BANISH BLOAT, BOOST ENERGY AND BANISH STARVATION
CLEANSES FOREVER WITH THIS TWO-WEEK PLAN THAT
LEVERAGES REAL FOOD AS YOUR INTERNAL DETERGENT.
CLEANSES SOUND APPEALING, WE’LL GIVE YOU THAT.
But while the thought of rapid weight loss and ridding your
body of circulating toxins seems magical and healing, fact is you
may be doing more harm than good. Here’s why.
SOCIETY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB
of convincing us that we are walking toxic dumps — our systems
replete with scary elements from non-organic foods, environmental
pollution, artificial additives and sundry chemical compounds. These
undesirable toxins wreak havoc on our health, bodyweight and energy
levels, and the only definitive solution for expelling them is a cleanse.
Right? Meh – not so much. To date, there is no scientific research that
supports the efficacy of a purging cleanse, and moreover there’s no
data that reveals that these supposed lawless “toxins” even exist. True,
a cleanse may help some people feel better initially — especially if
their diet was filled with processed, high-calorie foods — and some
people may experience a rapid drop in scale weight, but both these
benefits are temporary.
Most cleanses or detox diets essentially starve your body of the
essential nutrients and calories it needs, eliminating nearly all food
groups and relegating you to handfuls of supplements, oddball
drinks, laxative teas or even enemas. But no matter who you are,
after a few days of severe calorie restriction, your energy will tank
and fatigue will set in.
As for the weight loss, sorry to say it’s all water: When you
eliminate carbs from your diet, your body releases the intercellular
water that is used to metabolize those calories, hence you drop a
few pounds. However, continued calorie restriction means eventual
catabolism — in which your body uses your muscles for fuel — so
while you might finish a cleanse weighing less, you’re probably still
carrying around the same amount of body fat but now have less
muscle, causing a drop in metabolism.
AU NATUREL
Fortunately, these kinds of cleanses are an unnecessary experience
because you were born with two corporeal cleansing tools — your
liver and your kidneys. Your liver converts toxins like alcohol, heavy
metals and medications into harmless substances. Those substances
then travel to your kidneys, which filter your blood, remove wastes
and expel them as urine. Frequent urination means you’re effectively
detoxing yourself on the reg — no nasty beverages required.
That being said, you can help your organs function at their best,
and a number of foods, herbs and spices have been shown to assist
your liver and kidneys in doing their jobs. (See the “Superstar
Sustenance” sidebar ) This two-week meal plan is replete
with these foodstuffs, and these purifying recipes will make you feel
lighter, healthier and more energetic than ever.
TURMERIC CHICKEN FARRO SOUP
MAKES 8 servings (1 serving = 1.5 cups) INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
4 large carrots, peeled and
cubed
4 large celery stalks, diced
4 cups cooked chicken breast,
chopped or shredded
4 cups low-sodium chicken
broth
1½ cups kale, roughly chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 cup dry farro
½ tsp ground black pepper,
or to taste
1 tsp salt, or to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large pot over
medium-high heat. Add
onions, carrots and celery and
season with salt and pepper.
Saute until softened, about
5 minutes. Add remaining
ingredients, except farro, and
bring to a boil. Rinse farro, then
add to soup and return to a
boil. Reduce heat to a simmer,
cover and cook until farro is
tender, about 15 minutes. Add
salt and pepper (to taste)
and serve.
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
calories 356, fat 8 g, protein
42 g, sodium 176 mg, carbs
27 g, fiber 6 g, sugar 3 g
GRILLED ARTICHOKES
MAKES 2 servings INGREDIENTS
2 large artichokes
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Trim ends off artichokes and
then slice in half lengthwise. Fill
a large bowl with cold water
and add lemon juice. Place
artichokes in water to prevent
browning. Bring a large pot of
water to a boil and preheat the
grill. Add artichokes to boiling
water and cook 15 minutes.
Drain and set aside. Brush
artichokes with olive oil and
season with salt and pepper
(to taste). Place artichokes
facedown on grill and cook until
lightly charred, 5 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
calories 141, fat 7 g, protein
5 g, sodium 447 mg, carbs 18 g,
fiber 9 g, sugar 2 g
GRAPEFRUIT TURMERIC SMOOTHIE
MAKES 1 serving
INGREDIENTS
1 grapefruit, peeled and seeded
½ tsp turmeric
½ cup frozen mango
1 (5.6 ounce) container plain
nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tsp honey
½ cup nonfat milk of choice,
more if needed
DIRECTIONS
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Nutrition Facts: calories 310, fat
1 g, protein 25 g, sodium 118 mg,
carbs 54 g, fiber 5 g, sugar 42 g
CRUNCHY KALE DETOX SALAD
MAKES 2 servings INGREDIENTS
4 cups kale, chopped
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, diced
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
½ avocado, diced
½ apple, cored and diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Toss all ingredients in a bowl and
enjoy.
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
calories 420, fat 27 g, protein 14 g,
sodium 767 mg, carbs 42 g, fiber
16 g, sugar 16 g
PINEAPPLE
CRANBERRY
HIBISCUS DETOX
SMOOTHIE
MAKES 1 serving
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup water
1 bag Lipton berry hibiscus tea
½ cup frozen cranberries
½ cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 (5.6 oz ) container plain
nonfat Greek yogurt
handful ice
DIRECTIONS
Steep tea 3 minutes in boiling
water. Allow tea to cool to room
temperature. Add tea and all
remaining ingredients to a
blender and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Facts: calories 158, fat
1 g, protein 17 g, sodium 59 mg,
carbs 23 g, fiber 3 g, sugar 15 g
UPERSTAR SUSTENANCE Help your
system function at its best by including these food items
in your daily regimen.
1 | APPLES 2 | ARTICHOKES 3 | AVOCADO
Pectin, a soluble fiber Two flavonoids found Not only do the
found in apple peels, in artichokes are liver healthy fats in
indirectly promotes superstars: Cynarin avocados help
positive kidney health stimulates bile increase bile
by helping control production, aiding production and
blood sugar; high in the digestion of improve waste removal, but their
blood sugar can have fats and absorption high levels of
damaging effects on of vitamins and potassium also
the kidneys. Whole, minerals, while helps combat fatty
raw organic apples silymarin protects the liver disease and allows your kidneys
with untainted peels liver from free-radical to maintain your
are your best bet. damage. electrolyte and acid
base balance.
4 | CRANBERRY 5 | CRUCIFEROUS
JUICE VEGGIES
Cranberries contain Cruciferous vegetables
proanthocyanidins, contain glucosinolates,
powerful antioxidants compounds that
preventing bacteria enhance the body’s
from attaching ability to neutralize
to your digestive carcinogens, helping
tract, protecting prevent cancer. Eat
your kidneys from plenty of broccoli,
infection. Eight cauliflower, cabbage
ounces of juice daily is or Brussels sprouts to
all you need to reap combat the big C.
the benefits.
6 | GRAPEFRUIT
Naringin, a powerful
flavonoid in grapefruit,
may help control
inflammation in the
body, and a study
published in the
journal Life Sciences
found that naringin
helps regulate alcohol
metabolism to assist
with liver health. It is
also high in pectin,
a fiber which sort of
“sticks” to toxins in the
blood and eliminates
them through urine.
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