Internal Spring Cleansing

Lots of people work on their self development. They read books, go on workshops, participate in seminars, and work hard on their mental attitude, to boost their careers, self esteem or relationships.

But many don’t stop to think about putting the same effort into helping their body perform better.

It’s difficult to be all fired up and enthusiastic about new projects if you don’t feed or exercise your body properly, so that it ends up under par and lacking in energy. Now that Spring is here, why not take some time to consider giving your body a bit of a boost?

As a nutritional therapist, I see lots of clients who could benefit from a Spring clean of their bodies they’re suffering with low energy in energy, dull skin, sluggish bowels… not good. Now is an ideal time of year to think about what you can do to help your body spring into better health.

That doesn’t have to mean a proper detox there’s plenty you can do on a regular basis to have an internal Spring clean, and put a spring in your step!

Five Steps To Internal Spring Cleansing

1. Drink lots of water – for healthy skin, guts and mind

Water is vitally important on any plan to spring clean your body – it has to be. When we want to clean the outsides of our bodies, water is involved.

Your insides are no different. Water is needed for your guts to function properly and if they’re not working, you won’t get too far with the rest of your Spring cleaning!

People who drink more water report glowing skin. Furthermore, just a small degree of dehydration can lead to brain fog and lack of energy. Keep a large bottle of water on your desk, and make sure you drink it all!

2. Take a good quality probiotic – keep your insides healthy

Those cute little bacteria that live in everyone’s guts play a vital role in our health. They keep bad bacteria at bay, keep the gut walls healthy and help our immune system, amongst other things.

They can easily come under fire, however, from stress, use of the contraceptive pill, antibiotics, and many other factors. To keep yours working well, consider taking a good quality probiotic supplement for a couple of months.

I don’t mean commercial yoghurt style drinks – they tend to be full of sugar and have the wrong sort of bacteria in. Go to your local health food shop and get a supplement, either in capsule or powder form, which has at least 2 billion of the little critters in. Take it regularly – your insides will thank you for it.

3. Up your intake of fruit, vegetables and fibre–rich foods

Now I know you’ve heard this all before, but it can’t be said often enough – fruit, vegetables and wholegrain foods are where the healthy stuff’s at.

For anyone wanting an internal cleanse, they’re full of fibre, which acts a bit like a broom in your guts, to put it crudely. Low fibre diets lead to constipation – and it’s well nigh impossible to have an internal spring cleanse if you just can’t go to the loo!

Aim for 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day at the very least, more if you can. Switch to wholegrain bread, rice and pasta – they’re much tastier, and you’ll notice a difference in the toilet! As you increase your fibre intake, up your water intake as well, to keep it all moving along nicely.

4. Make sure you get enough essential fatty acids and other nutrients

There’s no point getting your guts, skin etc all healthy and spring cleaned if your head’s feeling woolly. Many people don’t eat enough essential fatty acids – the good fats found in oily fish, nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables.

These fats are vital for good brain function, but will also benefit your skin and joints too. B vitamins are essential for energy levels, both mental and physical, and yet are quickly reduced by factors such as stress.

Take a good quality multivitamin and mineral (you get what you pay for here – don’t go for the cheapies) to help boost your energy levels and make you want to leap into Spring!

5. Reduce convenience foods and meat

I know we all lead busy lives, but convenience foods can’t feature heavily on the menu of anyone seriously wanting to give their bodies a Spring clean.

Despite the hype that’s starting to appear on the manufacturers’ packaging (“Low fat!” “Good for you!”) they’re still full of additives and often too high in fat, salt and sugar. Try cooking more meals from scratch – there’s plenty of cookbooks for those who need to cook meals quickly and without fuss. Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean hours in the kitchen, cooking complicated stuff. It’s possible to get a healthy meal, cooked from scratch, on the table in 30 minutes and in many cases in less time than that.

Meat isn’t good for anyone wanting an internal Spring clean either. It’s tough for the body to digest, so takes ages to move through the gut, and there’s no fibre in it – heavy meat eaters often suffer bad constipation. Switch to other protein sources – fish, nuts, Quorn, tofu – or reduce the quantities of meat that you serve up and pile more vegetables on your plate instead. People who reduce their meat intake often report significant improvements in their health.

This article was written by Maggie Nutt , a qualified nutritionist and Health Coach.