I love Spring! Not only does it mean that summer is well and truly on the way, the mornings are brighter, the days are getting longer and it’s the perfect time to do some decluttering and letting go of the ‘stuff’ you’ve been hoarding over the colder months.

Traditionally, Spring is the season of new life and is the perfect time to set some goals and intentions as we roll towards the end of the year (kind of crazy that we are talking about that already, isn’t it?). Over winter, some of us may have seen a (let’s call it) slight deviation away from our healthy norm; we chose an extra snuggle in bed over getting up to exercise, maybe we included a few more comfort foods, a little less water and perhaps not as many fruits or salads. If you’ve been feeling a little fatigued, sluggish, your digestion has been a bit ‘off’ or you’re just not as sparky as you’d like, you could benefit from doing a cleanse.

Before I go any further, let’s just get one things straight. When I talk cleanse (or detox), I’m not talking the crazy ‘only drink lemon and water’ or ‘juices every day for a week and nothing else’ type of cleanse that you’ll probably start seeing everywhere this time of year. To me, a ‘cleanse’ should cover multiple areas of your life and gets rid of all the things that stop you from being the best version of yourself. Of course we need to look at your nutrition, but I also encourage you to go beyond this. Here are my top 7 tips for doing a Spring Cleanse at home.

1. Clean out your fridge and pantry

Do you really have any idea what is the back of the second shelf of your pantry? It’s time to make space for healthy, fresh and seasonal foods! Go through your fridge and panty and get rid of anything that is out of date, unrecognisable or overly processed. This includes things like cakes, biscuits, lollies, chips, soft drinks, cordials etc. Fill your kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables, organic free range eggs and healthy pantry staples like quinoa, buckwheat and brown rice. Keeping good food in the house means you’re more likely to put good food in your body.

2. Fill up with fibre

Fibre is so important when it comes to supporting our health and wellbeing. It helps keep our blood sugars stable so that our energy levels don’t roller-coaster over the day. It also helps maintain healthy and regular digestive function so that we can eliminate toxins completely. A few tips to make sure you are getting enough fibre:

  • Include greens with every meal (or at least lunch and dinner). Peas, Brussel sprouts, spinach and broccoli are all great sources of fibre.
  • Add a table spoon of flaxseeds or chia seeds to your smoothie, salad or stir fry.
  • Always go for wholegrain or ‘brown’ varieties.

3. Give your liver some love!

Your liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body filtering around 1.5L of blood every single minute! It also produces a substance called bile which not only helps us absorb and metabolise fats properly, but also helps ensure we have healthy bowel movements. Our livers take unwanted toxins out of our blood so that they can be passed into our urine or bowel movements. Show your liver some love by reducing the amount of unnecessary work it needs to do:

  • Lay off the booze – keep your alcohol intake to a minimum. If you choose to drink, follow my 4:2 rule: No more than 4 drinks per week and never more than 2 in one night.
  • Drink Tea – specifically, go for some milk Thistle or dandelion tea. These herbs are super supportive of the liver and also help increase bile production, which helps with the detox process. 1 -2 cups per day will be enough.

4. Poo Check

I know it’s a weird topic of conversation, but if you’re not checking what you’re leaving behind in the toilet bowl, you really need to start! Your bowel movements give such great insight into your overall health and wellbeing. You should be going at least once per day and it should resemble something like a sausage or banana. If this is not you, then it’s time for an appointment with a naturopath. (For more information on what your poo says about you, check out one of my other blog posts here)

5. Herb it up!

Adding herbs to your cooking is not just about adding flavour! There are also many health benefits that cleanse and nourish your body. Cinnamon is great for promoting circulation, rosemary is a great antioxidant, coriander helps remove heavy metals and ginger helps to support your stomach acid. Fresh is always best, but dried are a good back up.

6. Social Media Cull and Inbox clean up

How many times have you been on Facebook or Instagram today? Let’s face it; social media is, and will continue to be a huge part of our lives. The thing is though, we often have ‘friends’ who aren’t really serving us either through what they are posting or the way that we interact with them (i.e. you might find yourself doing the occasional ‘stalk’). This is not serving us. Go through your contact list and be brutal. If there is someone on your list who you wouldn’t stop and have a conversation with in the street, let them go.

7.  Book your health check

You don’t know what you don’t know. This time of the year is perfect for organising a check-up with your naturopath or doctor to see how all things are progressing. If you haven’t had a cellular health check, live blood analysis or even just a nutritional check-in, now is the perfect time to make sure all is on track and to make a few tweaks if needed.

 

Spring is such beautiful time of the year. Put your best foot forward, shake off those winter layers and regain your health and vitality!