Easy Ways to Detox

Though healthy weight loss is best achieved through diet and exercise, others achieve remarkable health by undergoing a detox diet lasting days, weeks or even months. "Detox" is a buzzword that indicates a radical transformation with regard to diet. Though some detox diets require a radical change in eating patterns, you can detox quite easily by slight modifications in your diet.

Add More Detox Foods

The staple of most detox diets is fruits and vegetables. To detox, add raw, unprocessed, whole vegetables, leafy greens and fruit to your diet. Do not, however, use these foods as an excuse to eat other unhealthy foods---eating an orange does not grant you permission to eat an ice cream cone. Ideally, eating an orange will cause you to want only half an order of fries instead of your usual full order.

To add more detox foods, stock up on produce at the grocery store and carry pieces of fruit or carrot sticks with you. These detox foods may satisfy a mineral deficiency. As explained in the book "Food and Mood," deficiencies are often the culprit of hunger pangs. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories but can still combat hunger with their high density of nutrients. Nutrients that detox the body and are found in fruits, vegetables and leafy greens are fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Drink More Water

In order to flush the body of toxins, the body must have an ample supply of water. Water is responsible for hydrating and rejuvenating the cells and pushing out waste and is necessary for all organs to function properly.

Gabriel Cousens wrote in his book "Spiritual Nutrition" that over 75percent of Americans are dehydrated. Many could experience the benefits of a detox diet simply by drinking more water.

Carry a water bottle with you, either in your backpack, purse or briefcase. Instead of drinking soda or fruit juice, opt for pure water. If you desire to enhance the taste of water, squirt some lemon juice in it or add a small amount of 100 percent fruit juice. Otherwise, avoid soda (including diet soda) and replace all beverages with water.

Substitute Unhealthy Foods for Detox Foods

Though complete elimination of your favorite foods isn't necessary, try substituting any junk food favorites with fruit and vegetables instead. For example, if you love eating potato chips and dip, substitute half of the potato chips with cucumber slices instead. Consider eating hummus (a garbanzo bean dip) instead of creamy ranch dip: hummus usually has fewer calories and fat. Likewise, replace milkshakes with fruit smoothies.

Registered dietitian Claudia Gonzalez explains that eating only raw foods isn't necessary to achieve great health benefits. She states in the book "Earth Talk" that replacing processed, refined meals with raw foods will result in improved health.