Ok, so the word detox is grossly overused by all of us in the health industry. You see it employed to market anything from laxative teas to sceptical skincare. Truthfully, your body knows how to detox. It’s called a liver. However, there are certain ingredients that you should indulge in to give your liver a hand, no superfood powders required. All you have to do is get down to your local market, pick up this fresh produce and blend it into a liver-loving smoothie to kickstart your system and your day.
4 Simple Steps To Detoxing
Start with a lemon
You already know about squeezing lemon juice in warm water to start the day. But if you want to exponentially help your liver, digest a whole one (and let your blender do the work.) You’d be shocked how delicious they are with hydrating coconut water, which we’re adding next.
Next up, add your raw leafy greens
We’re going for the infamous multivitamin: kale. And throwing in some raw broccoli as it contains the detoxing amino acid, cysteine. Great support for your liver.
Always add a source of plant-based protein
Studies show that protein is helpful in weight loss as it keeps us satisfied and out of the pantry. You can use any nut or seed that you love as they all have unique nutritional properties, but we’re going with flax seeds. The lignans in flax seeds work with enzymes to deactivate toxins. Which means your body gets rid of toxins before they turn into something nasty. The dense fiber source will keep you regular too. (You can also check out some of our favourite all-natural protein powders here.)
And finally, add banana and honey.
We finalise our detox smoothie with creamy frozen banana and delicious raw honey. If you’re looking at these as unnecessary carbs and fructose, you’ve got it all wrong. Bananas are full of fibre. They are slow releasing energy sources. And raw honey is antibacterial and antiviral. Like all of the other ingredients in this smoothie, they’ll help protect against toxins.
Blend this bad boy each morning for the most detoxifying and satisfying meal of the day.
Ultimate Detox Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients
½ lemon, peeled
1 cup coconut water
2 cups kale
½ cup raw broccoli
¼ cup flax seeds
1 frozen banana
1 teaspoon raw honey
…blend until creamy.