During winter the lymph of the trees doesn’t reach the branches but tends to go down along the trunk towards the roots to avoid that the cold may freeze it. In spring the lymph starts again to flow. In our body happens something very similar, during winter all the processes slow down and then, with warm weather, vitality and energy come back. It is important, in this seasons change that welcomes spring, sun and warmer weather to help the body remove the accumulated toxins, to purify it but also to wake up strength, energy and wellbeing. Let’s see the best remedies for a deep detox effect for body and skin.
Lemon
Start your day with a glass of warm water, the temperature should be around 40°C, where you have squeezed half a lemon. In this way you can get the maximum intake of antioxidants, you can deeply stimulate the immune system and the purifying processes of the body. The lemon is indeed rich in vitamin C and, thanks to the citric acid, it is able to counteract inflammations, the damages of the free radicals and to protect the liver, the organ that plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of food, of medicines and toxins (Abdel-Salam et al, J Med Food, May 2014 - Zhou et al, Biomed Res Int, 2017). Finally, the lemon juice helps reduce the body weight, the body mass index and the triglycerides in addition to having also a mild laxative action and a stimulating effect on the whole intestinal tract (Shetty et al, J Ayurveda Integr Med, Mar 2016 - Fausto Aufiero, the nutritional and therapeutic role of foods).
Dandelion
What an amazing plant is dandelion, that in April can be observed in gardens and meadows. You can harvest its leaves before the bloom, just be careful to choose no polluting areas. Once you have the dandelion leaves, you should rinse them well and then prepare a delicious salad! Also the well-known herbalist Maria Treben speaks about dandelion in her books. Maria Treben used indeed to eat every day in spring a salad of dandelion after learning about its purifying, diuretic, digestive, hepatoprotective and blood- detoxifying properties during a trip in Yugoslavia. Moreover, the dandelion helps also control the blood sugar and is able to counteract the inflammations (Wirngo et al, Rev Diabet Stud, Aug 2016).
Yoga
Also yoga helps the detox processes, in particular, a very useful asana is Simhasana, the lion yoga pose. This asana helps indeed to improve the functionalities of the liver, it is purifying, tones the skin of face and relieves tensions in neck and jaw. Thanks to this detox action this asana is recommended in spring and in the morning before breakfast. How to do Simhasana? It is very easy, sit down on your heels with the knees far apart. The hands are on the floor and are rotated backwards. Inhale and keep the breath for a little time, then exhale by opening the mouth, pushing out the tongue and making a “ha” sound. The eyes look towards the eyebrows. Repeat for 3-4 times.
