5 Naturally Cleansing Foods

Although detoxes and cleanses haven’t proven to have long term health benefits, it doesn’t hurt to do a little “reset” on your body from time to time. For example, if you’ve had a few weeks of mostly unhealthy eating due to life stressors and are feeling sluggish because of it. There’s nothing wrong with giving your body a little TLC from the inside out with healthy foods that will benefit you in the long run.  After all, if your organs are not functioning at their peak, you won’t be able to either. Check out the nutritious foods you should be adding into your diet daily to keep your system healthy and balanced.

Berries 

Whether you like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries, they are an excellent form of antioxidants. They have plenty of Vitamin E and C and have been proven to benefit your cardiovascular system, prevent cancer, and other diseases. Studies have even found that women especially see major benefits from eating berries. Over 93,600 women signed up for the Nurses’ Health Study at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, which observed their diets over a course of 18 years. The results showed that women who ate three or more servings of berries a week were 34 percent less likely to get a heart attack than women who ate the least of these fruits. Berries are also the perfect snack to have daily as other research has discovered that phytochemicals found in berries can keep the brain healthy. That means they can help reduce your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even Parkinson’s Disease. wp_*posts

Cruciferous Vegetables 

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage are all cruciferous vegetables that you should make sure are part of your home-cooked meals. Studies have found that eating them on the regular prevents colorectal, liver, lung, and breast cancer. Scientists at the University of Illinois conducted an experiment on the benefits broccoli has on a liver diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) disease.

Scientists were inspired by previous research that suggests that broccoli contains bioactive compounds, which may stop the accumulation of fat in the liver. They tested their experiment on different groups of mice placed on a Westernized diet, high in fat and sugar. Some were fed a Westernized diet without broccoli, and others were placed on the same diet with broccoli. The results showed that the mice developed many cancer nodules that increased in size in the liver, but decreased after eating broccoli. If broccoli alone can have this positive affect on mice, imagine the benefits it can have on your liver if you include it in your meal prep weekly!

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Tomatoes 

If you are a smoker trying to quit or were a smoker, you’ll want to add tomatoes to your diet. An Aging Lungs in European Cohorts (ALEC) Study discovered that eating tomatoes and fruits twice a day slows down the natural decline of lung function, but it also seems to reverse any damage caused from former smoking. The findings are especially important to those who are at risk of developing respiratory diseases. So regardless if you’re a non-smoker or former smoker, make sure to add tomatoes, apples, and other fruits to your grocery list to keep those lungs healthy and clean. 

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Ginger 

Ward off diabetes by maintaining a healthy consumption of ginger in your diet. Ginger has been used previously for medicinal purposes such as to calm upset stomachs, indigestion, nausea, the common cold, and more. Now a 2015 study revealed further proof that ginger’s components can help manage Type 2 diabetes and even lowers fasting blood glucose concentrations. Add ginger to tea, your homemade meals, or even salad dressings to get your daily recommended dose. 

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Leafy greens 

Often times it’s your gut that tells you if your body needs a diet reset. Get your body back in check by adding some leafy greens to your plate. Greens such as spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and others have been found to improve your gut health by promoting good gut bacteria. Researchers in the U.K. discovered that an enzyme in the good bacteria thrives off of a specific sugar that only leafy greens produce. In other words, by feeding your gut the good stuff, you’re blocking off bad bacteria from forming because the good version is outnumbering it. Not to mention, leafy greens have also been known to keep your brain healthy by warding off dementia. So make sure to pile up a big salad next to your meals daily if you want to keep your digestive track and overall system in tip top shape.