an urban area, try watching a YouTube video of a sound bath (Goop has a great one by sound bath artist Jasmin Harsono). If you live in a suburban or rural area, try spending 15 minutes outdoors, breathing in night air and listening to the sounds of the wind, animals and insects around you. This small act of communion with nature can help us disconnect from the frenzy of our everyday lives and enter a state of calm – and get those yummy alpha brain waves flowing.

Embrace the morning light

Did you know that we absorb vitamin D from sunlight not only through our skin, but primarily through our eyes? Using a SAD lamp (I prefer to call them “happy lamps”) made for people with seasonal affective disorder, or getting out early and catching a few morning rays can increase our vitamin D metabolites and boost serotonin, resulting in improved energy and mood. Remember: never look directly into the sun and always wear (toxin-free) sunscreen!

Detox Daily

One of my rules of thumb is to avoid all-or-nothing detoxes and opt for a gentle daily detox instead, like a juicing routine, a weekly dose of alkalizing and toxin-binding chlorella, immune boosting supplements, and daily exercise that helps lymphatic fluid circulate in the body. Gently reducing toxins in your daily life can help keep your energy levels steady without taking drastic measures.

Juicing

New to juicing? My easy green juice recipe is the perfect place to start.

Juicing has become one of the most popular ways to detox, especially for those with on-the-go lifestyles.

As the food we eat becomes more nutrient depleted, juicing is a great way to give yourself a phytonutrient infusion – a concentrated shot of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant plant compounds – quickly and on a budget.

The problem with standard green juices is that they’re usually heavy on oxalate and sulfur-rich vegetables like collards, spinach and celery. To make a Wildatarian version, I’ve opted for a powerhouse combo designed to work with your body, not against it!

Sulfur-Free Detoxifying Green Juice

You will need:

  • 1 large organic cucumber, peeled
  • 1 bunch organic cilantro

To make:

Wash, peel and juice cucumber. Wash cilantro and cut off hard stalks. Juice cilantro. Store in a glass container (I like Mason jars!) for up to 3 days.

Servings: A serving is 4 oz of juice mixed with 4 oz of water for an 8-oz drink. If this is your first time juicing, start with a 50/50 water and juice combination. Pure juice has intensive detoxifying properties that can sometimes make you feel unwell if you’re just starting out, so it’s always best to work your way up.

I drink this juice every morning before breakfast and find it is the perfect way to wake my system up and alkalize the gut before a long day of work, exercise and digestion.

Flavorful alternatives:

  • Add the juice from ½ lemon to your completed juice
  • Add 1 Tbsp chopped ginger to the recipe and juice
Older Post Newer Post

© 2023 Village Green Apothecary - All Rights Reserved.