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September is National Vascular Disease Awareness Month

As September starts, it's National Vascular Disease Awareness Month. This is a great time to learn about the health of our veins and arteries. Vascular diseases include problems like deep vein thrombosis and peripheral arterial disease. Read on to learn how to keep...

911: The Detox this Holiday Season

Dec 12, 2016

The holiday season means time with friends and family, all pairing perfectly with overly decadent menus. This can leave us all feeling a bit bloated. Why wait for New Years Resolutions to clean up your act? We have some manageable tips for a quick detox after overloading on stuffing and pumpkin pie.

The first place to begin is to make sure you are getting enough fluids on a daily basis. Clear fluids act as a natural detox, while flushing any toxins out, especially after excessive ingestion of salt, sugar, and alcohol. Start every day with a tall glass of water or cup of tea, while trying to consume between 64 to 100 fluid ounces throughout the rest of the day. Your body is a machine and one of the best things for it is keeping up with hydration. Think of fluids as the coolant – you need them to assist all the working parts within your machine.

The next key factor is making sure that meal timing is consistent. Detox diets are all about getting your body back to neutral, so that you can begin introducing different types of food back into your diet without too much of a digestive reaction. A strong recommendation for a detox diet involves scheduling three meals a day, making sure that lunch is four hours after breakfast, and dinner between 6 and 7 in the evening. An afternoon snack is fine around 4, but make sure that it is light and “green,” preferably containing something like sea vegetables, probiotics, grasses, or enzymes, all known to aid with digestion, as well as setting your body up for successful digestion overnight.

Many experts recommend taking a multivitamin every day, while considering adding an omega-3 supplement with every meal, which can help reduce inflammation from ingesting something heavy and hard on your system. Try to avoid huge amounts of carbs, and stick to a strict schedule, filling up with protein and non-starchy vegetables. Maybe set a “cheat day,” where you are able to indulge in a small amount of something you wouldn’t otherwise eat during the detox. The key to consistently healthy eating is making sure that you never overdo it, even when you are technically “cheating.” Remember to enjoy the holidays, and indulge in moderation. New Year’s resolutions will be much easier to stick to if you start now. Your body will thank you for it!