Top 12 Tips For Cleaning Up Your Diet
/It’s end of January! How well have you “cleaned up” after the holidays? No one holding you accountable to lofty goals? You’re not alone. (My meals and meal-timing are a bit of a mess.) That’s why I guide my annual “Liver Detox” program as a reboot, with focus on supporting our natural detox pathways always.
Just as research shows chronic exposure to even small amounts of human-made and natural toxins – from pesticides to heavy metals – can be more damaging to our bodies than one acute exposure, small daily habits are shown to change outcomes big time in the long game. Evidence links environmental chemicals to all chronic health conditions ranging from gut dysbiosis and infertility, to dementia and autoimmune disease. When we don’t address toxic load, symptoms persist, we consume more drugs, and risk of disease increases.
Many chemicals like BPA disrupt our body’s ability to filter toxins in the liver, contribute to inflammation, and disrupt gut health. We can take high-quality liver-supportive supplements occasionally or engage in regularly “cleanses”, but until we reduce our toxic load daily, even those endeavors become band aids. Simply, we must stop consuming so many toxins.
The root of many health issues is daily exposure to small amounts of environmental toxins in our food, water, workplace, home, personal products, yard, parks, gym – and beyond. We may not be able to change our jobs, replace furniture, or live in toxin-free homes, yet we can make informed choices and small changes.
We eat and drink numerous times daily; it makes sense to commit to cleaning up out diet as a non-negotiable endeavor.
This list is designed to help: 1. increase intake of nutrient-dense foods to support natural detoxification pathways and 2. reduce consumption of harmful chemicals, additives, and toxins that damage the liver and overall health.
My top 12 ways to reduce toxins in our diets:
Buy regional, seasonal food not sprayed with harmful chemicals. Unsure? Ask the farmers!
Buy organic everything you can in a regular grocery store. Yes, you can afford it when reducing expenditure on less important things.
Buy non-GMO. Genetically modified foods are designed to withstand pesticides, so they’re sprayed a lot.
Stop buying foods that contain additives, preservatives, food dye, sugar alcohols, and ingredients you cannot comprehend.
Drastically limit ultra-processed foods. Vegetable oils, candy, cookies, breads, chips, carbonated beverages, etc. are refined using chemicals like bleach and deodorizers.
Eat and drink whole foods + beverages as your primary nutrient intake. Fresh, preserved in glass, frozen.
When consuming eggs, dairy, fish, and meat, aim for wild and/or pasture raised or, at the very least, organic. They will contain some contaminants, albeit less than conventional.
Wash all fruits and vegetables. Organic foods also are exposed to chemicals, dyes, wax, and more.
Rinse all whole grains. Rice, for example, contains chemical contaminants and heavy metals, like arsenic.
Reduce intake of canned foods + drinks. Even “BPA-free” may contain BPS, BPF and more.
Stop drinking beverages from plastic bottles. Chemicals leach into the liquid.
Filter your water. It’s likely contaminated thanks to run-off containing persistent chemicals (even those banned decades ago).
There are many more ways to reduce toxic load – including cooking tips and kitchen products. It can be overwhelming. Start with ONE food tip that resonates most.
Want more guidance for making small changes? Check out this blog entry from last January…
Interested in a personalized detox program? While I run the group program almost annually, I’ve also guided people on their own, couples, and small groups (like family members and friends). Please contact me to learn more!