Vegetarian Forest

8 Cleansing Foods for a Raw Food Detox

If you're planning to embark on a fasting and detoxification journey, good for you! Detoxification is important for eliminating built up toxins in the body, allowing your digestive system to reset and flush unwanted waste.When cleansing, it's important that you only consume raw or lightly steamed fruits and vegetables, raw homemade juices, raw blended soups, and a ton of leafy green vegetables. But there are some fruits, vegetables, and herbs that are especially cleansing and helpful during the detoxification process.Lemons: Lemons are an excellent liver detoxifier. With an important phytonutrient called Glutathione (found in vitamin C), lemons help the liver detoxify harmful chemicals. Use fresh lemon in a glass of water every morning to help cleanse your system immediately upon wakening - when there isn't any food to break through. Add lemon to fresh smoothies, juices, and salad dressings.Wheatgrass: There are whole books on why this miracle grass is good for you! To keep it short, it's a blood purifier with a molecular make-up that's almost identical to our own blood. Growing and juicing your own juice is the most cost effective, but you can also order juice online or find it in health food stores. Wheatgrass will bring your body to an alkaline state - where your body can heal!Watercress: When fasting, the most important color is green! But some greens are especially cleansing. Watercress is one! Watercress is a general tonic which can alleviate constipation or digestion buildup. It's also a great blood purifier. Watercress also has an antibacterial function that inhibits the growth of bacteria in the intestines.Apples: The old adage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" rings true when cleansing. Apples are high in pectin, a type of fiber that binds to heavy metals in the body. This fiber helps to eliminate these toxins and cleanses the intestines-it's also great for removing parasites from the digestive track.Ginger: Ginger contains antioxidants to help rid the body of free radicals caused by toxins in our food and environment. It is also a great herb for digestion and elimination. Your skin's pores and sweat glands are one of the most effective way for us to push out toxins. Ginger has warming effects, which can make you sweat. You can add ginger to smoothies, dressings, sauces, and juices.Beets: Cooked or raw beet borscht soup is very cleansing-it's a wonderful blood purifier and liver cleanser, where we keep a lot of built up waste. Like most raw food, beets are most effective raw, so try putting them into your juicer, along with beet greens for a nutritional boost. Or use some of the steamed beet water is a creative, pink dressing!Garlic: Garlic stimulates the lymph system, activates the digestive track and helps flush out toxins. Garlic also helps relieve inflammation in the stomach and intestines, as well as many other benefits for your heart and blood!Watermelon: Watermelon is very cleansing, alkalinizing, and mineralizing. It's excellent for flushing out the kidney, bladder, and colon and pushing out waste materials. And because watermelon juice is easily digestible, your body easily absorbs for all its minerals and nutrients.The variety of fruits and vegetables in your produce isle is the variety of options you have during your raw food cleanse. Be creative and have fun!