5 Tips to Help You Detox After the Holidays

As the dust settles on all the holiday soirées — and after all the canapes — boost your body’s natural detoxification with these five healthful tips and some self-care swag.

1. Eat: Feeling over-stuffed? Bitter-tasting foods like arugula, kale and rapini stimulate digestion and can help alleviate gas and bloating. They also contain sulfur-based compounds that support the liver — the body’s primary detoxifier — and are said to help curb sugar cravings.

And if your resolution for 2020 is to jump on the plant-based diet wagon — or just to dip your toe into the pond — The How Not To Die Cookbook tops lists still after its 2017 release. A companion to Dr. Michael Greger’s 2015 bestseller How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease, it’s choke-full of plant-based meal, snack and beverage recipes that promise to be good for you and taste good, too.

2. Rest: Not only does a good night’s rest give your brain and body time to recharge, the more uninterrupted sleep we get the more time your liver has to do its job of filtering waste and toxins. And, studies show that good quality sleep can help protect against cognitive decline.

Tip: Whether it’s a pillowcase or a set of pyjamas, silk is naturally temperature-regulating and gentler on skin and hair (bye bye morning skin creases and frizzy do’s). Silk eye mask, clique.com

3. Hydrate: Staying hydrated is important for detoxification as water helps transport waste out of our body by way of urination, breath and sweat. Also, try teas such as fennel, mint, dandelion and green as a nutrient-packed diuretic that also help flush toxins. Bjorn steeped tea set, shopviva.com

4. Cleanse: Purify the body’s largest detoxification organ – the skin – with a regimen that includes regular exfoliation. And don’t forget to give the air you breathe a good “scrub,” too. Indoor air pollution has been linked to headaches, respiratory problems, frequent colds and sore throats, chronic cough, skin rashes, eye irritation, lethargy, dizziness and even memory lapses. Pure Cool Me personal purifying fan, dyson.com5. Exercise: Work up a sweat; it helps rid the body of impurities as well as toxins stored in the fatty tissue burned off by aerobic activity. Plus, by reducing inflammation, exercise also helps the body function properly — and that includes our natural detox processes. The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines say we should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic activity per week, in very doable bouts of 10 minutes or more. Track your progress with the Fitbit Versa smartwatch, indigo.ca

RELATED:

DNA Tests Are Fun Gifts, But Be Aware of Accuracy and Privacy Concerns

Recipes From Chef Anjum Anand’s Book “Eat Right for Your Body Type”