5 Superfoods For Those on a Detox Diet
Every once in a while, your body needs a detox cleanse. Detoxification helps the body get rid of the toxins that accumulate over a period of time. An overload of toxins in the body can severely affect your health. It can cause several changes in the body such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and chronic diseases such as obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, and even cancer. You may be recommended to go in for a detox diet comprising superfoods? What are these superfoods and how do they help in detoxification? Let’s find out.
What are Superfoods?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, superfoods are defined as “nutrient-rich foods considered to be especially beneficial for health and wellbeing.”Generally speaking, superfoods are referred to nutrient-dense foods such as fruits and vegetables, loaded with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients.
How Do Superfoods Help The Body Detoxify?
Superfoods are rich in antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals in the body, which induce oxidative stress- the primary cause of inflammation and chronic diseases in the body. That is why the best way to get rid of toxins is by including a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices and whole grains, which contain antioxidants, dietary fiber and other essential nutrients.
Including these superfoods will not only balance the pH levels in the body, but will also benefit the gut microbiome and improve one’s digestive health, skin health, cognitive function, mood, and immune system, among other things. So what are these superfoods, you ask? Well, we have a list of 5 superfoods that will definitely help if and when you are on a detox diet. Let’s look at them in great detail below.
5 Must-Have Superfoods To Help The Body Detoxify
Some of these must-have foods that can aid in the body’s detoxification process are:
Lemon: Rich in antioxidants such as Vitamin C, lemon is a natural cleansing superfood. It helps the body in the process of flushing out toxins off the liver and kidneys. Having lemon juice in lukewarm water every morning further aids in promoting hydration, managing a healthy body weight, enhancing skin health, preventing kidney stones, and improving digestion.
Turmeric: Turmeric is a quintessential Indian spice that not only adds flavour to the food we eat but also benefits health in many ways. It contains an important yellow-coloured chemical compound known as curcumin, which is known for its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties that boosts immunity and keeps all kinds of infections at bay. There’s anecdotal evidence, which suggests that drinking turmeric water or turmeric tea daily can help reduce cholesterol levels. This will prevent blood clots and plaque from accumulating in the arteries, thereby maintaining a healthy heart. It will also detoxify vital organs like the liver and the kidneys and reduce inflammation in the body, thereby reducing oxidative stress and the risk of chronic diseases.
Wellbeing Nutrition’s Apple Cider Vinegar Plus (ACV+) contains turmeric, amla, black pepper and cinnamon, all of which add on to the goodness of ACV with 2x the mother, making it the best detox drink to have everyday with lukewarm water.
Garlic: Garlic is a superfood that contains high amounts of selenium and allicin, which cleanses and nourishes the body inside-out. Allicin is an essential chemical that garlic contains, which aids in the production of white blood cells that help fight against toxins. There’s enough scientific evidence that shows garlic’s ability to detoxify the blood by protecting the liver from toxic agents. Moreover, the allicin compound in garlic exhibits potent antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, which is known to act as a blood purifier and keep the gut free from harmful bacteria and pathogens.
Beetroot: This is a superfood, which plays a significant role in the detoxification process of the body. Rich in folate (vitamin B9), beets help in cell growth and function. Furthermore it helps to control oxidative damage to blood vessels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, drinking beetroot juice regularly protects the liver, an important organ in the body responsible for detoxification, from inflammation and oxidative damage, while improving its ability to increase its detoxification enzymes naturally. Furthermore, it also helps to protect our eyes from age-related deterioration, oxidation, and damage caused due to excess screen exposure. You can try Wellbeing Nutrition’s Melts Eye Care that contains beetroot along with bilberry, lutein, and zeaxanthin, among other nutrients that play a vital role in improving eye health and reducing inflammation in the nerve tissues.
Broccoli: A cruciferous vegetable, broccoli is known as an antioxidant and phytonutrient-rich superfood that is known to aid the body get rid of toxins. It is a good source of vitamin A,C, folate, dietary fiber, potassium and calcium among other essential nutrients that play a vital role in the overall detoxification process of the body. Research shows that it helps neutralize free radical activity in the body, reduce inflammation in the colon and decrease the risk of chronic diseases, including colon cancer. It also works well as a natural liver detoxifier.
Wellbeing Nutrition’s Daily Greens contains broccoli, spirulina, Brussels sprouts, aloe vera, kale, wheatgrass, basil, moringa and a blend of over 30 antioxidant superfoods including blueberry, turmeric, acai, green tea, cinnamon, raspberry and many more. Just add one effervescent tablet to a glass of water and you will have the perfect fizzy detox drink ready! It's, however, best to consume it alongside a balanced diet and regular exercise regime to get the best results.
Final Takeaway
In today’s fast-paced world and lifestyle, it is necessary to detoxify the body from time to time. That is why it is important to have a balanced diet, rich in antioxidant and nutrient-rich superfoods. Including the aforementioned foods in our daily diet will enable the body to fight free radicals that induce oxidative stress in the body and cause inflammation- the primary cause of diseases and infections. So if you are someone who falls sick very often, has gained weight due to an erratic schedule and bad lifestyle choice, do give a well-balanced detox diet a try!
References:
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- Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science. Superfoods: Recent Data on their Role in the Prevention of Diseases, Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Food Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771, Athens, Greece. Corresponding Author Email: harpro@chem.uoa.gr, DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CRNFSJ.6.3.02. (https://www.foodandnutritionjournal.org/volume6number3/superfoodsrecent-data-on-their-rolein-the-prevention-of-diseases/)
- Kim MJ, Hwang JH, Ko HJ, Na HB, Kim JH. Lemon detox diet reduced body fat, insulin resistance, and serum hs-CRP level without hematological changes in overweight Korean women. Nutr Res. 2015 May;35(5):409-20. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2015.04.001. Epub 2015 Apr 10. PMID: 25912765. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25912765/)
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- Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, Stevenson EJ. The potential benefits of red beetroot supplementation in health and disease. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2801-2822. Published 2015 Apr 14. doi:10.3390/nu7042801. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/)
- Yoshida K, Ushida Y, Ishijima T, et al. Broccoli sprout extract induces detoxification-related gene expression and attenuates acute liver injury. World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(35):10091-10103. doi:10.3748/wjg.v21.i35.10091. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4572790/)
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