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People might think that detox should be done only when something is wrong. I have wondered why this is a popular opinion, and it surprises me that we often believe that we have to wait until something is wrong before we decide to fix it.
Here’s my little sermon to you on detox: Just like we do our oil change, tire rotation, and regular maintenance of a machine (car) that takes us from point A to point B; how much more should we develop the habit of proper maintenance of our physical body?
Health is wealth – they say. When you think about the cost of prevention versus the cost of a cure; we can easily see the wealth translation.
We all know what happens when we don’t maintain our cars; check the brakes, a leak, attend to that strange noise we have heard for weeks, repair the busted headlights, renew that car registration. It is highly likely that one day while driving, we hear a loud bang and its total breakdown. Imagine the cost of towing your vehicle and replacing or repairing a damaged part of the car. Imagine getting pulled over by the cops for busted headlights or expired registration; that individual will get a ticket and pay for it, in addition to the cost of fixing whatever needed fixing initially.
Be wise, don’t wait.
The goal is to have a healthy maintenance culture starting without health issues. You don’t need to be sick and dying before you detox.
Don’t worry, I am not going to lecture you on the topic of detox or why it is good. The goal here is to give you recipes that are quick and easy to try. The internet has an abundance of information on definitions and reasons for detox.
I will be sharing some of the recipes I have used and liked.
For each recipe listed and discussed below, it is recommended that you try it for at least a week in order to see a difference
Try not to use more than one recipe at a time.
It is best to drink it first thing in the morning before you eat anything.
So, let’s get right to it.
Home Made Ginger-Lemon Detox Tea
- Ginger: peel ginger and shred in a Nutribullet or a blender.
- Lemon: take two lemons, wash and cut in circular slices, put in water jug/pitcher.
- Water: boil water and pour it on shredded ginger to let it sit for at least 20 minutes.
- Strain ginger over a strainer into the water jug/ pitcher containing the sliced lemon
- Then fill a 32 oz water pitcher with spring water or distilled water.
- Cinnamon: put a full tablespoon in hot water, so it dissolves easily. Add to water mixture for added benefits
Sweetener (if needed): You don’t need a sweetener to reduce calories, and also, this is a detox drink, adding sugar will defeat the purpose. However, if you need to sweeten the drink, you may add honey. Here are a few zero-calorie options (especially if you are diabetic or sensitive to insulin): Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, Erythriol, all of which I have used and recommend. I like the Monk Fruit Sweetener the best.
Leave this drink for 24 hours in the refrigerator so it all blends together. Drink first thing in the morning. Depending on how much you drink in the morning, it should last a few days to over a week. Mine lasted over a week as I wasn’t drinking a full cup each time and not every morning.
Lemon Drink
It is as simple as it sounds. Get some warm to hot water and pour it in a cup. Squeeze half a lemon into this cup, stir, and drink warm. Add some honey. Add some cinnamon as well. Drink first thing in the morning. This recipe is the easiest and quickest recipe of all.
Tummy Blast Juice
For this recipe get some fresh mint leaves, one cucumber, half a ginger knob, ½ lemon, 3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar.
Do not add water or honey.
Cut up the cucumber into small bits.
Peel the ginger and cut into small bits as well.
Remove lemon skin and cut in small pieces. Pour all of this in the blender or Nutribullet.
For the Apple Cider Vinegar, I use and recommend Bragg’s with the mother. Shake up the Apple Cider Vinegar bottle to ensure the sediments are mixed up well before use. Add 3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar.
You can add more cucumber if you want more liquid in the mixture.
Blend for a few minutes till smooth consistency and pour into a sieve to drain out the juice. Best to drink first thing in the morning or just before bed at night.
Celery Juice
Eww! I don’t like drinking it, but it works well! Mind over matter, right? A Practitioner told me to DO IT per recommendation to aid my digestive system. Celery Juice had been a craze for almost a year before I learned about it. I read that it was so good. Celebrities have bragged about it. I read it was such a craze and that celery almost went extinct! Can you imagine that? Humans never cease to surprise me! Anyone who had stocks/shares in celery would have made a fortune at the time. Who knows what is next? Cilantro lattes? Before all the craze, I used celery as one of the ingredients for my smoothie or Celery Juice.
To get started, you need a juicer and celery. You can also use a blender (I’ll explain) if you don’t have a juicer. I have a centrifugal type juicer, which makes it easy. Ladies and Gents. It is worth the investment.
One bulk of celery gives you a 16-ounce glass. You don’t have to drink 16-ounces right way; start with an 8-ounce cup and work your way up.
It is recommended you juice it fresh first thing in the morning and drink directly to get the most benefit and wait about 30 minutes before you drink or eat anything.
I am unable to juice every day, so I often juice for two days at a time. Due to the kind of juicer I have, which results in a higher quality product (I believe I can give myself that allowance.).
Making Celery Juice with a Blender
You will need celery and water to blend it to a smooth consistency.
Pour moisture into a nut milk bag or cheesecloth and squeeze hard until all the juice is out and drink.
Do not put ice or warm as it destroys the potency of the drink. When you juice a vegetable or fruit, the primary nutrients have been extracted. You can read more about juicing online.
Using a juicer is best and recommended, however, if you don’t have one and don’t want to invest that much in one, especially if you aren’t sure it will be a habit for you, try with your blender first, to see.
It is best to fill mason jars to the brim so that air bubbles don’t get in there, which leads to oxygenation. When I make enough for a few days, I put the juice in the refrigerator, usually stored in airtight mason jars. I bring it out first thing in the morning to allow it to return to room temperature as I cannot gulp a 16 oz. drink down in one gulp, which is my goal since I don’t like the taste.
To be honest, the taste is not that bad. Other people who try it think the taste is ok. It took me a while to get used to it. I still struggle with the taste sometimes, hence the goal of drinking in one breath as quickly as possible.
Considering the benefits, it’s so worth it. Bowel movement ranges from instantaneous (explosive cleanse) to regular. There is the benefit of clearer skin. There are numerous benefits. Feel free to check out the web and see the many benefits others have claimed.
While there are a variety of ways of detoxing and recipes for detoxing that can be found on the web, these are my tried and tested (current) few.
Here is a List of Ingredients Mentioned in the Recipes Above:
- Ginger
- Lemon
- Cinnamon
- Cucumber
- Celery
- Mint
- Apple Cider Vinegar
That’s all I got, folks!
Happy Detoxing!!!
Happy New Year!!!
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice and doesn’t substitute for medical treatment from your Primary Care Provider. The author isn’t responsible for any issue sustained from trying any of these Recipes. This is solely the writer’s experience and should be treated as such.
Dr. Tolu Oyewumi (MD, MPH) is a people developer, divergent thinker and voracious reader who is madly in love with learning. With her strong scientific and artistic flair, she invites you to look at the world through a different set of binoculars and microscopes.