Feel you need a detox?

Have you overdone it this Christmas? I suspect we all have to a certain degree. So start thinking about a detox.

Maybe it’s too many chocolates, too much Christmas pud or we couldn’t bring ourselves to put the crisps and endless nibbles away. Christmas was only a few days ago but I bet many of us have felt in need of a snap detox to get our sluggish bodies back in order. If you spare time to stop and think, you will find that by understanding a little about how your body works will make the whole detox thing a lot easier.

 

Let’s start with digestion.

In Chinese medicine, the stomach (and spleen) energy needs to be good to be able to digest food and get good quality energy from it. If you start overloading your stomach with rich food or more than you are used to eating, then the stomach will struggle, its energy levels will dip and your ability to digest food properly will crawl to a snail’s pace. Bloating, feeling full, indigestion, constipation and feeling lethargic are all symptoms of this starting to happen. Definitely that Christmas ‘overindulged’ feeling.

The easiest way to get back on track is to give your stomach food that it finds easy to digest. Lighten its load a little and you’ll soon be feeling much better.

First, reduce the size of the meals you are eating and stick to warm cooked foods that are easy to digest. The obvious choices are fish and lean cooked meat with lots of vegs. Try and avoid rice, pasta or potatoes if you, can as they can add to the bloated feeling. Cold or raw food, such as salads can be hard to digest by a stomach lacking energy, as are dairy-based foods such as cheese or yoghurt so it’s best to stay clear of those until your digestion is on the road to recovery.

See, it’s not as hard as you thought it would be, is it?