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These top ten detox foods can help provide some great ideas on how to detox your body - they provide some of the best all round nutrients for a total body detox, and can easily be incorporated into a free detox diet plan. You can include them in part of a raw food detox diet, or juice them for some great tasting detox drinks. Organic is always better if you find them and afford them, but if not don't worry about it - non-organic fruits and veg are always a lot better than no fruit and veg at all. All these foods are a great way to build your own natural detox diet program. If you're just getting and looking for a total body detox, they can provide everything you need to create a healthy and tasty 7 day detox program. 1. An Apple A Day Keeps the Doc Away. Here's something you may not know - scientists in the Ukraine have used apples to purify the area around Chernobyl after the nuclear leak in 1986. So they must be good. Apples contain vitamin C and quercetin - an antioxidant nutrient that lowers fat and cholesterol levels. They also contain pectin - a fiber that is also found in citrus fruits, beets and berries. Pectin binds to heavy metals (like lead and mercury) in the colon and helps eliminate them from your body. It also helps your body excrete food additives and toxins, including tartrazine, which has been linked to conditions such as hyperactivity, migraine and asthma, particularly in children. 2. Avocados Avocados are a real powerhouse of nutrients - rich in folate, fiber, potassium, vitamin E and the carotenoid lutein, beta-carotene and gluthathione. Lutein may be linked to maintaining healthy eyes and vision. An avo is one of a small minority of fruits that actually contain monounsaturated fat. As with most functions within our bodies, as we age the levels of naturally occurring glutathione start to decrease. Apart from other things, this is one of the reasons hangovers get worse in our older years - as there's not as much glutathione to help eliminate the alcohol from the drink we consumed. Increased levels of glutathione have also been shown to improve overall health and help reduce conditions such as arthritis. 3. Artichokes - A Natural Liver Detoxer Artichokes are a great tasting zero-fat, zero-cholesterol veg that provide a wealth of vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals including vitamin A, B6, Niacin, folic acid, chromium, potassium, iron and calcium. One powerful detox benefit of artichokes is its ability to increase bile production in the liver. More bile means the body is able to transport more toxins to the bowel for excretion - so a great food for a natural liver detox. Two of the phytochemical compounds present in artichokes are cynarin and silymarin - these have powerful antioxidant powers and are believed to help regenerate tissue growth in the liver. 4. Beetroot Beetroot is another fat-free vegetable, with very low calorific content and very high fiber content. Throughout Europe, beetroot is seen as a powerful anti-carcinogen, and can help increase the amount of oxygen our bodies can absorb by up to 400%. The use of beetroot for health benefits dates back several thousand years - it was used in ancient Rome as a blood purifying tonic for a total body detox. It also has some chelation properties by binding with heavy metals. 5. Cruciferous or Brassica Vegetables The range of cruciferous vegetables are known to have anti-carcinogenic properties by helping our body to destroy carcinogens. These vegetables include Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Brussels Sprouts, Radishes, Cabbage, Watercress and several others. These vegetables contain a nutrient called glucosinolates, which help the liver to produce vital enzymes.
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Clare Denton manages a detox and cleansing site and shows people how to detox their body with simple tips for recipes for detox diets. You can easily detox your body with raw foods from your local supermarket. Body Detox Tips
