Hello Spring!
As equinox is happening this Sunday, 23rd, we are officially in Spring…yay! With temperature rising we finally want to spend more time outdoors and the topic of cleansing is on many a mind! Do you need to cleanse? How do you cleanse? Let’s have a look at the Chinese medicine view on cleansing.
In Chinese medicine, a healthy digestive system is the key to overall health. You want it to work smoothly so that it produces the energy that you need for your daily active life. In clinical practice, however, we see a lot of issues with weight gain, bloating, mood, pains and aches and skin disorders – signs that the ‘body’s middle’ is not working properly and which can be addressed by your diet.
Most importantly, we believe our stomach needs warmth to operate well. Cleansing through juicing and nibbling on raw foods are what we consider cold energy and can be hard to digest – which may further upset your tummy. The stomach also dislikes being overly filled and struggles with greasy and sugary foods.
If you’re thinking about welcoming Spring with a digestive boost and sugar detox, here are 7 simple steps to enhance that digestive fire!
1) Start the day with a cup of hot water
2) Followed by a warm breakfast a bit later, think outside the box and integrate soups and green veggies.
3) Make sure you are having enough protein in the morning and during, which can avoid sugar cravings (organic eggs, legumes).
4) Remove all the simple carbs from your diet, i.e. bread, pasta, white rice etc.
5) Put away all the sugars, including the ‘healthy’ ones. Instead keep the whole grains and beans and root veggies as your valuable source of carbohydrates.
6) Eat plenty of greens throughout your week (blanch them, steam them, enjoy them stir-fried).
7) Snack on nuts, roasted pumpkin and oven veggies if cravings occur.
Also remember to exercise 2-3 times a week. Don’t have time for this? Find ways to integrate a 30 min walk into your day, skip the elevator, do 10 min of moving exercises in the morning and 10 min before bed time.
Recent Comments