Beauty...
By Carla Oates
When you wake up in the morning, how do you feel? If the answer is anything less than healthy, vibrant and full of energy then it might be time to hit reset and support your body through a gentle cleanse. Optimal health, beauty and wellbeing begins in the gut. If we’re not eating well—or more importantly not digesting food well—then we can experience a range of digestive issues from bloating and constipation to more chronic inflammation and leaky gut.
“Beauty begins in the belly and good health and great skin start with the gut.”
While our bodies work hard behind the scenes to process and expel the myriad of toxins, chemicals and pesticides we encounter daily—the truth is that due to our busy modern lives, most of us need a little extra support. The good news is that you don’t need to commit to a deep-dive detox to reap the rewards of a gentle cleanse. Our 5-Day Cleanse & Reset has been created to show you how in less than a week you can begin to transform your health and wellbeing and support your body’s natural detoxification processes by making a few simple diet and lifestyle tweaks.
Give these tips a try for 5 days and we promise, you’ll be feeling lean, clean and green in no time!
Drinking plenty of water helps your body cleanse itself and eliminate waste and toxins. When you’re feeling fatigued, sluggish and bloated, there’s a good chance your body is retaining these excess waste products— putting extra burden on your detoxification systems, as well as your skin. Try to aim for around 3 liters of water each day.
More than any other food group, fiber helps to nourish your digestive system and support healthy cleansing. While our bodies have three stages of detoxification, it’s during the final stages that fiber plays a key role—binding to toxins in the bile and gut, assisting with elimination.
While it’s essential to focus on what you can enjoy, rather than what you should avoid during a cleanse—it’s also important to give your body the best possible opportunity to do its job effectively. Both gluten and dairy can contribute to irritation and inflammation in the gut—which is why we recommend removing both from your diet during your 5-Day Cleanse & Reset.
Probiotic-rich fermented foods are not only essential for a healthy gut—helping to encourage microbial diversity and combat inflammation—but they also help to support our body’s natural detoxification pathways by neutralizing certain chemicals and toxins so that they don’t have to then be processed by the liver. Fermented foods—such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, yoghurt and miso—are also naturally high in digestive enzymes which further support digestion, helping to break down nutrients so that they are more easily assimilated by the body.
Dry body brushing helps to stimulate the lymphatic system—a key part of the body’s immune and detoxification systems—which assists in the transport and removal of wastes from the cells.
Gentle practices such as yoga, Pilates and walking are all great ways to practice mindful movement and help to stimulate lymphatic flow.
We all know that fruits and vegetables are an important part of any healthy, balanced diet—but to really reap the rewards, it’s essential to consciously eat as many colorful varieties as possible. Where possible, opt for dark blue, purple or red fruits and veggies—including purple carrots, sweet potato, beetroot and berries—as these are richer in antioxidants.
Every day we come into contact with countless chemicals and toxins in our environment that are either ingested or absorbed through our skin—which all contribute to our “toxic load”. One of the easiest ways to help reduce our toxic load, is by turning to clean and green cleaning products in our home. If you’re unsure where to start, it’s best to avoid anything that contains: phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), parabens and synthetic colors or fragrances.
Just as cleaning products contribute to our “toxic load”, so do the beauty products that we choose to use. In fact, many chemicals used in skincare and makeup products are considered dangerous in high concentrations and can not only overload our body’s natural detoxification processes, but also disrupt our delicate endocrine system.
Good sleep actually supports our body’s ability to detox itself, too, helping to remove any toxic substances and waste that may have accumulated during the day.To help boost your ability to snooze well, focus on creating an environment that helps to induce sleep. Aim to keep your bedroom dark, quiet and cool, avoid stimulating melatonin-blocking blue light from your devices in the evenings and ensure you don’t eat or exercise too close to bedtime.
Try these smoothies from The Beauty Chef’s 5-Day Cleanse Guide, using the Cleanse Inner Beauty Powder, to reset your system. A refreshing morning (or anytime) blend, full of detoxifying ingredients! These 4 smoothie recipes combine healthy fats, gut-nourishing fiber and bio-fermented super-greens powder to help the body realign.
Serves 1
3⁄4 cup (180mL) unsweetened coconut
water
1⁄2 ruby grapefruit, peeled & segmented
1⁄2 Lebanese cucumber, coarsely chopped
1⁄4 small-medium ripe avocado
1 large handful coarsely chopped
kale leaves
10 mint leaves
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons CLEANSE Inner Beauty Support
1⁄4 Medjool date
3 ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Blend until smooth.
Serves 1
3 teaspoons CLEANSE Inner Beauty
Support
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1 banana
2 passionfruit (Panama, if possible)
120mL unsweetened coconut yogurt
250mL almond milk
1 cup ice, made using filtered water
Extra ice, to serve
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Blend until smooth.
Serves 1
1⁄2 large green apple, cored and coarsely
chopped
1⁄2 cup (125mL) coconut water
1⁄4 cup (60mL) coconut yogurt
2 florets broccoli
1⁄4 medium ripe avocado, flesh scooped out
1 large handful of baby spinach
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon CLEANSE Inner Beauty Support
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
Chopped pistachios, to serve
Place all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender
and blend until smooth.
Top with chopped pistachios to serve, if desired.
Serves 1
1⁄2 firm pear, cored
1⁄2 small-medium ripe avocado
⅓ cup (80ml) coconut water
1 large handful of baby spinach
1 large handful of mint leaves
2 ice cubes
Freshly squeezed juice of ¼ lime
½ teaspoon finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons CLEANSE Inner Beauty Support
Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Blend until smooth.