We have read and seen it until we are sick.  It is almost as bad as political campaign ads! (Notice I said, “Almost!”)  What is the big deal about detoxification?  Why is it so important? Actually, there is some reasonable truth to getting the toxins out of our body.  After all, this is how Mother Nature works, take nutrients in and get rid of the toxins.

Ok then, we should all go out and buy 12 detox books, 47 detox supplements, maybe a gas powered Vitamix, join a detox group, start a small organic co-op, and build a small detox shrine in our garage, right?  Seems like a lot of the detox programs demand that much, don’t they?

Detox can be very simple and that is the best way because simple is easy to start and easy to sustain.

Question: How do you put out a fire?  To start, you stop pouring gas on it which is the same thing for detox.  Stop dumping junk in!  We consume some fifty tons of food in our lifetime!  What is the biggest load of toxins in our environment-the food you eat!  That is why the ITG Diet supplements are designed to be healthy, pure, and natural without any junk.

As you ‘delete’ the junk food in your diet, your body will naturally start to detox. The liver will be able to detox properly and dump the detoxed foods into your colon which brings us to our next point.  A clean colon is a happy colon.  I am not trying to be gross but working towards one to two good bowel movements per day is very healthy.  If you are not having at least one BM per day, please talk to your ITG health coach.  There are many aids to help with this.  Do not be shy about having one to two BMs per day.  You need to get rid of those toxins.  Not to mention the weight of a constipated colon!

The next principle, after the good protein in the ITG Diet foods, is a fresh and colorful variety of vegetables.  The veggies supply the nutrients that go with the protein to support good detoxification.

A word of note here, some portions of raw vegetables, especially the green ones, are a good idea.  It doesn’t have to be a lot, even just a few servings a day of the raw veggies.  Your ITG Coach can help you to pick out vegetables that are acceptable on the ITG Diet program.  Our suggestion is to think about buying all the colors of the rainbow when you buy veggies.  Some of the best ‘detox’ vegetables are the leafy greens, especially watercress, cilantro, parsley, etc.  Try a water cress salad with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and some fresh squeezed lemon.  Yum!

Herbs and spices are also a good addition to a detox diet.  Once again, variety is the spice of life. (No pun intended!)  The point here is that a variety of herbs and spices is much better than 14 pounds of cinnamon powder in a day. (You ever try to dissolve that stuff in water!)

Just these few simple steps can go a very long way towards detoxification, a healthy body, and a healthy weight.  It doesn’t have to be complicated - the simpler, the better.  Then, if you want more, you can go online and check into that gas powered Vitamix!

Dr. John DeCosmo