With 2018 drawing to a close, it’s an ideal time to think about the new year and what you want to bring into your life. Around this time, I like to open a new journal and write down my goals, my dreams and my aspirations for the coming year.
Here’s one affirmation that I have already made:
I am happy and I live a healthy lifestyle.
To make sure that I stick to this affirmation, and that my 2019 is, in fact, a healthy one, I will try to follow my own ‘top tips’ for ridding any Christmas bloat, detoxing and getting back on track so that I am fully energised for the winter months.
The start of a new year is a time when we start looking for opportunities to wipe the proverbial slate clean and make a fresh start. Our intentions for the next twelve months and beyond can range from jumping on a clean eating bandwagon, doing dry January, joining a gym, drinking more water, getting more sleep, or simply investing in ourselves a little more and making time to do what makes us truly happy. Whatever intentions we set, none of them are achievable if we don’t have our health. It’s the single most important thing in life. And good health begins in the gut. So, to optimise your digestive health this coming year, I have put together my top tips for detoxing and cleansing your system after the festive overload.
You will find these tips at the end of this article. The good news is that they are remarkably simple steps, and they will soon repair any damage done to your tummy, getting you back on the right track for the new year.
In addition to following my tips, you and your body can also get some much needed cleansing and healing by taking some of my Just For Tummies digestive health supplements – a combination of Live Bacteria probiotics, Digestive Enzymes, Garlic and Omega 3 will rebalance the digestive system and gut, and in turn, boost your overall wellbeing. These supplements can be found in my Perfect Balance Kit – the go-to complement to whatever kind of detox you undertake in January. For the whole of January, I will be offering 25% off the Perfect Balance Kit – so get your orders in and start 2019 as you mean to go on!
There are some other important supplements that pack an equally good punch when it comes to cleansing and revitalising the digestive system for a happier, healthier body – my Milk Thistle tablets have been a godsend for anyone who’s been out partying over the past few weeks. Traditionally used for over-indulgence, the tablets offer support for the liver, assisting in the breakdown of alcohol, leaving you feeling a lot less delicate the morning after. Not just a ‘party season’ remedy, Milk Thistle is also known for its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making it a great way to reduce visible signs of ageing and maintaining the health of your skin, eyes, joints and muscles. This supplement is also discounted at 25% off.
Charcoal is another great supplement to consider adding to your new year regimen. My Activated Charcoal capsules offer a potent natural way to absorb toxins and chemicals in the body and allow them to be flushed out. It’s a very effective way to alleviate bloating and excess, trapped wind. These are now £9.75 instead of £13.
One of the most common health problems that women in particular face each year are Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs). This is why I developed my For Women probiotics (containing the Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri strains of bacteria, which have been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of recurring UTIs) as a decrease in healthy vaginal flora can make it easier for the harmful bacteria which cause the UTI to thrive. Taking a probiotic can help rebalance the bacteria to protect from infection, and also help fight the candida yeasts which cause thrush. The New Year might just be the perfect time to start taking my For Women probiotics in order to kick the infections quickly and naturally, and prevent them returning once and for all.
Here’s to a year that brings us all good luck, good fortune, good times, and good digestive health!
Linda x
My top tips for detoxing and cleansing after Christmas
- Resting the organs through fasting
- Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body
- Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys, and skin
- Improving circulation of the blood
- Refuelling the body with essential nutrients
- First, lighten up your toxin load. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars, and saturated fats, all of which act as toxins in the body and are obstacles to your healing process. Also, minimise the use of chemical-based household cleaners and personal health care products (cleansers, shampoos, deodorants and toothpastes), and substitute natural alternatives.
- Eat plenty of fibre, including brown rice and organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Fibre is essential in detoxing as it helps to bind to toxins and excrete them. The last thing you want while detoxing is to be constipated as this allows for toxins to recirculate around the body. Fibre will help to prevent this.
- Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods. In particular the cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts) have excellent detoxifying benefits. Another great addition is Coriander, which acts as a chelating agent, dragging heavy metals out of the body.
- Take a vitamin C supplement, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins. Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant and detoxifier of every cell in your body. I recommend Altrient liposomal Vitamin C sachets.
- Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such as the Just For Tummies Milk Thistle, and drinking green tea. Another good supplement to take to help bind to toxins and help the bowel to eliminate them is the Just For Tummies Charcoal capsules.
- Dry-brush your skin every day, this helps to get the lymphatic system moving and stops it becoming stagnant and sluggish which helps to remove toxins.
- Boost your vitamin D levels to improve your immune system and mood; you can take a supplement, eat foods that are richest in vitamin D such as eggs and mushrooms, and expose your skin to any sunlight you can during the winter (often hard when we wrap ourselves up in scarves and hats and gloves) but at least try and obtain some on your face by not wearing an SPF moisturiser or makeup.
- Intermittent fasting – Try to rest your digestive system by finishing eating at 7pm in the evening and not having anything to eat until 9 or 10am the following day; this means that the digestive system has 14+ hours of rest to do its housekeeping. When you do eat the next day, start off by drinking warm lemon and ginger water 30 minutes before you eat solid food or alternatively a Just For Tummies tea full of cleansing herbs and spices. If you can manage on a juice first thing until lunch time then this would be a great way of cleansing the system further, and flooding it with nutrients and vitamins to aid the liver in processing toxins with minimal work required by the digestive system. If you feel too hungry to manage with just a juice in the morning then that’s OK, it doesn’t suit everyone. In this case you can fit your juice in as a snack later in the day, and start your day with a cleansing vegetable broth, a smoothie or some quinoa porridge.
- Decrease large amounts of animal protein as this is hard for the body to break down and process. Instead include vegetable sources of protein and invest in a vegan protein powder in order to consume enough protein. Protein is important in liver detoxification however it is important to consume the right type of protein and not bombard the digestive system with red meat that is acidic and difficult to break down.
- Bathe in Epsom salts. The magnesium in the salts is taken up trans-dermally and it helps the liver to work optimally. It is also responsible for the muscle action of the bowels, preventing constipation. The sulphur element of the salts draws toxins out from the body.
