9 ways to detox naturally in the New Year

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA President at MyBestHealthPortal.net Top Contributorgive us a run down of the best way to detox for the new year that's safe and effective check it out.

It’s the New Year, which means everyone’s talking about “cleansing” and “detoxing” after a bit of holiday binging. But the truth is, your body detoxes just fine on its own: Your liver, lungs, kidneys, skin, and digestive track are programmed by Mother Nature to keep your body clean 24/7.

But you can give your body’s natural detoxing powers a boost with these nine easy tips. 

1. Stay hydrated with water. Water is part of every metabolic process in the body, and adequate water intake also helps keep the balance of body salts normal. Natural thirst should always be addressed. And remember that fruits and vegetables are almost all water, so 5-7 servings can boost your natural water intake. And the best way to tell if your water intake is adequate is to check the color of your urine. Pale yellow is the goal. If it’s any darker than that, drink a glass of water or two.

2. Limit caffeine – but there’s no need to eliminate it. Caffeine can be a boost for mental focus and energy, if limited to less than 300 milligrams per day. A large mug of coffee has about 150 milligrams of caffeine, so that’s about two servings a day. A mug of tea is around 50 milligrams, so that’s about six servings. When it comes to caffeine, the less often it is consumed, the more of a positive biological effect you can expect. 

3. Extra credit: Avoid alcohol -- even red wine. (it.

4. Skip sugar – and low-calorie sweeteners. You want to ground zero your sweet taste buds with more limited intake of sweet of all kinds. Cut out sugary drinks, snacks, and treats, and you’ll be surprised how fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth. And taking a break from all low-calorie sweeteners helps you learn to tamp down your perception of sweetness.

5. Eliminate processed and prepared foods. As a general rule, don’t consume things that come in cans, boxes, bags or jars. Bonus points: Don’t eat in restaurants, either. Many restaurant foods may look healthy, but the food may have been prepared in unhealthy oils, or they may be drenched in a creamy sauce. Cutting out processed foods is the quickest and easiest way to limit excess (and often hidden) sugars, fats, and calories. 

6. Break a sweat. Skin is the body’s largest organ, and sweating helps you eliminate excess body salts and other metabolites of body processes. Breaking a sweat every day is a good way to support your body’s healthy elimination of metabolic breakdown products.

7. Eat fiber. There are so many myths associated with “cleansing” the digestive tract, but your digestive tract actually wants to be stimulated, especially with fiber. Think of this as exercise for your gut. Fiber revs up your digestive tract -- it’s like nature’s Roto-Rooter. But stick to fiber that’s found in nature -- fruits, veggies and whole grains -- and skip the bulked-up processed products that claim to contain 50 percent of your daily fiber needs or more in ONE serving. Stick with nature’s fiber content, which is about 3-4 grams a serving, about 15-20 percent percent of your daily requirement.

8. Get some sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours every night. Adequate sleep supports and maintains a healthy brain. Recent studies continue to support the connection between amount of sleep and cognitive function.

9. Change your response to stress. While eliminating stress is not realistic, changing how your respond to daily stressors goes a long way to boosting a healthy body.

Also, stop by 4x Nutrition Center adn speak with one of our certified nutrition specialist about other way to detox and get your body ready for the new year!

Til next time,

Mikie 

When is the best time of day to do cardio-vascular exercise?

When is the best time of day to do cardio-vascular exercise?

Whether it’s early morning, mid-day, or evening, the most important thing is just doing it.

Your heart is a muscle and working it makes it stronger. A stronger cardio-vascular system means more capillaries delivering more oxygen to cells in your muscles. This enables your cells to burn more fat during both exercise and inactivity. Your goal should be to do some type of cardio-vascular/aerobic activity (walking at a moderate pace, running, biking, stair climbing, swimming, rowing, Zumba, etc) three to five times a week for a sustained period of time of at least 20-30 minutes. Vary your choice of cardio activity to stave off boredom.

Remember, your body’s primary and preferred energy source is Carbohydrates (glycogen). While you are sleeping, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on throughout the night. As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower sugar and when your primary fuel source is in short supply, this forces your body to tap into its secondary or reserve energy source; body fat.

You always burn a combination of carbs and fat for fuel, but depending on when you exercise, you can burn a greater portion of fat relative to carbs. When you do cardio in the morning, you not only burn fat during the session, but you also continue to burn fat at an accelerated rate after the workout. This is sometimes referred to as the “after burn” effect. An intense cardio session can keep your metabolism elevated for hours after you’re done exercising. Burn baby burn!

If doing cardio first thing in the morning isn’t an option for you, then the next best time to do your cardio would be immediately after weight training. Lifting weights (using dumbbells, kettle bells, etc) is anaerobic (carbohydrate-burning) by nature, and therefore depletes muscles glycogen. That’s why a post lifting cardio session has a similar effect as morning cardio on an empty stomach. You will still burn fat. However, night time cardio can fail to take advantage of the “after burn” effect because your metabolism drops like a ton of bricks as you go to sleep which is when your metabolic rate is slower than any other time of the day.

Remember that every “body” is different. What works for one may not work for another. It is important to know your body and what it will and won’t respond to when it comes to cardio exercise.

If you have any questions or would like more info, be sure to contact one of the Certified Sports Nutrition Specialists at 4x Nutrition. Have a great workout!!