Detox Your Kitchen
Spring is the time of year I get inspired to do a deep clean, open all the windows in the house, and breathe in the fresh air and sunshine. It is also a time when people are thinking about doing some deeper internal cleansing and wondering about detox protocols. Our bodies are already equipped to detox 24 hours a day, with nighttime sleep having the highest potential for rest and repair but it is nice to give your body a break to reset your health. Below are some general guidelines that apply to almost everyone.
Start with your pantry.
Look at your fridge, freezer, and dry pantry and apply some of my favorite rules taken from the Pantry Principle by Mira Dessy. She cautions not to eat food if it comes with an ingredient label that includes:
words that you cannot pronounce
have more than four syllables, are preceded by the word “enriched”
contain all capital letters like BHT
Also, if the ingredient includes a number like red#2 or ends in “a-t-e,” don’t e-a-t it. These red flags indicate foods with damaging petrochemicals found to be carcinogenic, have endocrine-disrupting capabilities, and don’t belong on your plate, much less in your body. Please be sure to nix anything with high-fructose corn syrup or that has been treated with an herbicide containing glyphosate. You may be surprised to find a higher percentage of these foods lurking around your kitchen and pantry than you thought, so clean them out.
Cooking methods, food storage, and kitchen equipment are just as important as your ingredient list.
The debate over the use of microwave ovens as a safe cooking method is still going around, but they are off my list for safe methods of food preparation; especially when they are used to reheat leftovers in plastic containers or to heat infant formula or milk. For leftover meals, choose glass containers, reusable or compostable bags - BPA-free ones. Also, choose stainless steel over aluminum for your pots and pans whenever possible. Heavy metals that make it into your system vai non-stick coating are hard to get out and overburden your internal organs; especially the liver and the brain.
Now that the kitchen has been detoxed, let’s take a quick look at the body.
Whatever detox method you are choosing, water will play an integral role across the board. Water plays numerous important roles in the body:
improving oxygen delivery to cells
transporting nutrients
removing waste
flushing toxins
moistening oxygen for easier breathing
empowering natural healing processes.
The list is long but not comprehensive for the purposes of this article. While in the United States, the majority of us are fortunate to be able to turn on the faucet and get water whenever we want, tap water is not the best option for consumption. It is chlorinated to kill off the detrimental bacteria and keep us safe from infectious disease but it also kills off the beneficial gut bacteria that keep us healthy. You can have your water checked and maybe look into getting a filter. I use a Berkey filter in my home and my kids can taste the difference. A clean water source should also contain a balance of minerals and electrolytes, this will help with improving cell‐to‐cell communications and waste removal.
Water is the most important nutrient in the body and one that our body does not store so replenishing is crucial.
Foodie tip: eating a lot of dried food taxes your internal water supply while freshly prepared soups and herbal teas are hydrating as well as nutrient-dense. You can pair a soup with a bitter green salad to stimulate the liver and aid digestion.