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During any fast exceeding two days, your stomach will shrink. Do not over-expand it again by overeating. If you have been prone to eating too heavily, guard against going back to this habit. If you train yourself to eat more lightly, your stomach will adjust itself accordingly. While continuing to drink fruit or vegetable juices, add the following:
1st–3rd day after the fast (increase amount of days for extended fast): Eat fruit and raw/steamed vegetables only. Example meals for the first few days are a pound of fruit, a baked or boiled potato without butter, steamed vegetables, or a vegetable-only salad without oil-based dressing. Avoid bananas for the first few days; they have no juice in them and can easily cause constipation. Thereafter, you may return to heavier foods such as animal proteins but maintaining a healthy diet after the fast will promote lifelong health and allow you to fast correctly in the future. Take extra care in breaking a water fast. Begin with drinking fruit or vegetable juices and gradually ease into eating fruit and steamed vegetables. It is important after a fast to begin to discern between real hunger and cravings, so you do not feed your cravings.
Listed are Some Benefits for Detoxing:
1. Eliminating Toxins from Foods, Beverages and Hygiene Products Natural
Beauty Products -
Out of the many toxins we are exposed to daily that you have little to no control over, such as environmental toxins in the air you breathe, toxins that come from the food and beverages, you consume are largely controllable. Many health experts agree that toxic load (the amount of toxins our body is able to handle) is responsible for a considerable amount of diseases in modern day society. Buying organic produce (fruits and vegetables), along with organic and grass-fed meat and wild fish, seriously decreases the amount of toxins you take in on a day to day basis. Personal hygiene and home care products are often laden with toxic chemicals that can be harmful to our health. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) offers a comprehensive list of which companies use toxic ingredients, and which do not. Simply cutting these toxins out offers huge health benefits.
2. Increased Energy Throughout the Day -
While a detox diet might cause some fatigue early on (mainly for those who had a diet high in toxins beforehand), countless people report feeling improved and more sustained energy during and after a detox diet. A major part of any good detox should be adequate hydration with clean water, and studies show that even mild dehydration (a fluid loss of under 3%), frequently causes headaches, anxiety, mood disorders and decreased cognitive performance.
3. Resetting your Food Choices –
The number one goal of a high-quality detox plan should be long-term, sustainable change. By undergoing a detox diet, you will not only be supporting your bodies detoxification pathways (as discussed above), but you will be resetting the way you eat, and the choices you make. Researchers conducted a study at UCLA concluded that dieting does not work, based on the fact that the vast majority of dieters gain back all of the weight (if not more) within a maximum of five years’ time (nonetheless often less), and that many actually would have been better off without dieting, in the first place. This means that an effective detox diet aimed at cutting out toxic foods and controlling cravings can significantly help in changing your habits in the long term. Find ways to bring the pendulum toward equilibrium and rest. Make efforts toward healing your relationship with food by practicing these tips. Find a place where you feel you’re in a comfortable balance between undereating and overeating; and learn to make peace with food in a way that’s right for you. Your body and mind will thank you.
4. Controlling Cravings –
It is a myth that cravings are controllable with just ill-power alone. Emotions may also be involved in producing a food craving, especially if a person eats for comfort. Every person experience craving’s differently. Cravings are often for junk foods and processed foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. Food cravings are a major roadblock for people trying to maintain a healthy weight or switch to a more healthful diet. Cravings are based in hormonal imbalances and need to be addressed and controlled as such. An imbalance of hormones, such as leptin and serotonin, can also cause food cravings. It is also possible that food cravings are due to endorphins that are released into the body after someone has eaten, which mirrors an addiction. Cravings significantly impact binge eating and weight gain, and a smart detox plan can nip them in the bud. Hunger and thirst can produce very similar sensations in the mind, causing it to become confused. One of the easiest ways to reduce food cravings is to make sure the body is hydrated throughout the day.
5. Curbing Food Addiction –
Like addictive drugs, highly palatable foods trigger feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine. Compulsive overeating is a type of behavioral addiction meaning that someone can become preoccupied with a behavior (such as eating, or gambling, or shopping) that triggers intense pleasure. Food addiction is serious business and is more than just your standard food cravings. Like any alcohol or drug addiction, people who are more biochemically prone to addiction can become addicted to food, and junk food manufacturers take full advantage of this by placing chemically addictive substances in their products. For individuals with a high level of dopamine receptors, they can become addicted to food just as they would get addicted to a drug, as modern-day junk foods create a surge of dopamine to be released in the brain. A detox diet that focuses on eliminating addictive foods and chemicals can greatly support recovering from a food addiction. Dietary changes mixed with certain herbs and supplements can be especially effective. Although, addiction is serious and should not be confused with less problematic cravings.
6. Giving your Body the Micronutrients it
Needs –
A diet rich in nutrients is essential to optimal health. The body is an amazing thing with the ability to regulate an unthinkable number of processes 24/7, however certain nutrients are vital to allowing this. There are two types of nutrients, macronutrients and micronutrients. Micronutrients are nutrients that our bodies require in relatively small amounts, and yet they play a very large role. These include things like vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients are nutrients we need in small quantities. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids are all micronutrients. They occur naturally in whole foods and they play a central role in metabolism and the maintenance of tissue function. It is important to keep in mind that they occur in different balances and varieties depending on which foods they come from. It is also important to distinguish micronutrients from macronutrients. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fat. They are called macro–nutrients because our bodies require them in relatively large (gram) amounts. Micronutrient deficiency is one of the leading causes of disease and even mortality. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out some of the most common links, such as iron deficiency and anemia, iodine deficiency and thyroid conditions, vitamin A deficiency and degenerative eye disease, and zinc deficiency and respiratory and other immune conditions. By undergoing a diet centered around nutrient dense superfoods and beverages, you will be ensuring that your body gets the essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants it needs for optimal health. And, many micronutrients are absolutely necessary for the bodies detoxification pathways to function properly.
7. Managing Stress –
Cortisol is our main stress hormone released during times of acute and chronic stress. When levels are higher than normal over a long period of time, this can cause a host of problems, including decreased liver function. By focusing on a detox diet high in blood sugar balancing foods, you will hormonally help to regulate cortisol levels, therefore actually working to manage stress on a chemical level. In conclusion, embarking on some whole foods-based detox program can have massive health benefits. Increased energy, reduced cravings and lowered stress levels are just some of the many ways you will leave your detox diet feeling better. And remember, the mark of a truly successful detox is that you are set on the path of positive and long-term change. As, we progress through 2019, there are two that I personally highly recommend too kick start your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well–being.