5 Foods To Detoxify The Body

Have you heard that we should detoxify our body from time to time? Alternative medicine experts often recommend specific foods for this purpose.

From a conventional perspective, specialized entities such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States claim that measures to detoxify the body are short-term solutions and there is insufficient evidence to support them.

In any case, before using any detoxification method, we advise you to consult your trusted doctor for better guidance, as there are no longer any magic diets that purify the body completely and in the long term.

What foods help us detoxify the body?

Some foods that help us detoxify the body are green vegetables, liquefied cucumber, green apple, lemon, tangerine, orange, bitter herbs, guava, and celery, according to various experts in alternative medicine.

On the other hand, Guatemalan nutritionist Monica Pinto mentions that there are no foods that detoxify the body as such, but there are some that help us improve liver function, release toxins, and perform diuretic processes. Among them are celery, green leaves, lettuce, cucumber, pineapple, and some roots such as ginger and turmeric.

Gathering the criteria of nutritionists, bioregulatory doctors, and other specialists, these would be the most beneficial foods to help us have a better cleansing function in the body:

1. Citrus

According to Dr. Leticia Rodríguez, a Guatemalan specialist in bioregulatory medicine, lemons, tangerines, and oranges are extremely beneficial for detoxifying the body.

The specialist states that due to its vitamin C content, lemon can help us purify the body, so she recommends extracting the juice from this citrus fruit and cooking it, adding the peel of the fruit.

If you have bronchial problems or have suffered from diseases such as dengue or COVID-19, you can add cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves to make them less strong.

2. Green apple

Green apples provide energy and contain other important nutrients. This fruit can be useful for detoxification processes, says Luis Rejopachi, a Guatemalan doctor and surgeon specializing in bioregulation.

Likewise, both Rejopachi and other specialized sources mention green leaves and vegetables as useful food to help purify the body.

3. Celery

Experts say that celery is also on the list of foods that help us detoxify the body. It is worth mentioning that it is one of the most popular for this purpose. According to Maricelys Rodríguez, a biological chemist, celery juice helps detoxify the body.

4. Guava

Guava leaves have anti-inflammatory properties and other benefits that are useful for keeping the body healthy. In the case of the pulp of this fruit, it can be blended to detoxify the body, according to Dr. Rodriguez. The expert also mentions that guava is useful for revitalizing bones and joints.

Read more: How to prepare guava leaf tea and what are its benefits

5. Blueberry

It can be taken on an empty stomach or three times a day or with a little yogurt. In addition, it is rich in vitamin C and is a natural antioxidant, according to Rodriguez.

Contraindications

According to the Mayo Clinic, you should be careful with products sold on the market that promise to cleanse the body. According to specialists, it is not necessary to use a product of this kind to cleanse the body:

 “Your liver, kidneys, and GI tract do a good job of detoxing every day. If you are looking to rejuvenate your body, eat more whole foods, drink water, and eliminate highly processed foods from your diet,” it says.

Rejopachi also mentions that extreme care should be taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding. In general, before consuming any of these foods to detoxify the body, consult a health professional you trust.

Recommendations

One of the suggestions proposed by most experts is to avoid all processed foods as much as possible and increase the intake of natural products.