With spring around the corner, we’re shifting our focus to detoxification. Think of it as a spring cleaning for your body. Over the course of the winter, many of us are eating heavier foods due to seasonal availability and may be leading a more sedentary lifestyle. A spring detox helps to give your system a healthy boost. Once your cleanse is over, you will feel refreshed, energetic, and ready for summer!
There are different types of detox guidelines out there. Before you start a restrictive detox, you should consult with your doctor. Eliminating processed foods and refined sugars, and choosing whole foods is a great way to safely detox your system. Removing toxins and artificial ingredients from your diet will allow your body to do its job more efficiently.
There are many ways herbs can help the detoxification process that your body does naturally. Here are 10 detoxifying herbs to add to your detox routine. All are best consumed as a tea, by putting 1 heaping teaspoon per 8-10 oz of boiling water, and leaving the herb to infuse in water for 5-10 minutes. The longer it sits, the more effect it will have. Note that the longer it sits, the less unpleasant the flavour in most cases. Feel free to add other ingredients to help with the flavour, like a cinnamon stick or dash of lemon. Anything that complies with the guidelines of your detox. Don’t forget to cover the brew while infusing.
1. Burdock root
Burdock is a strong tasting, bitter herb. Bitter ingredients are typically diuretics, which means they help fluids pass through the body faster. Eliminating toxins through urine.
2. Milk thistle seed
Shanti Tea offers milk thistle seed and the leaf, and you could certainly do a mixture of both. The seed has been used for the treatment of diabetes, because of the benefits it has on the liver and gallbladder. It has shown to protect the liver from damage, and aid in the liver’s glucose metabolism, lowering blood sugar. Since the liver is the bodies best detoxification organ, any ingredient which helps the liver helps detoxification overall.
3. Stinging Nettle
Nettle leaf has a mild, sweet, slightly grassy flavour. It is great in a tea, but it can also be steamed and added to salads and soups. Be careful, dried nettle leaf will still have little stinging hairs in it!
Nettle leaf is high in iron and vitamin C. It helps the kidneys to eliminate waste, and it supports various processes of detoxification in the liver.
4. Dandelion
Dandelion is another mildly flavoured herb. You can buy fresh dandelion greens at many supermarkets, or look at your backyard in the summer and spring. The entire plant is edible, flowers, shoots, roots and leaves. Dandelion root offers more diuretic action than the rest of the plant does.
5. Spirulina
Rich in antioxidants, chlorophyll, protein, iron, B-vitamins, calcium and other essential nutrients, spirulina is an excellent addition to your regular diet. It has a really strong aroma and flavour, so we recommend our Green Balance Alkalizing powder which contains spirulina. Don’t infuse into hot water and risk the damage of nutrients that may be caused by adding heat to spirulina.
6. Turmeric root
Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and contains high levels of antioxidants. The active ingredient is curcumin, which stimulates the flow of bile from the gallbladder. Bile is essential to flush out harmful toxins. Make sure to consume turmeric with black pepper because black pepper helps to activate curcumin and release many healthful benefits of turmeric root. Shanti Tea also offers cut turmeric pieces, excellent for using to create your own blends or try our anti-inflammatory blend called Vitality.
7. Green tea
Green tea is a metabolic booster, full of antioxidants, and a diuretic. It helps all sorts of bodily functions and is great for detoxification.
8. Red clover
Aids in blood purification and also helps to stimulate bile production, red clover has the ability to remove heavy metals and chemical toxins from the body. Red clover is also a source of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, C, B, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosphorous.
9. Ginger root
We love ginger. Not only does it taste great and add flavour to sweet and savoury foods and beverages, it also aids in digestion. Compounds called “gingerols” are stimulants, and help to speed the movement of food through the digestive system.
10. Mullein leaf
Mullein is an expectorant, meaning that it makes you cough. This herb is often used for a lung detox because coughing helps to clear the lungs. We especially recommend mullein for those who have recently quit smoking to help clear tar from the lungs. Studies have shown that mullein can help to expel bacteria and parasites.
You can use any of the ten listed herbs above to aid in your next detox, or try our blend called Pure Infusion, created by our in-house naturopathic doctor with ingredients to aid in detoxification: burdock, yellow dock, red clover, dandelion leaf, schisandra berries lemongrass and natural lemon essence. A word of warning, this blend is designed for function, the flavour is bitter and tart. As mentioned before, bitterness aids in the detoxification process.
Are you a business owner?
If you are looking for ways to use detoxification as a promotional tool for your business, please get in touch with us! Offering detoxifying foods and beverages on restaurant menus, incorporating detoxifying herbs into your tea menu, or creating other unique products or programs to aid in detoxification is great for your business and your customers’ health. Email info@shantitea.ca to learn more.
