Taking it easy

I must apologise to the London NITC readers for pretty much inviting todays rain with my talk of summery weather! This certainly feels like the wettest June I've experienced and the idea of sunning myself in a bikini feels months off (not two weeks .. aargh!). So whilst I actually feel like eating hot comfort food I have to keep my focus and stay healthy so I don't have a nasty shock when I find myself in a hot country where only a pair of shorts and a vest top will do!!

So having had my detox dinner it's time to suggest another way to ease yourself into detox. Certainly the most painful part for most people is cutting out the toxins ... tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar etc. ... but more on that later. Instead a nice way to ease into a detox is to start by increasing your intake of liver supportive foods as well as eating lots of veggies and drinking lots of water, and then once you've got all that in place start cutting out the bad stuff.

Here are my top detox foods and easy ways to add them into your diet in preparation for a full detox:

Grapefruit/lemon/lime - all stimulating for the liver, have the juice of half a lemon or a whole lime in water in the morning before breakfast or eat half a grapefruit, no sugar added.

Ginger - another liver stimulant. Add grated ginger to a stir fry, juice ginger root along with fruit or veg, add powdered ginger to your muesli, porridge or stir into your herbal tea.

Dandelion tea or coffee - very supportive for detoxification, so great when you're going through a detox to relieve detox headaches or brainfog, but also good whenever you've had a heavy night or a heavy meal.

Cruciferous vegetables - rich in sulphur, an important input into the detoxification biochemical pathways. Cruciferous vegetables have leaves that grow in a cross such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale or spring greens

Garlic, asparagus, eggs or onions are also sulphur rich foods

Glutathione rich vegetables - avocado, walnuts and tomatoes - these must all be eaten raw as cooking damages glutathione which is a powerful antioxidant used in the detoxification process

Coriander - helps the body detoxify heavy metals such as mercury (important if you've had mercury fillings put in or removed), can be added chopped and fresh into salads or stir fries adding a wonderful fresh flavour