There are many, MANY ‘Detox Programs’ getting around these days, but the truth is – nailing your diet is the single most effective thing you can do to support your detox pathways and achieve beautiful glowing skin. No ‘program’ under the sun can undo a bad diet! Some tips to live by:

1. Remove foods that cause inflammation:

• Processed sugar
• Processed carbs (white foods)
• Dietary & environmental toxins – chemicals, additives, herbicides, pesticides
• Dairy – A1 Casein specifically
• Gluten & wheat (and even sometimes ALL grains)

These foods and toxins can be problematic and inflammatory. The first step is to get these guys out. Whatever it takes – they have got to go - not forever (well sugar, processed carbs & toxins are NEVER going to be good) but once you get a healthier gut & liver most people can tolerate occasional serves of dairy, wheat & grains.

2. Eat a NUTRIENT DENSE diet:

Nutrients are the key to every biochemical process in your body. Every hormone, neurotransmitter, transporter, immune cell, detox agent & bioactive chemical has vitamins & minerals as co-factors.  If we don’t eat sufficient amounts of these crucial nutrients we simply cannot function or detox effectively. This is when we see a build-up of toxins, sluggish liver & problem skin. What does a nutrient dense diet look like? Lots of plant foods (aim for 40 serves of different plant foods a week), regular moderate serves of clean protein and plenty of good fats.

3. Eat to support your ‘Good Bugs’:

Believe it or not we are teeming with microbes (the ‘community’ of them is called the Microbiome). The majority of which are bacteria that live in our gut. They’re involved in everything from modulating our immune response to extracting calories from food. They even impact our mood and behavior.

Diet has a huge impact on our microbiome - an unhealthy high sugar, high processed carbohydrate & unhealthy fat diet causes the ‘bad guys’ to overgrow. Alternatively, a diet high in fibre, plant foods & good fat support the growth and diversity of the beneficial flora.

An imbalance in our microbiome creates a condition called ‘Dysbiosis’ that causes all sorts of problems in your gut – inflammation, endo-toxins and ‘leaky-gut’. This is a major player in toxic loads and skin conditions.

Including daily pre & probiotic foods is the key to treating and preventing dysbiosis.

Prebiotics (the food that the bacteria eat) are the plant-based resistant (insoluble) fibres, and probiotics are found in ferments – yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut etc.

4. Eat to support your liver and antioxidant status:

This is essentially covered by eating a nutrient dense diet but specific ‘super’ foods are great for liver support and increasing anti-oxidant levels.

• Protein – this supplies amino acids for the liver’s many detox pathways
• H20 –  lots of filtered water – not usually considered a ‘super food’ but it should be!
• Turmeric, ginger, garlic, onions, fresh herbs, spices – these guys are natures beneficial phytochemical (plant chemical) dynamites
• Berries & other brightly coloured fruit & veg – full of anti-oxidants that are essential for liver detox and glowing skin

Your diet is crucial to effective detoxing and the key to achieving healthy, glowing skin!