Top 10 Detox FoodsGive your body a healthy, fresh start with these 10 "eating clean" essentials. They help flush out your body, pour in nutrients, keep your GI tract fit, and energize cleansing enzymes in your liver, your body's built-in detox center.
1. Leafy green vegetables
Eat them raw, throw them into a broth, or add them to juices. Their chlorophyll helps swab out environmental toxins (heavy metals, pesticides) and is an all-around liver protector. They also help
keep your heart healthy.
2. Lemons
You need to keep the fluids flowing to wash out the body, and fresh lemonade is ideal. It has vi
tamin
Câconsidered the detox vitaminâwhich helps convert toxins into a water-soluble form thatâs easily flushed away. Bonus: Lemons may also
help fight asthma.
3. Watercress
Put a handful into salads, soups, and sandwiches. The peppery little green leaves have a diuretic
effect that helps move things through your system. And cress is rich in minerals, too.
4. Garlic
Add it to everythingâsalads, sauces, spreads. In addition to the bulb's cardio benefits,
it activat
es liver enzymes that help filter out junk.
5. Green tea
This antioxidant-rich brew is one of the healthiest ways to get more fluids into your system. Bonus: It contains catechins, which speed up liver activity.
6. Broccoli sprouts
Get 'em at your health-food store. They pack 20 to 50 times more cancer-fighting, enzyme-stimulating activity into each bite than the grown-up vegetable.
7. Sesame seeds
They're credited with protecting liver cells from the damaging effects of alcohol and other chemicals. For a concentrated form, try tahini, the yummy sesame seed paste thatâs a staple of Middle Eastern cooking.
8. Cabbage
There are two main types of detoxifying enzymes in the liver; this potent veggie helps activate both of them. Coleslaw, anyone?
9. Psyllium
A plant that's rich in soluble fiber, like oat bran, but more versatile. It mops up toxins (cholesterol, too) and helps clear them out. Stir powdered psyllium into juice to help cleanse your colon, or have psyllium-fortified Bran cereal for your afternoon snack!
10. Fruits, fruits, fruits
They're full of almost all the good things above vitamin C, fiber, nutritious fluids, and all kinds of antioxidants. Besides, nothing tastes better than a ripe mango, fresh berries, or a perfect pear.
